These mini heart shaped pizzas are easy to create and make a perfect meal for Valentine's Day or other special occasions.
Valentine's Day is just around the corner and this year I thought it would be fun to make something other than a dessert. I've made Chocolate Heart Cookies and Heart Cinnamon Rolls and Raspberry Heart Hand Pies. So this year I'm making Mini Heart Shaped Pizzas.
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How to Make Heart Shaped Pizza at Home
I decided to use refrigerator pizza dough for this recipe. It's pretty flexible and the taste, while not as good as homemade, or straight from the pizza shop, it's still pretty good.
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Any brand will work, and you could also try this on your own homemade dough.
Here's the trick. I think I learned this as a kid. Maybe as a Girl Scout. And, it may have been done with paper. Anyway, you need to cut out the dough with one round and one square cookie or biscuit cutter. I'm using these round cookie/biscuit
and square cutters
for my pizzas.
Use a pizza cutter or sharp knife to cut the round cutout in half.
Now, place the half rounds on the sides of the square. See how it makes a heart? Magic!
The hard part is getting the dough to stick together. Try pinching and do this on both sides of the heart.
Place your hearts on a non-stick or greased cookie sheet to pre-bake. Then add your toppings.
Making Homemade Marinara Sauce
You can use jarred marinara or pizza sauce for this, but I love using homemade marinara for pasta and it worked really well on this pizza recipe. It's really easy to make and you are left with 2.5 cups which gives you plenty leftover to use with pasta on another night.
The key is using San Marzano tomatoes. You can find these canned in just about any grocery store. I really like them because they are a plum tomato making them meatier and they have fewer seeds typically than a regular tomato. However, you can make this with any canned tomato.
Another trick that I learned from watching the famous Italian Chef, Giada De Laurentiis, is adding a bit of butter to the sauce. This will make the sauce richer and balance the acidity. Some people also do this with a little sugar.
The Best Cheese for Pizza
We are lucky to have some pretty good pizza shops where I live. So, if you are making a homemade pizza you need to really up your game or what's the point.
I've just given you a good idea for sauce and next comes the most important part of the pizza. The cheese. I like to use a combination of mozzarella and provolone. This combination is the perfect balance of elasticity and oil that gives a nice tasty cheese topping that browns well.
Finally, You could probably make a giant heart pizza with this idea by using two packages of pizza dough.
However, I think the smaller individual hearts are nice to serve on a plate for everyone you love.
P.S. Wouldn't these heart shaped hand pies be great for dessert. Which one will you eat? A Kiss (X) or a Hug (O)?
Mini Heart Shaped Pizzas
Equipment
Ingredients
Heart Mini Pizzas
- 1 package of refrigerated pizza dough 13.8 oz
- 1 cup Homemade Marinara Sauce or your favorite jarred sauce
- Fresh basil leaves
- 1 cup freshly grated mozzarella cheese
- 1 cup grated provolone cheese
Homemade Marinara
- 1 can San Marzano tomatoes 28 oz
- 4 cloves garlic - grated
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes optional
Instructions
- Make the homemade marinara by sauteing garlic in the olive oil for about 30 seconds.
- Add tomatoes, and use a potato masher to break the tomatoes up.
- Add salt, basil, and butter.
- Turn to low heat and simmer for 20-30 minutes until the sauce reduces, stirring occasionally.
- Next roll out the pizza dough.
- Use a square and a round biscuit cutter to cut out a square and round shape.
- Cut the round shape in half with a sharp knife or pizza cutter.
- Place each half of the round shape to an adjacent side of the square to make a heart.
- Firmly pinch the dough and place the heart on a greased baking sheet or non-stick baking sheet.
- Pre-bake for 8 minutes at 400 degrees.
- Remove and add some marinara, fresh basil and a handful of grated cheese.
- Return to the oven and bake for 6 minutes.
- Set under the broiler for another minute to brown the cheese.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. Although attempts have been made to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates.
Luisa Bellissimo
Hi Patti,
Great idea. I have a few heart pans. Would that work with the pizza dough?
I know it works with cakes!
Thanks. I love your site!
Luisa an Italian Canadian from Woodbridge, Ontario Canada
Patti Estep
Luisa, I do think cake pans would work. I haven't done it but my guess is that it might take a little longer to bake and might end up a little thicker but that may be very tasty too. Let me know how it turns out.