The Best Valentine’s Day Food Ideas at the Grocery Store

Looking for Valentine’s Day food ideas that don’t involve dropping serious coin on fancy steaks, slicing open your hand while shucking oysters, or…*shudder*… from-scratch baking? Then you’ve come to the right place. Because we’ve taste-tested a slew of Valentine’s Day food, including candy, chocolate, pink stuff, and even festive treats from Target and Trader Joe’s, and we’ve gathered it all here for you. Treat this as your hub for Valentine’s Day foods. Whether you’re looking for candy to gift your beau or just want the best box of chocolates all to yourself, the Sporked team has done the work. Here’s your guide to the best Sporked-approved food for Valentine’s Day.

Best Valentine’s Day Candy

valentine's day candies — Credit: Liv Averett / Amazon / Target / Walmart

It’s not good enough to just be a red or pink version of some everyday candy. We’ve updated our ranking of the best Valentine’s Day candy with the best candy that’s giftable, shareable, a little romantic, and actually tasty, from a new Haribo treat to a fresh take on conversation hearts.

Best Boxes of Chocolates

valentine's day chocolates — Credit: Liv Averett / Target / Uber Eats

A heart-shaped box of chocolates is a classic Valentine’s Day food, but most of the time the chocolates suck. You won’t be disappointed after biting into any of the selections from these boxes of chocolates—all available at the grocery store.

Best Chocolate for Dipping Strawberries

You might get distracted by how good homemade chocolate-dipped strawberries are when you use these Sporked-approved dipping chocolates. Please apologize to your s/o for us when you forget all about them and eat chocolate strawbs by yourself.

Best Chocolate Covered Strawberries

If you don’t want to do any work, just buy some chocolate covered strawberries instead. But don’t go spending $40 on six sub-par snacks. Instead, choose one of our budget-friendly picks from the grocery store.

Best Dark Chocolate

If you’re a purist, then this is your kind of Valentine’s Day candy. We found the best dark chocolate you can buy at the grocery store.

Best Canned Whipped Cream

canned whipped cream reanking — Credit: Liv Averett / Aldi / Instacart / Target

Listen, no small detail will be overlooked this Valentine’s Day. Here is the best canned whipped cream to swirl atop whatever you like, get creative why don’t you. (And if you have the dairy scaries, here are the best non-dairy whipped cream options.)

Best Box Cake Mix

Best Boxed Cake Mix — Credit: Liv Averett / Instacart / iStock / King Arthur Baking / Target / Walmart

Yes, theoretically you could get a professionally made heart-shaped cake this Valentine’s Day. But unless you placed your order like ten weeks ago, chances are the bakers are busy. Throw on that apron and whip up your own cake using one of these amazing box cake mixes. (Here’s the best frosting, too!)

The Best Ice Cream from Our Taste Tests

Header: Best Ice Cream — Credit: Liv Averett / Target / Tillamook / Trader Joe’s

This one goes out to all the people who have recently been dumped and are looking to live out the dream of sloppily eating a pint of ice cream while crying alone on the couch watching a rom com on Valentine’s Day. This also goes out to people who just love ice cream and want to celebrate the day of love with something they love. Everybody wins.