By Rachel King
With the rise of social media in recent years has come the emergence of tens of thousands of food bloggers, food vloggers and the increasingly popular “foodstagrammers.” With meals now being something to document rather than something to sustain us, the demand for visually appealing food has become more prominent than ever over the past 10 years, and it doesn’t seem to be stopping anytime soon. Pair this fad with the health kick many have openly embraced since the decade began and you have a comprehensive look into the aesthetic and nutritious food trends of the 2010s. For a trip down memory lane, check out this list of food trends you either missed or have grown to miss from 2010 until now.
Cake Pops
I bet you forgot about these because I sure did. Cake pops came about early on in the decade when someone discovered how to make cake portable and easy to eat. How could we ever go back? Yet somehow, we did.
Gluten-Free Everything
Gluten-free pizza, gluten-free cookies, gluten-free cupcakes — would you ever have dreamt it? Then came the gluten-free era with creative bread substitutes such as cauliflower and quinoa. As great of alternatives these are for those who can’t eat gluten, I’ll stick to my regular gluten-filled chocolate chip cookies.
Latte Art
This one is pretty self-explanatory, but I just needed an excuse to use this photo.
Cronuts
When this trend was revealed, it was a little shocking at first. A croissant and doughnut in one? It can’t be. However, no one could resist its flaky layers, and it’s still around today, making an appearance every now and then at well-known doughnut shops.
Charcoal
Charcoal has no real reason for becoming a food trend other than it graces every food it’s in with a gorgeous black hue. While one might think that would be unappetizing, it actually has the opposite effect. Glistening charcoal ice cream sounds like it sure does hit the spot.
Vegan
Growing concerns over global climate change has the masses turning to a diet with meat alternatives: veganism. This is not a new diet, but recently, it has become a full-fledged movement, bringing about entirely meat-free restaurants and more dairy substitutes than you could ever imagine. Who knew vegetables could be so trendy?
Anything but Milk
Almond milk, soy milk, oat milk — you name it, they’re all in. Gone are the days when people asked for milk or half and half with their coffee. It’s all about the dairy-free alternatives. Do coffee shops even carry milk anymore?
Acai Bowls
Acai bowls would never have become such a craze without the help of Instagram, and that was before anyone even knew what acai was. Toppings became more complex as the years passed, evolving from almond butter to cacao nibs to pollen, completing the aesthetically pleasing fruit arrangement that we grew to love.
Fried Chicken Sandwiches
Fried chicken sandwiches have been around for a long time, but in 2015, their popularity skyrocketed. It became trendy to eat fried chicken in between two fresh buns for any meal and any restaurant, from fast food to gourmet. Then in 2019, Popeye’s debuted its chicken sandwich, reviving the movement and reminding us how delicious chicken sandwiches really are.
Hard Seltzer
Ten years ago, you would’ve seen groups of young people at the bars with beers in their hands. Now, you’ll have a hard time finding them with anything other than hard seltzer. From White Claws to Trulys to Twisted Teas, these carbonated low-calorie drinks are the Holy Grail for millennials.
Impossible Burgers
Last but not least, we have the impossible burger. The impossible burger comes in many forms, from actual burgers to breakfast sandwiches, and the varieties keep growing every day as eateries start catching on to the profitable trend. I have yet to try one, but I hear they’re impossibly meaty…
The list goes on and on, but if I covered every single trend, we’d be here all week. So I hope you enjoyed this condensed list of food trends from the decade, and I’m excited to see what outlandish fads the 2020s will bring us.
The Spread 