Experts Predict You’ll Be Snacking On One of These Trends In 2025
The end of the year is a time for reflection, and here at Delish, we've been thinking about all of the food and drink trends we've seen come and go over the years. In 2024, we saw everything from cheesy pickles—aka the chickle—to Swedish candy and cucumber salads take center stage in the food (and TikTok) world. Now that it's time to toast to another 365 days around the sun, we have a few predictions of our own about what to expect at restaurants and dinner parties alike.
Thanks to expert analysis from the National Restaurant Association, Pinterest, and Yelp, among others (plus our own insights), it's clear to see what trends are destined for greatness...or perhaps overconsumption, in 2025. Sample size drinks? We'll take 'em all!
Make It A Mini
No longer do you have to choose between a glass of wine and a carafe or just one of a host of delicious-looking signature cocktails. Whether you just want a sip or two—or you want to try more options—2025 is the year when you'll be able to enjoy smaller portion sizes of your favorite wines and cocktails, according to data from Southern Glazer's 2024 Liquid Insights Tour. Not only does this approach mean bar and restaurant guests can enjoy drinks without committing to larger portion sizes, but creating smaller sips allows mixologists to show off more of their creations. Win, win.
Even shots are finding a more permanent home on cocktail menus and are getting a bit of a rebrand. Out are the days when shots have a frat boy reputation and in are the days you'll find craft shots and shooters on menus at your go-to fine dining establishments.
Taking Flight
Whether it's a flight of sliders, eggs, or cookies, offering up a variety of food flights is on the rise across the country. Both food and drink flights are skyrocketing, reports Yelp, with consumer searches on the app up 399% for wine flights and 162% for martini flights. (But more on martinis later!)
Similarly, Yelp found that searches for pasta flights rose 127% and egg flights soared 496% last year compared to the previous one. This trend falls in line with the rise of mini cocktails and shots, giving consumers smaller tastes and more options to try more of the things they want.
From Dalgona to Einspanner Coffee
Call me crazy, but I'd find fault with anyone who doesn't think coffee and whipped cream sound like a match made in heaven. That's the basis for the trendy Einspanner coffee—essentially, hot espresso topped with chilled whipped cream that is then mixed together to provide contrasting temperatures and textures. The drink, which is also referred to as Viennese coffee, is said to have originally been created to help keep the hot espresso insulated, but many of today's iterations ditch the heat altogether in favor of an iced variation. Yelp shares that searches for this new creamy coffee are up a resounding 1,145% from last year, so now's the time to hop on board.
Sour Power
Forget salty, sweet, and umami—2025 is the year of sour. More specifically, sour cherries are about to have a moment, according to market research firm Mintel's 2025 Global Food and Drinks Trends report. Not only are sour cherries a variety of the fruit that you can enjoy yearlong, unlike their non-sour counterpart, but they can be used in many, many ways. Think everything from the iconic ice cream sundae topping to an ingredient in your next couscous dish to the star of your next baked good.
Whether you opt to use fresh, dried, or cherries in syrup form, there's a way to utilize this powerhouse ingredient to make it shine. And sour cherries aren't the only trending fruit in our eyesight—yuzu is also primed to hit the limelight in the new year. While largely found on many a Japanese menu, the fruit is destined to shine in all manner of cuisines very soon.
Fish Roe Galore
If you've got cash to burn, this salty delicacy is sure to make an appearance or three during many a mealtime in the coming year—the trend on the upswing, reports Nation's Restaurant News. You can enjoy caviar the traditional way atop blinis or simply on its own (I never turn down a caviar bump), or you can get a little more modern with your intake by serving it with potato chips, tater tots, or even on a chicken nugget (thanks for the inspo, Riri!).
Of course, there's more than just classic caviar to enjoy in the new year. Everything from salmon roe to flying fish roe provides that same snappy texture that pops in your mouth, with the added benefit of setting your bank account back significantly less.
Designer Produce
Surely you remember the popular cotton candy grapes that people were raving about a decade ago. In their wake, producers have been experimenting and coming up with their own unique fruit and veggie varieties. Take Oishii's Omakase strawberries, which have a cult following and sell for $11.99 for just six berries. People just can't seem to get enough of these luxe produce items, as evidenced by industry newspaper The Packer's trend predictions for 2025, which points to TikTok and "podcast cooking shows" as two big reasons for the rise in interest in luxury produce.
And nowadays even more options are available if you want to tempt your tastebuds with something new. Driscoll offers a variety of designer fruit, including Tropical Bliss strawberries, which have a strong pineapple flavor, along with notes of other tropical fruits, while its Rosé raspberries are meant to evoke the taste of a glass of rosé and pink lemonade. Then you have the Sapūrana mango, Picasso melon, Badger Flame beets, Wow Berry lolliberries, and plenty more on the horizon.
More Martinis, Please
Riffs on the classic martini are on the rise—no longer do you simply have to decide between gin and vodka, shaken or stirred. Now there are endless variations. You'll likely find a lychee martini, lemon drop martini, and of course, the uber popular espresso martini on any steakhouse cocktail menu these days. But things are getting much more experimental in modern times, and you'll be seeing everything from olive oil martinis to pistachio martinis adorning cocktail menus in the coming year, predicts the National Restaurant Association.
I don't know about you, but I could certainly plan an epic girl dinner around quite a few of these trends. Caviar and martinis with a pasta flight on the side? 2025 just might be my year.
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