18 Food Trends That Came and Went Quickly
Food trends rise and fall faster than sourdough starters during a pandemic. One minute everyone’s obsessing over a particular ingredient or technique, and the next it’s gathering dust in pantries across America like last year’s fidget spinner. These culinary fads capture our collective imagination for a brief moment before reality sets in—usually involving complicated prep work, expensive ingredients, or flavors that sounded better in theory than on our taste buds.
The food world moves at breakneck speed, with social media amplifying trends that might have once taken years to spread nationwide. Here’s a list of 18 food trends that blazed bright and burned out fast.
Cronut
The cronut burst onto the scene in 2013 like a pastry meteor, creating lines that wrapped around city blocks and spawning countless imitations. This croissant-donut hybrid from Dominique Ansel Bakery in New York became the poster child for food trend mania.
Within months, bakeries everywhere were cranking out their own versions, but the novelty wore thin as quickly as the flaky layers separated.
Poke Bowls
Hawaiian poke went from island specialty to strip mall staple faster than you could say ‘ahi tuna.’ Every food court suddenly sprouted a poke counter where you could build your own bowl with endless toppings.
The trend peaked around 2016-2017 before oversaturation set in, and people realized they were paying premium prices for what amounted to fancy sushi in a bowl.
Charcoal Everything
Activated charcoal turned food black and made everything look like it belonged in a gothic cookbook. Ice cream, pizza dough, burger buns—if it could be darkened, someone tried it.
The trend died faster than a vampire in sunlight once people learned that charcoal could interfere with medications and basically turned expensive food into something that looked burnt.
Rolled Ice Cream
Watching ice cream get rolled on a frozen metal plate was mesmerizing, like edible performance art that took forever to make. The Thai-inspired treat required specialized equipment and serious arm strength, making it impractical for most establishments.
After the initial wow factor wore off, people went back to regular scooped ice cream that didn’t require a 15-minute wait.
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Everything Bagel Seasoning
This blend of sesame seeds, poppy seeds, dried garlic, dried onion, and salt started appearing on everything from avocado toast to potato chips. While it began as a clever way to get bagel flavor without the carbs, the trend reached peak absurdity when companies started putting it on chocolate and ice cream.
Sometimes less everything is more.
Cauliflower Rice
Cauliflower got promoted from side dish to rice substitute faster than you could say ‘low-carb lifestyle.’ Restaurants and home cooks alike embraced this vegetable masquerading as a grain, but the reality of soggy, slightly bitter fake rice eventually set in.
Most people discovered that if you want rice, you should probably just eat rice.
Matcha Overload
Matcha powder turned everything green for a hot minute, appearing in lattes, ice cream, cookies, and even savory dishes. The earthy, slightly bitter flavor worked well in traditional Japanese sweets but got lost when mixed into everything from white chocolate to cream cheese.
The trend faded when people realized that not everything needs to taste like grass.
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Smoothie Bowls
These Instagram-worthy breakfast bowls looked like edible art projects, topped with precisely arranged fruits, nuts, and seeds in rainbow patterns. The problem was that by the time you finished photographing your masterpiece, the smoothie had melted into soup.
Most people eventually realized they preferred drinking their smoothies rather than eating them with a spoon.
Korean Corn Dogs
These weren’t your county fair corn dogs—Korean versions came coated in cubed potatoes, ramen noodles, or cereal, creating a textural wonderland that looked incredible online. Food trucks and specialty shops popped up everywhere to serve these elaborate creations.
The trend cooled when people realized they were paying $8 for what was essentially a very dressed-up hot dog.
Impossible Burgers and Beyond Meat
Plant-based meat alternatives had their moment when they started appearing in major fast-food chains and restaurants everywhere. The novelty of ‘blood-filled’ veggie burgers captured attention, but the high prices and mixed reviews on taste kept them from becoming mainstream staples.
While they carved out a niche market, the revolutionary takeover of American grills never quite materialized.
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Dalgona Coffee
This whipped coffee drink became the unofficial beverage of early pandemic lockdowns, requiring nothing more than instant coffee, sugar, and serious arm strength. Social media filled with videos of people whipping coffee into fluffy peaks, creating a drink that looked like a cloud floating on milk.
The trend evaporated once coffee shops reopened and people remembered that baristas exist for a reason.
Boba Tea Explosion
Bubble tea went from Asian specialty to suburban mall fixture seemingly overnight, with shops popping up faster than the tapioca pearls themselves. The chewy texture and endless flavor combinations created a devoted following, but oversaturation led to shop closures as quickly as they had opened.
The trend proved that not every beverage needs to be chewable.
CBD Everything
Cannabidiol found its way into coffee, gummies, pizza, and practically every consumable product imaginable. Restaurants jumped on the bandwagon with CBD-infused everything, promising relaxation with your meal.
The trend fizzled when regulations tightened and people realized they couldn’t actually feel any effects from their overpriced CBD brownie.
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Cloud Bread
This three-ingredient bread made from eggs, cream cheese, and cream of tartar promised carb-free satisfaction that looked like fluffy white clouds. Home bakers whipped up batches during the low-carb craze, sharing photos of their ethereal creations online.
Reality hit when people tasted what essentially amounted to slightly sweet, eggy foam that bore no resemblance to actual bread.
Freakshakes
These over-the-top milkshakes came loaded with donuts, cookies, candy bars, and enough toppings to feed a small village. Restaurants competed to create the most outrageous concoctions, with some shakes containing more calories than most people eat in a day.
The trend crashed when Instagram fatigue set in and people remembered that milkshakes are supposed to be drinkable.
Jackfruit as Meat Substitute
This tropical fruit became the darling of vegetarian cuisine, with its stringy texture supposedly mimicking pulled pork or chicken. Restaurants featured jackfruit tacos, sandwiches, and curries, marketing it as the ultimate meat alternative.
The trend wilted when diners realized that jackfruit mostly tastes like whatever sauce it’s swimming in, and actual vegetables might be more honest.
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Nashville Hot Everything
The Nashville hot chicken phenomenon spread beyond poultry to cover everything from pizza to ice cream in fiery red spice blends. Restaurants competed to create the hottest versions possible, often prioritizing heat over flavor.
The trend cooled down when people’s taste buds recovered and they remembered that good food shouldn’t require a glass of milk as a mandatory side.
The Cycle Continues
Food trends will always come and go like fashion seasons, driven by social media, celebrity endorsements, and our endless search for the next big thing. What makes a trend stick versus fizzle often comes down to practicality—can regular people make it at home without special equipment, does it actually taste good, and is it worth the price?
The trends that survive tend to be the ones that solve real problems or genuinely improve on classics, while the flash-in-the-pan fads remind us that sometimes the old ways exist for good reasons. Today’s food obsession is tomorrow’s ‘remember when everyone was eating that weird thing,’ and somewhere right now, the next big trend is probably being born in a test kitchen or going viral on TikTok.
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