The Best Viral Food Trends Of 2025 (So Far)

With the rise of Instagram and TikTok through the years, people have turned less to cooking shows and cookbooks and more toward the internet to search for good recipes. Beyond just something that tastes great, viral recipes often have an element of uniqueness that sets them apart from the standard weeknight dinner or party appetizer ideas. And they're almost always visually appealing, too.

Whether it's nachos inspired by a charcuterie board or a viral chocolate recipe out of Dubai going global, the internet is the place for recipes to take flight. "Viral" means something different to everyone and ultimately depends on the platform its shared on and how quickly it gets noticed. But it's generally any video that gets tons of views and inspires other variations and recreations. It often generates buzz in its comment section (occasionally both good and bad) and sticks around on the internet over days, weeks, or even longer.

The fad was initially started by TikTok recipe creator Stella Drivas of Hungry Happens, and she used just two ingredients: thinly sliced onions and Parmesan cheese (though she stresses that you should add any preferred seasonings you want). The chips are oven-baked, and the original recipe received more than 1.1 million likes and led to a massive trend of pairing just about anything with Parmesan to create a chip. Crispy pepperoni pizza chips and chili oil onion chips were just a couple of variations that went viral on their own.

This has arguably been the biggest trend of the year — one bite of any sweet treat made in this style, and you'll see why. The viral concept is simple: pistachio, chocolate, and shredded phyllo dough all come together in one mouthwatering dessert. The original creation was born at Fix Dessert Shop in Dubai, and it's known officially as the Pistachio Kataifi Chocolate Bar. But this year, it was recreated by professional bakers and home cooks alike — a version even showed up in Costco.

Summer isn't usually the season of cozy foods, but in late summer 2025, the Trader Joe's dumpling bake sent the internet into a comfort-food frenzy. This is mostly because of how easy it is: Trader Joe's dumplings are baked in a casserole dish along with Thai red curry sauce, Trader Joe's Soyaki sauce, garlic, and a few garnishes like green onions, cilantro, and chili crunch. It's a low-effort dinner that can be made with other grocery store products, too, if you don't live near a Trader Joe's. Some people add coconut milk while others just use water, but that's up to you.

2025 has been the year of high protein. While there isn't one specific recipe responsible for the trend, the general idea of boosting dinners with a little extra protein has become more popular than ever, squeezing in ingredients like Greek yogurt and cottage cheese wherever possible. The trend seemed to pick up just after the new year, when people often revise their diets. "Despite the fact that many doctors and researchers feel that most Americans already get more than enough protein each day, many Americans are trying to find ways to consume even more protein," said NPR host Brittany Luse after the trend exploded. "Now, protein's being advertised on pancake mix and candy bars and on ice cream pints."

Sticking with the protein theme, cottage cheese continues to make waves in viral food trends. While cottage cheese first went viral back in 2023, it hasn't slowed down. Easy breakfast recipes, cottage cheese-based dips, and cottage cheese pizza crust became popular throughout this year. Plus, a cottage cheese queso recipe became a popular one to remake over the summer. 

Charcuterie nachos had a moment in spring 2025, when the internet discovered that you could use a blend of savory ingredients like brie and prosciutto, plus sweet ingredients like fig jam, and spread them over potato chips for a quick and easy snack. They can be baked or eaten as-is, and it's essentially a simple way to make a boring charcuterie board more interesting.

It's not just any sandwich from the Hamptons, Long Island's most elite vacation spot. More specifically, the viral Hamptons sandwich is the three-ingredient breakfast option from Sagaponack General Store and is only made with eggs and cheese on a house-made biscuit. You can add ham if you want. "The breakfast biscuit sandwiches are definitely capturing the hearts and bellies of Sagaponack," owner Mindy Gray told Food & Wine. However, the sandwich made rounds all over TikTok and Instagram, proving its audience stretched much further than the tiny Long Island town.

Fried ice cream isn't unheard of — it's been a delicacy for years in Mexican-American cooking. But what if, at the center of that fried ice cream, was a slice of French toast? This hack went viral on Instagram after a user named Lorafied posted a video dipping brioche bread into melted ice cream. She then fried it in butter, which helped caramelize the ice cream "right into the bread," and the result was perfect piece of French toast in just two ingredients. It's no surprise this one took the internet by storm because of how sweet and easy it was.

Tomatoes are big in the summertime, and bright red heirloom tomatoes quickly went viral back in early summer when the "tomato flight" made its rounds. The idea is simple: use thick tomato slices as a base, then top each slice with different-themed toppings. Maybe one has burrata and balsamic glaze, and maybe another has hot honey, prosciutto, and chili flakes. The idea is to make a meal with various flavors that all complement a juicy tomato.

If you need an easy dessert that looks just as good as it tastes, TikTok user bonappeteach shared a lemon posset recipe in spring 2025 that wound up being recreated all over social media. All you need is lemon juice, heavy cream, and granulated sugar. "This recipe requires these exact 3 ingredients to work. They interact and cause a chemical reaction to get the end result," the video's caption read. It's likely a trifecta of the dessert's ease, taste, and appearance that resonated with viewers.