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This beautiful Valentine’s Day candy board is inspired by the holiday of love. Gather all the pink, red, and white sweets (seasonal or otherwise!) and make this stunning dessert for your loved ones. Friends, family, or partner, they’ll be struck by Cupid’s arrow as soon as they see it!

For other Valentine’s ideas, check out my Bacon Rose Bouquet Board, Galentine’s Day Dessert Board, Valentine’s Day Fruit Ideas, and Cheese and Chocolate Pairings Board.

Plus, take a peek at my other Candy and Dessert Board ideas for more inspiration!

Valentine’s Dessert Charcuterie Ingredients

Red

• Red Gummy Hearts
• Lip Gummies
• Raspberry Fruit Snacks
• Red licorice pinwheels
• Strawberries & Cream Licorice

Pink

• Pink and White Skull Gummies
• Pink M&Ms
• Ghirardelli Valentine Squares
• Pink Lindt Chocolates
• XO Gummies
• Strawberry Rocks

White

• White M&Ms
• Yogurt Pretzels
• Champagne Gummy Bears

Chocolate

• LOVE Chocolate Bar
• Heart Sprinkle Chocolate Bars
• Chocolate Sprinkle Heart Candies
• Chocolate-Covered Sprinkle Pretzels
• Salted caramel chocolates

Cookies & Snacks

• Heart Cookies
• Pink-filled Oreos
• Sprinkle Cookies
• Popcorn

Note: As always, I encourage you to make this board your own! Feel free to swap out any flavors or textures you don’t like and/or swap in some low-sugar or sugar-free options! 

When it comes to dietary restrictions, there are plenty of gluten-free, nut-free, and dairy-free cookies and chocolates to choose from! Just remember: no matter what you choose to add, shop with the color scheme and heart-shaped theme in mind!

VIDEO: How To Make A Galentine’s Day Candy Charcuterie Board

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A post shared by Ain’t Too Proud To Meg (@ainttooproudtomeg)

Best Candy for Valentine’s Day

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again! Any candy can be Valentine’s-themed if it falls within the holiday color scheme and/or uses holiday imagery. If it’s pink, white, red, heart-shaped, or rose-shaped, then you’ve got yourself a Valentine’s-ready candy! 

I love shopping at local candy stores and indie candy companies like Sockerbit, Nuts.com, and Dylan’s Candy Bar, but if you’re more of a grocery store shopper, find these in the seasonal aisle:

• Hershey’s Meltaway Kisses
• Hershey’s Pink Cookies ‘n Creme Hearts
• Whitman’s Sampler
• KitKat Bears
• Nerds Valentine’s Gummy Clusters
• Strawberries & Cream M&M’s
• Brach’s Jelly Hearts

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Assemble Your Valentine’s Dessert Board

• Add the popcorn, gummy hearts, raspberry fruit snacks, and XO gummies to small bowls and arrange in the center of the board to anchor it.
• Fan the Oreos around one bowl, then arrange the yogurt pretzels, pink M&Ms, Lindt truffles, white M&Ms, gummy bears, strawberry rocks, and strawberries & cream licorice between the bowls, being careful to separate similar colors. 
• Then arrange the licorice pinwheels, Ghirardelli squares, candy skulls, chocolate heart cookies, sprinkle cookies, salted caramel chocolates, chocolate-covered pretzels, lip gummies, and sprinkle chocolate bars in a uniform pattern along the edge of the board or in a triangular pattern (points toward the center), being sure to separate similar colors.
• Fill in any hole with smaller candies.

Valentine’s Day Dessert Inspiration From Around The World

While Valentine’s Day isn’t celebrated everywhere, it’s not only an American holiday, though Hallmark has certainly cornered the market. 

The origin of the holiday is somewhat murky: some say it’s based on the Roman festival Lupercalia, which was held in mid-February to celebrate the coming of spring, some say it’s based on a long-ago martyred priest who signed a letter “from your Valentine,” and others say it’s so named for Saint Valentine who secretly married couples to help them escape war.

Regardless, who doesn’t love to celebrate love? Elevate your Valentine’s dessert charcuterie board with some international inspiration! Try incorporating:

• French macarons

• Cherries: While Valentine’s Day itself is not celebrated in The Czech Republic, their version of the holiday happens on May 1st and involves kissing under a cherry blossom tree.
• Ginger snaps or gingerbread cookies: In Germany, lovers exchange heart-shaped and/or decorated gingerbread cookies
• Italian Baci chocolates (Baci means “kisses” in English!)
• Belgian liege waffles
• Chocolate: I know, chocolate isn’t a revolutionary concept for Valentine’s Day, but in Japan, it’s less about the chocolate itself and more about how it’s given. There are two categories: honmei choco (“true love chocolate”), which is the fancier stuff like handmade truffles, and giri choco (“obligatory chocolate” for friends and family), which is the more pedestrian kind like what you’ll find drug store.

Valentine’s Day Beverage Pairing

It can be tricky to pair drinks with a candy board, but, generally speaking, you want to counter the sweetness with something dry, like sparkling wine or Champagne, or something tart! Anything more specific will depend on your candy preferences. 

For Chocolate-Forward Boards

• Wine
  • Milk chocolate: Pinot Noir
  • Dark chocolate: Cabernet sauvignon
  • White chocolate: Chardonnay or sparkling wine
  • Chocolate-peanut butter: Merlot 
• Espresso Martini
• Old Fashioned
• Spiked Hot Chocolate 

For Candy-Forward Boards

• Whiskey Sour (And other sour cocktails!)
• Dry sparkling wine or rosé
• Chardonnay
• Vodka martini with a twist
• Moscow Mule

Show Me Your Valentine’s Day Dessert Charcuterie

I hope this post inspires you to create a Valentine’s Day candy spread. Nothing makes me happier than seeing the beautiful boards you create from my tips. If you make something inspired by this post, please tag me at @ainttooproudtomeg and use #AintTooProudToSweet so I can see and share! 

And, If you liked this recipe, please rate and review.

What Board Did You Use Here?

This board is 19in, found HERE (make sure you select the large option) and HERE.