2020 Cloud bread Cloud bread is a light, fluffy low-carb bread substitute made from egg whites, corn starch, and sugar. Cloud bread gained popularity on TikTok in July 2020, and user @linqanaaa is credited for bringing it to the platform. Although dalgona coffee originates from
Macau, it gained popularity in South Korea where it was named after
dalgona, a type of Korean candy.
Decorative focaccia bread The decorative focaccia bread trend, under the hashtag #focacciaart, emerged on TikTok in the spring of 2020.
Hot chocolate bombs Hot chocolate bombs (also known as cocoa bombs) are chocolate spheres filled with
hot chocolate mix and confections, such as
marshmallows. When placed in hot milk, the chocolate shell melts and releases its contents.
Mini pancake cereal Mini pancake cereal consists of miniature
pancakes served in a bowl, often drizzled with maple syrup and butter, to resemble traditional
breakfast cereal. Following its popularity, users developed variations of the dish using different foods, including cookies, donuts, and croissants. The dish gained popularity due to its simplicity and ease of preparation. A Finnish food blogger named Jenni Häyrinen (@liemessa on TikTok) first introduced the recipe in 2019, but it gained popularity on TikTok in February 2021. The trend became so widespread that it led to a temporary shortage of feta cheese in Finnish grocery stores.
Baked oats First popular in the spring of 2021, baked oats is a breakfast dish similar to traditional oatmeal, but it is baked instead of cooked on a stovetop. The recipe typically uses oat flour and can be customized with a variety of different flavors.
Chili oil eggs TikTok user Jen Curley (@snackqueen on TikTok) popularized a different, spicier approach to the TikTok viral "pesto egg" recipe. As opposed to using pesto, Curley uses
chili oil, giving the eggs a complex umami flavor.
Flamin' Hot Cheetos salad TikTok user @rxthism created a viral recipe by adding
Flamin' Hot Cheetos to a salad mix. The dish, which has garnered over 4.5 million views, consists of Flamin' Hot Cheetos, hot sauce, cilantro, cucumbers, and lemon juice. The dish reflects a broader food fad in September 2021 on TikTok where users incorporate
junk food into dishes. The origin of the trend is unclear, though
NBC News noted that
ASMR creators had previously consumed frozen honey in their YouTube videos due to the satisfying sound it produces.
Nature's cereal Nature's cereal is a trend on TikTok developed by user @natures_food in March 2021, where traditional cereal is replaced with fruit; and the milk is replaced with coconut water. Some users claim this cereal relieves constipation and boosts energy.
Pesto eggs Pesto eggs is a TikTok food trend involving the substitution of
pesto sauce for oil when cooking eggs on a stovetop. The technique is successful since pesto sauce already contains olive oil as a primary ingredient. Amy Wilichowsky (@amywilichowski on TikTok), a
dietitian and TikToker, shared a video of her cooking eggs using the technique on the social media platform on April 24, 2021, and is credited as the creator of the trend.
Pasta chips Pasta chips were created in June 2021 and are mostly eaten as a snack or appetizer. After cooking pasta in boiling water, the pasta is then added to an air fryer in order to produce a crispy texture. Pasta chips can be seasoned in a variety of different flavors.
2022 Cowboy caviar Cowboy caviar is a modern revival of Texas caviar, a Southern U.S. dish traditionally made with beans, corn, avocado, tomatoes, peppers, onions, and a dressing. The dish gained renewed popularity when user Bria Lemirande (@brialem on TikTok) posted a video of the recipe, receiving over 17 million views and 2.7 million likes. Variations of the dish have since emerged, incorporating ingredients like mangoes, peaches, and
pomegranate seeds.
Green goddess cabbage salad Created by Baked by Melissa (@bakedbymelissa on TikTok) in January 2022, green goddess cabbage salad is a variation of the traditional
green goddess dressing.
Snow cream @sugar_boogerz filmed themselves mixing snow with
condensed milk to make
snow cream, in December 2022. Other users shared recipes that mixed snow with milk, vanilla, and sugar, and in 2024
Reese Witherspoon made a "snow salt Chococinno" by pouring a salted caramel and chocolate sauce over freshly gathered snow.
Spicy pickled garlic TikTok user @lalaleluu introduced spicy pickled garlic as a trend in March 2022. This recipe consists of pickled garlic in a jar, sriracha, chili flakes, and thyme.
Water pie Water pie is a
Great Depression-era recipe for a pie with a filling made primarily from water, along with pantry staples like flour, sugar, and butter. The recipe went viral on TikTok in 2022, with some users experimenting with variations, including a version made with
Sprite.
2023 Cottage cheese In 2023, TikTok users popularized
cottage cheese as a key ingredient in making ice creams, cookie dough and other foods. This trend contributed to a 15.9% increase in cottage cheese sales of the product in the United States. By May 2024, stores in the United Kingdom reported a 22-30% increase in sales by May 2024, compared to the previous year.
Chopped Italian sandwich The chopped Italian sandwich, characterized by a mixture of chopped Italian
cold cuts, cheeses, vegetables, and seasonings, served on a sub roll, gained popularity in March 2023.
Cortisol cocktail A drink promoted for stress relief and to combat "adrenal fatigue" made from fruit juice, coconut water, and electrolytes.
Girl dinner Girl dinner is a TikTok trend that emerged in May 2023. It was popularized by Olivia Maher (@liviemaher on TikTok) after she prepared a meal of incongruent foods all on a single plate.
Cosmopolitan magazine called it the "epitome of
antipasti". The trend has been described as a simple, minimalist meal that may not meet
nutritional requirements, and usually consists of assorted dips, cheeses, meats, fruits, and vegetables that may not typically
pair well together.
Lasagna soup Popularized by Danny Freeman (@dannylovespasta on TikTok), lasagna soup is essentially a deconstructed version of the classic
lasagna. The recipe consists of the typical ingredients one would find in a lasagna, such as ground beef, onions and tomatoes.
Tini's mac and cheese recipe Tineke Younger's (@tinekeyounger on TikTok)
mac and cheese went viral, garnering over 60 million views. however Younger's recipe calls for a "surprise ingredient" of
Carnation evaporated milk.
WaterTok WaterTok is a TikTok trend which started in April 2023 that involves making and sharing combinations of calorie-free
drink mixes to add to water to make drinks. Many WaterTok drinks on the platform are promoted by their creators as a method to lose weight. The trend has been criticised for promoting behavior that is often associated with
eating disorders such as extreme calorie restriction and drinking large quantities of water to reduce the feeling of hunger.
2024 Cucumber salad Popularized by Logan Moffitt (user @logagm on TikTok), cucumber salad is an Asian-inspired dish in which a cut-up cucumber can be seasoned in a multitude of different ways. The original and most popular method is a copycat recipe of a popular appetizer from
Din Tai Fung, a restaurant that specializes in Chinese cuisine.
Dubai chocolate A style of
chocolate bar filled with
kadayif (chopped
filo pastry) and a
pistachio-
tahini cream, invented by a Dubai engineer in 2021, was launched as a product in 2022 and went viral on TikTok in 2024, going on to be imitated by vendors worldwide.
Chamoy pickle This dish is a whole
dill pickle drizzled with the Mexican spiced
chamoy sauce, then sprinkled with sweet and
sour candy powders and
tajín spice mix. The pickle is then wrapped in a
fruit roll up and stuffed with
Takis-brand tortilla chips.
Honey packet In late 2024, a TikTok trend popularized showcased college students consuming honey packets before engaging in
sexual activity. In spite of the
FDA advisory against consuming the honey packets, the trend continued to grow among students due to the influence of social media and its ease of availability.
Tanghulu Tanghulu is both an
ASMR and food trend. This dessert is a traditional Chinese street food that has gone viral and captured the attention of social media users. Any kind of fruit can be used, including pineapple, grapes, strawberries, and kiwi. It is described as having a sweet, juicy, fruity interior inside of a candied shell. It can be made by boiling water and sugar on the stove which makes the outside harden around the fruit when it cools. ASMR stands for Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response, which is a sensory phenomenon where individuals can experience a tingling, static-like sensation, often accompanied by feelings of relaxation and well-being, triggered by specific auditory or visual stimuli.
A whole onion This trend features a whole onion that must be slightly hollowed out so that it can be stuffed with butter and spices. It is then slow roasted, which brings out the natural sweet and tenderness of the onion. It can be paired with grilled meats or other roasted vegetable.
Food flights Food flights became a very popular trend in 2024. They began with baked potatoes and later moved onto eggs, mac & cheese, fries, and even steak. All of these foods get different toppings that serve as their own mini entrees. The toppings can include a variety of different sauces, cheeses vegetables, and seasonings. == Impact ==