The top TikTok food trends of 2022 that boosted grocery sales

Even though feta pasta might not still be popping up on your TikTok FYP, recipes from the social media app continue making their way into consumers’ kitchens.

#FoodTok is a popular hashtag on TikTok, encompassing everyone from moms making quick kid-friendly dinners, to professional chefs, to creators exploring hidden restaurant gems. Last year, recipes such as nature’s cereal and salmon rice bowls made for popular videos, with their virality reflected in grocery orders placed with Instacart. This year, everything from desserts to salads caught customers’ eyes, while butter boards, cheesy ramen, and pasta chips, though viral, did not make it to shoppers’ Instacart baskets.

A staggering 83% of Americans view food and recipe content on social media platforms, with 61% of them viewing this content weekly or more often, according to an Instacart survey among more than 2,000 U.S. adults conducted online by The Harris Poll. 

5. Grinder sandwich

Some recipes had a bit of a lag between their TikTok pop and grocery orders. Nonetheless, the grinder sandwich showed up on several food creators’ pages. The original video was posted in late March by Gray Fultz, detailing an impressive sandwich her boyfriend made that had six types of meat, three layers of cheese and a necessary slaw. The video got 884,000 views. Then two creators, Jen Curley and New York Nas, did their versions of the grinder within a week of each other, and ingredient orders peaked in mid-May.

4. Coconut cloud smoothie

California grocery store chain Erewhon has a cult following, especially around its eye-catching, though expensive, drinks. TikTok fans took a liking to a smoothie made in partnership with Marianna Hewitt, an influencer and the co-founder of skincare line Summer Fridays. Her Erewhon coconut cloud smoothie is blue due to the spirulina powder. Hewitt’s original video was posted in early March, getting 330,000 views. And in April, creator Lydia Keating made her own version at home, getting 828,000 views. Orders for almond milk, coconut cream, spirulina and other ingredients hit their peak in mid-May, possibly due to warmer weather and consumers looking for healthier options heading into the summer.

3. Biscoff Tiramisu

This recipe came from Lena, known as Dolce Bakes on social media, who was a contestant on HBO Max’s baking competition show “Baketopia.” It went viral with over 5 million views in late March due to an easy ingredient swap. Instead of traditional ladyfingers soaked in coffee, Dolce Bakes used Biscoff cookies. The ingredients were most-ordered about a week later, coinciding with customers possibly looking for a sweet treat for Ramadan and Easter.

2. Negroni sbagliato with Prosecco

There are now probably a lot of bar carts with a bottle of Campari on them thanks to a viral TikTok clip from an interview between “House of the Dragon” co-stars Emma D’Arcy and Olivia Cooke. Cooke asks D’Arcy their favorite drink, to which D’Arcy replies a negroni sbagliato with Prosecco. The interview posted on Oct. 1 has over 32 million views. Orders for the cocktail ingredients peaked two weeks later on Instacart.

1. Green goddess salad

This recipe was the creation of Melissa Ben-Ishay, the owner of mini-cupcake company Baked By Melissa. The herby, vegan salad best enjoyed with tortilla chips has racked up over 22 million views. Even though Ben-Ishay made the video in late Sept. 2021, the recipe had a resurgence at the start of this year following videos by Angela Eats and The Salad Lab. According to Instacart data, orders for the salad ingredients peaked in late Jan. 2022.