30 Valentine’s Day Gifts You’ll Want to Keep All for Yourself

Here’s the great thing about Valentine’s Day gifts: You don’t have to be coupled up to partake. There’s no V-Day gatekeeper, no matter what the starry-eyed lovebirds tell you. It’s a day meant for celebrating all sorts of love: friendships, family, and—absolutely yes—self-love. Here at Serious Eats, we’re firm believers that holidays are a perfect excuse to spoil the ones you care about, and Valentine’s Day is no exception.

As our staff’s most prolific romance novelist (okay, our only romance novelist), I’ve been tasked with scouring every corner of the internet for the best Valentine’s Day gifts. I asked my colleagues, Riddley Gemperlein-Schirm and Grace Kelly, for help, and together we found the best chocolate, indulgent cookbooks, delicious drinks, and a little bit of everything else. Whether you’re shopping for your honey, your pals, or yourself, I’m certain this list contains your perfect gift.

This is the cookbook for chocolate fiends. Recipe developer and author Michele Song has created an ideal collection of chocolate goodies, including cookies, pies, and doughnuts. Hot tip: The Twice-Baked Chocolate Tahini Blackberry Cake is rich, indulgent, and gorgeously fudgy—a perfect Valentine’s dessert.

Panettone isn’t just for Christmastime. The Italian company Oliveri has been baking perfect panettone since 1882, and they’ve got sweet loaves for every occasion. The Valentine’s Day special is heart-shaped (aw!) and studded with candied strawberries. "I've gotten this panettone for the past few years and legitimately look forward to it months beforehand," Riddley says.

Riddley and Grace taste-tested box after box of gourmet chocolate (the service! the sacrifice!) and found over a dozen exceptional boxes. Any box on their list is worthy of a Valentine’s splurge, but we ride for L.A. Burdick. This one contains half a pound of bonbons made with real Scottish whisky, to celebrate the iconic poet Robert Burns. There’s a “burn-ing love” joke in there somewhere, but you definitely don’t need an excuse to splurge on these chocolates.

Hot stuff! I’ve never met a cook who doesn’t go bananas over Fly By Jing’s Schuan-inspired condiments and pantry essentials. This gift set includes four of its bestsellers, including the Xtra Spicy (wink, wink) chili crisp.

Credit for finding this adorable sweatshirt goes to Riddley, who has a knack for spotting the best fish-themed goods. It comes in a handful of pretty colors and would be the perfect way to say, “Hey, babe, there’s no one else I’d rather be packed into a tiny tin with.”

If you know someone who loves tinned fish enough to get them a sardine sweatshirt, you should probably just throw it all in with this gift set. It comes with chocolate-shaped sardines!

“Is this too cheesy?” Grace asked as we brainstormed ideas for this gift guide. I say not even close, and if you’re the cheese lover I think you are, you will agree. 

You and your Valentine deserve good Champagne, even if you don’t drink alcohol. When I reviewed nonalcoholic wines, this splurgy bottle was a standout. Frankly, I wasn’t convinced it was NA until I double-checked the label. It tastes like the real deal and is the only bottle I want on really special occasions.

Riddley owns these fun-sized wine glasses, and I get jealous every time I think about them. They come in a set of two (just like you and your boo!) and have a petite goblet-like bowl shape. They may not be the most traditional wine glasses we’ve tested at SE, but that’s exactly what we love about them.

One of the very best stand mixers you can buy? In the passion red color? Gift of the century for the serious baker in your life.

No need to gift wrap this tin of tea, which is a blush-pink color. It’s made with a green tea base for a moderate caffeine level and delicate flavor that complements notes of cherry and vanilla. Give it with one of our favorite mugs, like this vintage-inspired amber glass set.

Everything about this homemade gelatin set screams “I know how to have a good time.” It comes with three different mold shapes and passion fruit, guava, and piña coco flavors. They’re obviously delicious, but the real fun is in making and unmolding them—a perfect couples' kitchen activity.

I love Jeni’s ice cream for thinking of the unattached this Valentine’s Day. While so many other brands are celebrating couples, Jeni’s is over here launching a Palentine’s Day collection of ice cream pints. With flavors like frosé, gooey butter cake, and strawberry buttermilk, it’s a wonderful gift for the BFF who makes your life sweeter.

What’s better than a cheeky little cookbook? The coyly titled Hot Date is packed with mouthwatering recipes featuring nature’s sweetest candy. It’s written by Rawaan Alkhatib, who’s also contributed beautiful illustrations to complement Linda Xiao’s color-drenched photography. Not to be dramatic, but the Tater Tots Tossed in Hot Date Butter are life-changing. Life. Changing.

If you’re going to gift a date-themed cookbook this year, you’re going to need to include some really great dates. Grace, Riddley, and I are all Rancho Meladuco devotees and can vouch for their creamy, luscious texture. They’re reliably juicy, which is more than I can say for every other brand of date I’ve tried.

Is butter a carb? Whatever, your Valentine needs this fun bookmark.

Our whole staff loves Hedley & Bennett aprons (including its essential apron and smock apron). They’re durable and comfy and have tons of pattern options. Grace pointed out that this dusty rhubarb hue is perfect for V-Day, and I couldn’t agree more.

The written word is not dead, and this delicate recipe box proves it. There’s no better gift for the new cook or recipe-collecting Valentine in your life. It comes with a set of recipe cards and dividers and is available in a few lovely motifs.

Even if you don’t buy this collection of unique chile powders for the double entendre opportunities (so spicy!), you’re going to want them on your spice rack. Choose from a set of six or nine, and enter the world of smoky, salty, and sweet heat from one of Serious Eats’ favorite spice merchants.

Planning on cooking a fancy steak dinner this Valentine’s Day? Not without a good set of steak knives, you aren’t. This surprisingly affordable set punches above its class and comes with a wooden knife holder. I’ve owned my set for almost two years and the blades are still sharp.

This interchangeable heart-shaped knob works with many Le Creuset Dutch ovens and braisers, and is oven-safe to boot. Wrap it up with a heart-shaped spoon rest for a themed gift that’ll get used year-round.

Look on any of our bar carts and you’ll find a bottle or two of Ghia. This pleasantly bitter apéritif is made to be mixed, and the berry-infused version adds a brilliant rouge hue to zero-proof cocktails. If you haven’t yet given Ghia a chance, this is a great opportunity to see why it took three out of six winning spots on our best nonalcoholic drinks review.

Nothing says “I want to have breakfast with you for the rest of my life” quite like a croissant subscription box. Worried about them arriving fresh? Don’t be: They’re shipped frozen and come with instructions for thawing, proofing, and baking.

This pick from Riddley made our 2024 list of best cookbooks, and you only have to crack its spine to see why. It’s loaded with aspirational-yet-doable recipes for pizza ovens, as well as salads and desserts that pair perfectly with a homemade pie.

Feeling generous this year? Gift the above-mentioned pizza cookbook with one of our top-performing pizza ovens. The Ooni Koda 16 is one of the most user-friendly ovens we’ve tested, and it cooks consistently great pizza.

Levain Bakery makes some of the most decadent, indulgent cookies I’ve ever tried. They’re soaringly tall and deliriously dense. Trust me when I say any cookie lover would be thrilled to receive a tin of these. The chocolate chip walnut is my favorite flavor, but you do you—there’s plenty more to choose from.

For the Valentine who is spicy, salty, and sweet. This duo of infused honey will change the way you make marinades, whip up salad dressings, and arrange cheese boards. FYI: The spicy honey is particularly good drizzled over pepperoni pizza.

*Ahem.* It’s time to wax poetic about this orange-infused olive oil. Grace discovered it during her olive oil review, and we’ve since all become fans. It’s a special, unique bottle that will get way more use than you think. It’s so good on vanilla ice cream.

Bonne Maman’s fruit preserves are so giftable. Maybe it’s the cute jars (it’s definitely the jars), but we’d all be thrilled to receive this variety pack that contains Bonne Maman’s greatest hits. In addition to the preserves, the set also contains a mini spoon and a set of notecards.

Are you blushing over there, or is that just the pretty pink tea collection from Vadham? It comes with three unique loose-leaf teas, and you won’t find a cozier blend anywhere than the Cinnamon Spice Masala Chai.

Why We’re the Experts

• Rochelle Bilow is an editor at Serious Eats. She previously worked at Bon Appétit and Cooking Light.
• Rochelle has been writing about food professionally for almost two decades, and has been testing kitchen equipment for Serious Eats since 2022. 
• For this story, Rochelle and her colleagues, Riddley Gemperlein-Schirm and Grace Kelly, curated a list of Serious Eats-approved gift items from our previous reviews and other fun stuff they love.