The culinary landscape is often a battleground between fleeting fads and genuinely impactful innovations.
While viral TikTok sensations, such as Polish strawberry pasta and peculiar dry yogurt videos, capture momentary attention, other emerging flavours and nutritional insights hold the potential to truly reshape our mealtimes.
We explore the food trends poised to transform how we eat in 2026.
Health(ier) snacks
A packet of crisps and a chocolate bar just don’t quite do the trick anymore it seems. Neither does a simple apple, eaten while you run for the bus. Instead, we now want more from our snack options (especially when the price of them has become so extortionate): more protein, more fibre, more nutrients in general, and definitely less sugar and salt. However, just because something says it’s healthier, doesn’t necessarily mean it is, and snacks – even the so-called good-for-you ones – can be highly ultra-processed. So whether you’re opting for ‘protein-packed lentil cakes’ or ‘chocolate salted caramel vitamin bars’, always read the label and look out for anything that sounds more like a chemical than a real food ingredient. This is paramount if you’re like the 57% of people surveyed as part of Waitrose’s Food & Drink Trend Report 2025-2026 who said they’ll sometimes skip dinner and load up a plate with snacks instead.
Fibre vs protein
We’re all meant to eat around 30g of fibre a day, but most of us only manage about 20g, which is worrying when fibre is vital for helping to ward off heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and bowel cancer, according to the NHS. ‘Fibremaxxing’ on TikTok, which focuses on hitting and even exceeding the 30g target, has kickstarted a trend that is set to continue into next year. Fibre is going to have a running mate when it comes to which core food group to focus on though. As showcased in our ongoing penchant for high-protein snacks, many of us will be going big on protein in general (Joe Wicks’ new cookbook, Protein in 15, has hit the trend bang on). That doesn’t mean it’ll be steak for dinner every night, apparently pork (cheaper, leaner) is on the up in terms of popularity, as is tempeh. Made from compressed soybeans, tempeh is great stir-fried with a punchy dressing, or crisped up in the air fryer.
Global tastes
Everyone likes to be able to say, ‘Oh yeah, I ate that in XXX exotic place, three years ago,’ implying just how ahead of the curve they are. So ideally you’ll have visited Mexico, Korea, Malaysia or Brazil in recent years, and can rave about all the culinary tips you picked up while there. We are all going to be lapping up the fruity/spicy (‘fricy’) flavours of Mexican cuisine, particularly the tangy condiment chamoy, as well as ssamjang from Korea, which is more savoury and spicy than fruity. New to Malaysian cooking? Start with a rendang curry and then dip into A Day in Penang: A Malaysian Cookbook by Aim Aris and Ahmad Salim (out in March). For a taste of Brazil, find yourself a Brazilian barbecue or steakhouse joint, like Preto and order the picanha cut, and traditional black bean stew, feijoada.
The freezer and storecupboard will be king
Instead of running to Tesco Express on a Saturday morning, people are turning to their freezers for pretty much everything, from the usual ice cream to croissants and chopped garlic. In fact, we’re generally getting more prepared than ever to avoid splurging at the cornershop, or in moments when we’re convinced there’s nothing in the house to eat. Now, there almost always is, and if we haven’t batch cooked and meal prepped ourselves into a state of food serenity, we will have beautifully packaged farm shop items (yes, everyone is going to continue being obsessed with sardines in wallpaper worthy boxes), frozen chopped veg and storecupboard essentials on hand, as well as the skills to make a fridge raid meal in under 30 minutes (thank you Instagram). Pot noodle suppers are no longer the one.
Going bitter
The Italians have long valued bitter flavours, from astringent leafy greens to olives and of course, Negronis, and it appears we will finally catch up this year. Negronis are having a real moment, but if you want to broaden your bitter palate further, investigate the veg aisle. Artichokes, radicchio, watercress and even the humble Brussels sprout all lean towards the bitter (not twisted) end of things.
Beans in everything
Pick up any cookbook at the moment and you’ll likely notice that beans – not the Heinz version – and legumes are in practically everything. Soups, stews, risottos, mashed in place of potatoes, chucked in salads, crisped up the oven to snack on instead of crisps, from haricot to butter beans, chickpeas to black beans – beans are seriously in vogue. Partly, we can put this down to the Bold Bean Co selling plump, delicious versions in jars, but also, they’re super-affordable, speedy to cook and incredibly versatile. Oh, and they’re packed with protein, fibre and are brilliant for gut health – another food focus that is going absolutely nowhere.
