Beefy Valentine's Day Pizza

Valentine's Day food is fun!

This easy, heart shaped pizza is delicious with a homemade sweet crust and beefy toppings.

This post is sponsored by the Iowa Beef Council.

Let's all just agree that homemade pizza is a MUST in all our lives, correct?

I've been making it for years and I've tested and tried about every single homemade pizza dough out there - and let it be said I'm not one to turn down a store bought crust and call it good either. There are so many great recipes out there, plus brands have really amped up their store bought game.

Let's just say pizza makes a weekly appearance in our house.

This month the Iowa Beef Council and I wanted to showcase a simple, easy homemade pizza for the one big romantic holiday of the year.

Why you ask?

Well, it's been a year. So many of us are making more meals at home and even more of us are getting the kids involved. It is still nice to get out to a restaurant, but this year for Valentine's Day, many are staying home. Why not get a tad bit more creative and create this Beefy Heart Shaped Pizza?

It really is simple and only requires a few more minutes of your time.

Whether single and hoping for love, empty nesters or a busy young couple with kids hanging on your hips - this pizza recipe is fun!

Also, I kept the toppings fairly simple on this one with cooked ground beef {go here for a ton of beef recipes and tips} and a little crushed red pepper flakes for spice. Ground beef is an easy and affordable go to topping for pizza - one that most everyone loves and it's also a great way to get some extra protein in those little ones.

My pizza crust recipe comes together {with rising time} in just an hour {although I often leave mine on the counter for the day until dinner arrives}. It's a tad sweet, hearty and creates a delicious thicker style crust.

This pizza crust recipe also makes TWO good sized pizzas. Feel free to make both {one for the kids, one for the adults, perhaps?} or save the other half of dough for later in the week, covered in the fridge. It can also be frozen!

When it's time to make that special heart shaped pizza - take your time. Gently start it in a heart shape and with your fingers gently start pushing outward {you can also use a rolling pin}. Once you have a big heart shape, start pinching and crimping the edges of the dough {just like you would for a pie crust}. 

This will create a raised crust on the edges and will help keep all your toppings inside!

If you have a baking steel, feel free to bake your pizza on that {it will give it a super crispy crust}. I personally don't have one yet {enter tears} so I bake my pizzas on a piece of parchment paper directly on the oven rack.

It also creates a nice, crispy crust!

Oh, and don't forget to oil up that crust with seasonings before baking...it gives the pizza great flavor! The combo of the sweet crust, sauce, crumbled beef, cheese and seasonings makes this a super delicious homemade pizza!

And look - the heart shaped dough holds up well in the hot oven and comes out a perfect little heart when done.

Perfect for your sweetie!

This Beefy Valentine's Day Pizza easily feeds four - OR - two big, hearty eaters.

If you've never tried your hand at homemade pizza dough, here is your chance. I promise it will not overwhelm you. In fact, you'll be bookmarking this one for years to come!

Please tag both me {@sweetsavoryeats} and the Iowa Beef Council {@iowabeefcouncil} on social media so we can see your creations! We'll be sure to share.

A big thanks to the Iowa Beef Council for sponsoring this post.

Yield: 4

Author: Ally

Beefy Valentine's Day Pizza

Such a fun way to show love with pizza! A sweet, crispy seasoned crust is topped with sauce, ground beef, spices and cheese. Simple directions show how to make it into a cute heart.

Prep time: 1 H & 5 MCook time: 15 MinTotal time: 1 H & 20 M

Ingredients

Crust Ingredients

• 1 cup warm water
• 1 1/2 t yeast
• 1 1/2 t salt
• 1 T sugar
• 2 T oil
• 2 T butter, softened
• 3 1/4 cup flour

Pizza Toppings

• 1/2 cup pizza or marinara sauce
• 1 t red pepper flakes
• 3/4 cup ground beef, cooked and crumbled
• 1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
• 1 T olive oil
• 1/2 t garlic salt
• 1/2 t Italian seasoning

Instructions

1. In a large bowl pour in the warm water and yeast, stir to combine.
2. Whisk in the butter, salt, sugar and oil. Let it sit for 5 minutes.
3. Mix in 2 cups of the flour and stir to combine.
4. Add in the remaining flour to form the dough. Remove the dough from the bowl and knead with your hands until you have a smooth ball (about 5 minutes).
5. Spray the bowl with cooking spray and place the dough back into the bowl and cover with a lid or plastic wrap. Let the dough rise for at least 60 minutes (you can let it go much longer - up to 5-6 hours).
6. When ready to assemble the pizza, preheat the oven to 475 degrees.
7. Cut a piece of parchment paper to fit the size of the pizza, spray lightly with cooking spray and set aside.
8. Remove the pizza dough from the bowl and cut it into half (this dough will make two pizzas - you can place the other half in the fridge for up to 7 days or freeze it if not using right away).
9. Gently roll the dough into a ball and form the dough into a heart (see photo above in the post) and place on the greased parchment paper. From here very carefully start pressing the dough out with your fingers or push the dough out on each side of the heart with a rolling pin. Take your time to keep the heart shape.
10. Once you have a large heart shaped pizza, crimp the edges of the dough (like you would a pie crust) so that it makes a nice thick, crimped edged crust. This will also allow the ingredients to stay inside the heart.
11. Brush the crimped edges with olive oil and season with the garlic salt and Italian seasoning.
12. Continue to assemble the pizza - sauce, red pepper flakes, beef, cheese and beef.
13. To bake place the parchment paper on a baking sheet and use it to slide the pizza into the oven (so the pizza is baking directly on the parchment on the oven rack). Bake for 10-15 minutes or until golden and bubbly.
14. Serve warm with additional pizza sauce for dipping.

Calories

721.78

Fat (grams)

44.63

Sat. Fat (grams)

18.04

Carbs (grams)

45.38

Fiber (grams)

3.78

Net carbs

41.60

Sugar (grams)

9.30

Protein (grams)

34.94

Sodium (milligrams)

2243.63

Cholesterol (grams)

106.23

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @sweetsavoryeats on instagram and hashtag it #heartshapedpizza

Created using The Recipes Generator