6 Non-Basic Valentine’s Day Gifts for 2025

Listen: We love chocolate. If you want to give one of the country’s best chocolates or our favorite chocolate gifts for Valentine’s Day this year, go right ahead.

But sometimes, it’s good to be a little more memorable. Candy and flowers for Valentine’s Day can be boring, so we found some other options instead. If you’re looking for a romantic gift for a serious food lover, try these unique alternatives.

Yes, a big box of beans can be sexy! Rancho Gordo founder Steve Sando has attracted a huge online following thanks to his collection of rare and delicious bean varieties. (Rancho Gordo’s Bean Club has a years-long waitlist.) The 20 Big Ones set is exactly what it says in the name — a huge box packed with 20 one-pound packages of Rancho Gordo’s finest. You’ll get big Lima beans, tiny white beans, chickpeas for homemade hummus, and lots more. If you don’t think one bean is any different from another, Rancho Gordo will set you straight, and this collection will last for months.

A delivery of roses at work might impress your sweetheart’s coworkers, but a delivery of mini-donuts dipped in chocolate and tied up in tissue paper will impress them more. The treats are dipped in white, milk, or dark chocolate and then decorated with pink and white drizzle and heart-shaped sprinkles. They’re adorable, and the masters of delivery at Harry & David ensure they’ll arrive in perfect condition. (We also recommend Cheryl’s Cookie Flowers for another fun bouquet of sweets.)

What could be a fancier Valentine’s Day meal than full caviar service followed by French macarons? This package from the luxury food experts at Marky’s includes an ounce of Siberian sturgeon caviar — with a mother-of-pearl spoon, a package of crème fraîche, and heart-shaped blini for serving — plus six assorted macarons. It all comes in a canvas tote bag you can bring to the park for alfresco or to your sweetheart’s place for dinner in.

Nobody expects a bouquet of cured meats for Valentine’s Day, and that’s why this is the perfect choice for anybody who loves savory snacks. Oregon’s Olympia Provisions makes seriously old-school salamis, using only salt and natural fermentation to cure the meat. The bouquet comes with a half-dozen 4.5-ounce salami sticks, each flavored with a set of spices inspired by a different region, from New Orleans to Greece. (There’s also a three-stem version if you just want to dip your feet into pork bouquets.)

Le Creuset makes the best enameled cast iron skillet and one of our favorite Dutch ovens; it’s been a favorite for decades, and many cooks have a prized collection of the brand’s gear. Well, this is the romantic edition, available in assorted pink and red hues. The heart cocotte is built the same way as other Le Creuset enameled cast iron pots and pans, and the 1.25-quart size makes it useful for baking a two-person dinner or as a small saucepan or sauté pan. If you want to add a little Le Creuset gift to something else, there’s also the cute heart knob you can use to replace the standard version on any lid.

From its Advent calendar to its gift tin, Bonne Maman has many cute packages of mini–jam jars to choose from. For Valentine’s, its Love Notes set includes a week’s worth of breakfast toast (six jam flavors) plus 10 custom note cards. You can write a message on the first one, then wait for your sweetie to respond over toast.