By Emily Saladino for Food Network Kitchen

Emily Saladino is a culinary editor at Food Network.

Like anything you read on the internet, trend predictions can be based on data analyses and dedicated reporting, or the whims of someone with spare time and a reliable wifi signal. At Food Network, we take trends seriously. Our team spends months studying digital analytics, exploring trade shows, cultivating social communities and more to determine which ingredients, appliances, drinks and culinary conversations will have major impacts in the coming year. We’re obsessed with learning about what people are buying and why. We’re curious about which ingredients, flavors and techniques will not only capture but also keep the attention of busy cooks.

So, what will everyone be eating, drinking, cooking and talking about next year? Here are ten food trends to watch in 2024.

Remixed French Pastries Are Little Luxuries We Crave

Bakers and recipe creators are reimagining classic French desserts, from TikTok’s viral upside-down puff pastries to The New York Times’ 2023 assertion that “We Will Never Reach Peak Croissant.” For many people, next-generation French desserts are little luxuries that feel simultaneously fresh and familiar. They’re the latest in a long line of trending sweets with modern twists: forebears include the early aughts’ cupcakes craze, the 2013 invention of the Cronut and the babka renaissance of the mid-2010s. In 2024, expect to see clever French confections continue to evolve at bakeries like Lysée, which serves up ice cream sandwiches (pictured) on kouign amann pastry, and on social media. Get a taste of the sweet life’s newest wave with our recipe for Shortcut Lemon-Rasberry Mille-Feuille.

Countertop Ovens Are the Appliance of the Year

Thanks to the air fryer, lots of us find countertop appliances easy to use — but we’re moving away from single-use devices and want something multipurpose and cool-looking to keep on our countertops. That’s why leading companies and DTC brands are introducing compact, multicooker ovens that can air fry, bake, roast, toast, broil, reheat and more, all for an average price of $200. Instagram-famous cookware brand Our Place debuted the Wonder Oven ($195), its first-ever appliance; Food Network reviewed Ninja’s 12-in-1 Double Oven ($350); and major brands like GE, Breville and Cuisinart all carry versions with bells and whistles like steam cooking, dual oven space or a built-in probe. Top-of-the-line “smart” models include the Brava ($1600) and June ($1200). All are poised for sustained growth in 2024: Food Network’s Senior Commerce Editor T.K. Brady reports that searches for “countertop ovens” on FoodNetwork.com are up 22% year-over-year. To read our honest reviews of multipurpose countertop appliances, check out the article, The 7 Best Air Fryer Toaster Ovens, Tested by Food Network Kitchen.

Frozen Food Gets a 21st-Century Upgrade

In one of The Packer’s Fresh Trends 2023 consumer surveys, 64% of people say they’re eating at home more frequently. What that looks like: the desire for good, healthy, affordable food that can be prepared quickly. Two-thirds of grocery shoppers say they want more heat-and-eat vegetables, side dishes and globally inspired choices; and a WGSN report reveals that Gen Z cooks in particular like to blend homemade and prepared foods. Frozen foods companies and major personalities are creating products to cater to demand: Heinz recently launched Homebake 425°/:30, which contains mix-and-match sides and mains; and Counter frozen foods was founded by former Walmart executives Jeff Ferrell and Benn Manning. “Now you can find frozen meals that are made with quality ingredients, eco-packaging and more,” says Kardea Brown, who debuted Delicious Eats by Kardea Brown in October 2023. (Guy Fieri also has a frozen foods line.) With more of us cooking at home, and many people back to commuting to full-time or hybrid offices, expect more brands and personalities to enter this space.

Plant-Based Protein Is Everywhere—Including the Snack Aisle

With plant-based and flexitarian eating on the rise, people are looking for ways to pack in protein, often without the carbs or meat. As of June 25, 2023, MyFitnessPal, the no.1 global nutrition and food tracking app, has seen a 70% increase in people logging cottage cheese year-over-year. (If you’re among them and looking for inspiration, check out our collection of the 21 Best Cottage Cheese Recipes.) Inventive, high-protein recipes abound on TikTok, where content creators love “protein oatmeal” with peanut butter powder. Plus, all sorts of products that are packed with protein are hitting retail shelves and DTC sites, including protein rice, protein ramen, watermelon seed protein powder, nut protein powders and Love + Chew Protein Cookies, which are made with upcycled oat-milk flour. Our plant-based, protein-rich recipes include Ree Drummond’s Peanut Butter Protein Bars , Katie Lee Biegel’s Pumpkin Protein Waffles and Damaris Phillips’ Berry Almond Energy Bites, among others.

Food and Gaming Collabs Level Up

Gaming is a $396 billion market, and a recent study showed that nearly two-thirds of mobile gamers worldwide order takeout food from quick-service restaurants. QSRs are making efforts to connect with this exponentially growing community: KFC teamed up with Blizzard Entertainment to offer players of Diablo IV exclusive in-game rewards with purchase of any KFC sandwich; Chipotle has integrations planned throughout 2023; DoorDash announced “Battle of the Brands” on Twitch; and many more, including Coca-Cola's League of Legends soda. In 2024, look for more food brands and personalities to create products, promotions and more geared at gaming communities.

White Chocolate Goes Gourmet

Often sniffed at as "not real chocolate" by those who prefer the bitterest of darks, the white chocolate market is predicted to grow by $9 billion or 5.03% CAGR through 2027. Bon Appetit recently compared Askinosie's white chocolate bar to "grown-up Hershey's cookies and cream," and a whole lot of people are looking to make white chocolate matcha cookies, according to Google Trends. Meanwhile, coffee and candy options include white-chocolate-flavored plant-based coffee creamers and white-chocolate-and-strawberry M&M’s. Embrace the sweet life at home with Molly Yeh’s five-star Pistachio White Chocolates recipe, Ina Garten’s similarly highly rated fruit-and-nut studded White Chocolate Bark or our latest, White Chocolate Peppermint Rugelach.

Third-Culture Cuisine Gets the Attention It Deserves

Maybe you call it fusion, or that word makes you cringe. Either way, culinary sensibilities that blend global and biographical influences and ingredients are changing the ways Americans think and talk about food. Hailed as the rebirth of New American food by Bon Appetit, third-culture cuisine celebrates the plurality of American identities. Look for it in cookbooks like Indian-ish, Learning Korean, Black Rican Vegan, Made in Taiwan, Kung Food and I am From Here; at restaurants like Kau Ba in Houston and C is for Charlie in New York City; and on TV, where, in 2023, 2 Girls Jamaican Tacos competed on season 16 of The Great Food Truck Race. Third-culture ideals are hitting supermarkets and DTC shopping carts, too. There's Malai, a Brooklyn-based ice cream brand that features South Asian ingredients; Paro’s Pakistani American meal kits inspired by its millennial founder’s mom’s recipes; plus, products from companies like Omsom, Sanzo and more.

Boba Goes Beyond the Glass

Taiwan-born milk tea — also known as boba or bubble tea — has long been popular throughout East and Southeast Asia, and enthusiasm for it has steadily climbed across the United States: Bloomberg recently reported that six major cities saw bubble tea shop openings grow by more than 60% from 2019-2022. These days, the flavors and textures of boba are all over the snack aisle. Jelly Belly and Tochi created boba-flavored candies, and Molly Bz, a gourmet cookie brand, introduced a strawberry-boba-flavored dessert at the summer 2023 Fancy Food Show in New York City. Overachievers and DIY types can also whip up their own boba for custom creations using our Homemade Brown Sugar Boba recipe.

Shoppers Want More From What They Buy

Deinfluencing, or social content creators who encourage people to buy fewer and more sustainable products, picked up steam at the beginning of 2023. As the year progressed, Vox encouraged us to learn how to buy less stuff, and 54% of those surveyed by appliance company Beko said that they prefer durable designs to passing kitchen trends. Quality and customization is key: our commerce editors note that shoppers are looking to create their own mix-and-match kitchen appliances rather than buying readymade sets, and brands speak to this trend by releasing products with universal finishes and replaceable, accessible tech. Trend forecaster WGSN predicts that Americans will increasingly shop for quality over quantity to reduce waste through 2025. Admittedly, shopping intentionally can be accompanied by an overwhelming amount of “best of” rankings and lists to navigate, but, as the year progresses, more of us are focusing on getting what we really need out of what we buy.

Parents Reshape Conversations About Food

For the 7 out of 10 American parents who reportedly worry about the effect of social media, editing apps and diet culture on their kids’ body images, there’s an emerging school of thought from experts like author Virginia Sole-Smith: stop calling certain foods “good” or “bad” or using food as a reward. Instead, allow all foods to be present in family diets and avoid discussing dieting or body weight in front of children. In keeping with millennial body positivity trends and reevaluating language, some argue to reclaim the word “fat” so kids don’t associate thinness with goodness. Bestselling cookbook author and Food Network contributor Toby Amidor, MS, RN, CDN, FAND stresses the need for a division of responsibility in the ways parents and caregivers talk about food with kids to discourage negative associations with fatness and promote body positivity. We expect these changing conversations to influence the ways brands market products to kids and families.

Sake Is the ‘It’ Drink

Japan’s ancient rice beverage has millennia of history and generations of craftsmanship and devoted drinkers. Interest and enthusiasm for sake are surging across the United States: Exports of sake tripled in the previous decade, with sales of nearly $80 million last year. Japan’s Dassai opened its first U.S. brewery in New York’s Hudson Valley in September 2023, two sake bars opened in Nashville and Americans are launching homegrown craft sake breweries. “It’s never been a better time to drink sake,” declared a 2023 Food & Wine headline, while The New York Times announced “Sake is booming in America.” To learn more about this ancient drink and how to buy bottles you’ll love, check out our guide, 5 Best Sake Picks, According to a Spirits Expert.

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