Beans, bar seats and bulk buying - inside the food trends of 2026

Forecasting trends is a dark art at the best of times; they are either based on the past, in the ‘everyone is eating this’ vein, or punted into the future via food industry R&D, hopeful PR planning or plain wishful thinking. Covid, various wars, and weather events have shown that nothing is ever certain and, actually, who the hell knows what 2026 will bring? However, we must prevail. By the time you read this, we’ll be working on the Easter print issues, so we’ve already needed to look ahead and try to second-guess what’s coming in terms of food trends/social media madness/exciting things.

We know there’s a World Cup next year and that America will celebrate 250 years of independence, so it’s likely the USA will shine brightly through food (I recommend you read Peach Street to Lobster Lane — Felicity’s eating tour of the US).

The Winter Olympics and Paralympics will be in Northern Italy, so that will be stylish and aperitvo adjacent. Perhaps The Flo will be the new labubu.

On the health front, it’s all about maxxing; last year’s protein is this year’s fibre, which is good news for eating more beans and legumes and veg in general. Pinterest are calling cabbage the cauliflower of 2026. I suspect the varied green colours have as much to do with the choice as the veg itself. Cue headlines referencing school dinners that no one in Gen Z or Alpha will understand. I asked Emma Hartfield, our health editor, for her take; her thoughts are below.

You get my drift. Here are some ‘in’ and ‘out’ food-based themes that we think will play out in 2026, whether they are a good or bad thing appears to be irrelevant to a trend, perhaps we should make a list of the horrors of the last few years. Anything that encourages food waste is at the top. For a tongue in cheek look back, I recommend penknife. Do let us know what you’d add to our list.

Food trends for 2026

In: Fresh spins on old favourites

Take any dish and reinvent it. Fusion is back, mash-ups are cool, budget and gourmet are bedfellows. I’ll have a hot honey fried catfish sub with aji dulce chillies, coleslaw and Kraft single slices from Good Hot Fish in Asheville, North Carolina (good tip from food forecasters The Food People).

In: American food

World Cup + 250 years of Independence = American food in depth. Think regional, nostalgia, and diaspora. Yes to Michigan bumpy cake (thanks to Anna Ansari for sending this link), ‘blue plate’ specials, hushpuppies, tacos, succotash and spoonbread. The football will also bring in Mexico and Canada, so add those to the rota. Frijoles con veneno (beans with ‘poison’, aka fat), pozole, peameal bacon and butter tarts are incoming. I am looking forward to the recipes coming through Substack. Please do recommend yours in the comments.

In: Made-to-order mindset

People want creative choices. Food spots that allow customers to choose their own main ingredients and sauces to personalise meals will suit both the rise in Gen Z (52 % YoY rise) made-to-order interest and those with dietary requirements. Win-win. Hello Farmer J.

In: Casual solo dining

You need to please only yourself in what you eat and drink (so refreshing not having to deal with group dietaries), so venues with seats at the bar or counter, tables for one or cozy nooks will be go-to hotspots. Good wifi is obligatory.

In: Bulk-buying on subscription to save £s

From online meat orders to drinks and snacks, ordering in bulk is on the rise, driven in part by the ease of doing so via social media shopping. From Bold Beans to Northern Pasta and Sea Sisters’ canned fish subscriptions, delivering good food made by disruptor companies at better value than the brand on-shelf pricing makes life easier.

In: Deconstructed dishes

Call it easy or lazy; dumpling wrapper laid flat to make a lasagne or layered in a bowl with the filling, or Polish cabbage rolls served unrolled in a soup with their filling bring all the same flavours in a quicker time frame; and puff pastry baked as sheets instead of rolled around filling is achievable for all (yes, skills are important, this is entry level and we need more cooks in this world). Home cooking relies on deliciousness and eatability first. Deconstruction delivers this.

In: Flavour first

Your choice of protein or carb is no longer the main hook for a recipe or meal choice. Korean fried chicken could just as well be tempeh-based, carbonara can be made with butter beans instead of pasta, and just about anything can be made ‘marry me’. Flavour is the most important thing as it drives the anticipation of a meal. The market is awash with flavour enhancers from Shedletskys pickle dust and Lucky Mi small-batch chilli crisp to Poon’s wind-dried Chinese bacon and Lamiri harissa, all bought and used with enthusiasm. Choose your flavourings with care and the rest of the meal will fall into line.

In: Plant protein

The Grocer reports that the conversation around ultra-processed food has had an effect on how people think of meat-free proteins and this has made way for plant-based ingredients with fewer ingredients to step (quite rightly) into the spotlight. Tofu and tempeh are having a moment; brands like Tofoo and Tibah with small ingredient lists are good value for money, and they can be used in many familiar and favourite recipes. Other ‘veggie’ meat brands like La Vie wear their ingredient lists on their sleeves, making a virtue out of what their lardons are made from.

Emma Hartfield, editor of @GoodHealthByGoodFood says, “There was huge interest in adding more protein into diets in 2025 but, while protein is important, most of us were already reaching our daily recommended amount with ease. There’s also been concern around the amount of ultra-processed protein (in the form of bars and powders) that is being consumed over more nutrient-rich options such as beans. Plant protein is likely to take over from processed protein next year.”

In: Loaded dishes

Take a budget base (nachos, fries, rice, chickpeas, baked potatoes or beans etc) and pile it high with different toppings. Layers of taste and texture allow creativity and flavour pairings all in one dish. For a hot dish, either use an air fryer or arrange everything on a parchment-lined oven tray. A salad will look good on a platter, and on the dessert front, smashed meringue or pastry shards make a good bottom layer.

In: Fibre

Good Health’s launch campaign in 2025 focused on fibre, which 96% of us aren’t eating enough of. Emma Hartfield says, “As fibre reduces your risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, stroke and bowel cancer, health experts are really promoting its benefits. From aiming for 30 plant foods a week to reducing the amount of UPFs you’re eating, there are easy and effective ways to reach your recommended 30g a day.”

In: Chicken

Absolutely everywhere. High end, low end, rotisseried (welcome Twirly Bird), hibachi’d, tandooried and grilled. You can’t move for chicken.

In: Status symbol packaging

Food packaging needs to look as good on the counter as the food tastes. From canned fish to olive oil, chocolates and chilli crisp, wrappers and bottles, designs need to spark emotions and bring joy. If it’s in a squeezy bottle, then apparently it’s even better (no, it isn’t).

In: Beans, pulses and legumes

Good for you, good for the planet and very budget-friendly. All-round heroes. If you only do one thing this year, eat more beans.

In: Not chocolate

You may have noticed the descriptions on chocolate bars slide from ‘chocolate’ to ‘chocolate flavour’ in 2025. Chocolate has become expensive (see Out: chocolate that isn’t ethically produced). This isn’t all bad because with scarcity comes innovation. These ‘chocolatey’ products don’t even need a cocoa bean to taste chocolatey; there are some real innovations in the tastes-just-like-it space. On a smaller scale than what’s used by ‘big cocoa’, THIC (this isn’t chocolate) is the brainchild of Danish start-up Endless Food Co. They make a coating that has the same flavour and texture but from upcycled spent grain from the local beer industry — and without the human and environmental costs.

In: Thriftiness

Excess is uncool. Making your own packed lunch, loving your leftovers, eating messy-looking food that’s not for the ‘gram (how much stuff gets chucked away because it isn’t photogenic?) and not peeling your veg are all good things.

In: Swicy, swavoury, swalty and swot

Sweet + something else will be everywhere.

In: Single dishes (still)

Hashbrowns and a martini, a plain-ish burger and champagne, scrumpets and a pint. Pies.

Out: Tallow on EVERYTHING

Tallow technically comes from rendering suet, the fat surrounding internal organs in animals like cows and sheep. That nice flavoursome fat that drips off your roast? That’s dripping, though confusingly it can also be called tallow. By all means use tallow for frying and roasting; it has rich flavour and a high smoke point. On the plus side it contains fat-soluble vitamins like A, D, E and K and is a nose-to-tail choice when it comes from a sustainable farming source. But, it is primarily composed of saturated and monounsaturated fats, and it does have a meaty aroma. Pick when and where you use it. Ideally, not on your face.

Out: Blue food

So, Pinterest is calling cool blue IN, but we say hold your horses when it comes to food, because blue doesn’t match the unprocessed direction of travel for other trends (yes, we see you, butterfly pea flower, blue corn nachos and red cabbage cooked without acid). Dress your table and yourself in blue, leave the food in its normal hues. As for drinks, do as you will.

Out: Curated dishes with low value nutrition

All that fancy slicing and arrangement is out, macro-nutrient but unaesthetic ‘slop bowls’ are in. We always knew brown food was the GOAT.

Out: Pistachio

We love pistachio but we think it needs a year off due to overuse. The Dubai original is so last year. Angel hair and black sesame are the hot kids now, as is Phil Khoury’s cashew-based Beruit bar.

Out: Cooking on gas

There’s a worldwide effort to stop using gas to cook with, because it is inefficient (it heats the air as well as your pans), not good for the planet (a fossil fuel) and not good for health (unburnt gas contains pollutants). Using gas comes at a cost beyond the monthly bill. The phase-out of gas is a long-term project backed by many governments worldwide and will take time. If you cook with gas, then the next time you truly need a new hob or oven, that’s your timeline.

Out: Chocolate that isn’t ethically sourced

Chocolate is rife with human and environmental costs and the importance of giving cocoa farmers a chance at making a living has never been higher. A living would mean no need for child labour or the need to grow increasing amounts to make ends meet, because the knock-on effect of more farms is deforestation. Transparent supply chains and ethically produced chocolate (like Tony’s Chocolonely) sells at a price that chocolate should cost. It’s worth it.

Out: Purpose washing

Gen Z says ‘no’ to saying things that brands and eating establishments don’t mean or follow through with. Fact-checking is in.

Out: Buying lunch every day

See thriftiness as being in. Save spending for when you’ll love what you buy, because a meal deal isn’t always the answer.

This isn’t an exhaustive list. Please add your thoughts in the comments below. Happy New Year to all!

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Lulu Grimes is currently the managing editor at Good Food. She has wide experience in magazine editorial (olive magazine, Food and Travel and Sainsbury's Magazine), worked as a food editor for Murdoch books in Sydney where she researched and worked on a series of internationally published food and travel books covering China, India, Thailand, Italy and France. She has also written for The Sydney Morning Herald, has taught a course on Food Writing at City University and then at Leith's School of Food and Wine and has published a number of cookbooks. Read more from Lulu on Substack.