In search of quality food shows, who would readily think of YouTube? It may not be the first or even fifth source you would consider, and yet it’s host to several such channels. They range from providing recipes with visual instruction to discussing health benefits and nutritional information. These YouTubers have the personality and production quality to keep subscribers returning to their channels again and again. Think of them as a source for trying something new, or for inspiration when you just can’t figure out what to make for dinner.
Let’s take a look at all the best of the genre that YouTube has to offer.
Some of the best channels combine food with lifestyle, so we’ve divided our list into two subcategories: food and lifestyle, and just food.
Food and lifestyle
Homesteading Family
The Homesteading Family channel covers gardening tips, canning instructions, recipes, and homesteading – one click and you’ll be hooked. There’s even a video on how to season a cast iron pan, freeze drying vs. dehydrating, and a pantry tour. These skills are a must for families on a budget who prefer to work smarter, not harder, and like to have a closer relationship with nature. Carolyn invites you into her home to show you a better way of doing things.
Rosie Maio
Born in Italy, the Canadian transplant Rosie will captivate you with her beauty, accent, and adventures. Primarily a lifestyle channel, subscribers delight in learning what she eats in a day, seeing tours of her apartment, and generally experiencing her life. A portion of her videos consist of a trip back to Italy, which includes “What I eat in a week in Italy (aka what my Nonna cooks for me lol).” It is a joy to watch Nonna cook dishes that range from the simple to the elaborate — the magic is in the details — and there are literally always store-bought pastries to wrap up every meal.
Honeyjubu
Honeyjubu has been sharing her life in Seoul, Korea with us since 2019, and currently has over 109 million views of her uploads. Viewers enjoy the precious bento boxes she creates along with her example of living simply, all with visuals and music only, no monologue, and we never get to see her face. To give you an idea of her channel, some titles include: “Small garden decoration for a 30 year old apartment,” “A diligent daily life that starts at 5 in the morning,” and “Comfort a lethargic burnout with sweet fruit juice.” These videos will instantly become your new obsession.
Just food
Gordon Ramsay
Don’t worry, he’s not going to yell at you. Click on one of his videos to get the expertise of decades of education and experience in the culinary arts. While there are times when a dish really does take hours to prepare, even marinating overnight, this is not always the case as Chef Ramsay demonstrates the absolute best, tried-and-true methods for creating fabulous meals for your family. He will show you how to make the likes of “Grilled Chicken in Under 10 Minutes,” “Indian Spiced Egg & Spinach Wrap,” and “Foccacia, Anyone?” Try out the “Scrambled With” playlist to witness some of the most hilarious content on YouTube as Ramsay attempts to show, and challenge, a crop of flustered yet patient fellow celebs on kitchen etiquette and proper cooking skills.
FlavCity with Bobby Parrish
Bobby Parrish will tell you exactly what to buy, and what not to buy if you want to eat healthily and cleanly on a budget. Often, he incorporates his family in his videos, including his adorable daughter, Rose. She even has her own playlist, and this little cherub knows how to do her own shopping and cooking. You will appreciate his playlist on “Fast Food Reviews,” because believe it or not, there are healthier options at most restaurants if you’re willing to sacrifice the fries and maybe half a bun. If you tune in weekly you can get the update on what’s on sale and on the healthier side for you at stores like Costco, Trader Joe’s, and Aldi. But he does spend a large portion of time cooking fabulous meals for us viewers with ingredients that promise to be “Bobby-approved,” meaning healthy and sans inflammation-causing ingredients. Get schooled by Bobby and learn how to cut out those foods that will cause you problems down the road.
Pro Home Cooks
Mike of Pro Home Cooks de-mystifies the process of making bone broth, fermenting, and full-week meal prep, to name a few. His recent upload, “Testing the Most Insane Burgers on Tik Tok” already has over 171,000 views at the time of this writing. What you will notice — after you become an instant fan — is that Mike would make every element of every dish from scratch if he could, as evidenced by his 21-episode “Sandwich Series.”
artisanbreadwithstev
Steve Gamelin has been sharing his meticulously-tested no-knead baking methods with us since 2012. Home bakers were exceedingly excited to learn about this method as the kneading is the most taxing aspect of baking bread. “The Attributes of a Poor Man’s Dutch Oven” outlines how to get a beautiful, professional, bakery-quality loaf of bread every time. It is simultaneously highly technical, yet ridiculously simple. This author even replicated the process and had success with this technique. Once you’ve tried it, be sure to test the “Easy Homemade Fougasse” recipe.
Great Depression Cooking
98-year-old Clara Cannucciari passed away in 2013, but she is immortalized by her grandson on her channel, Great Depression Cooking. Author of Clara’s Kitchen: Wisdom, Memories, and Recipes from the Great Depression, Clara offers simpler fare, like Italian ice, and more intricate recipes, like eggplant parmesan. There are also intimate selections, like “An Afternoon with Clara,” and “Great Depression Survival Tips.” Clara is a delight to watch, and the channel and its contents are more poignant now, knowing that she’s passed on, but we can all still learn a thing or two from her repertoire of unassuming entries.