Food trends in Canada in 2022

Food trends in Canada in 2021

With more time spent at home, Canadians are dedicating more hours to home cooking and preparing meals from scratch. HelloFresh conducted a survey on the food habits and food choices among Canadians – and the results prove that there really is no taste like home!

Favourite Foods

Vegetarian or Meat?

Trending dish

Choice of carbs

Food in 10 years

What are recipe developers saying?

Favourite Foods

Vegetarian or Meat?

Trending dish

Choice of carbs

Food in 10 years

What are recipe developers saying?

Canadian Cuisine Is Making a Glorious Return

After nearly two years of staying home and riding the waves of a global pandemic, it’s no surprise that Canadians are turning to classic comforts. This past year has been all about going back to the basics with flavours they know and love. From poutine and peameal bacon to anything infused with maple syrup and remarkably Canadian, nothing beats the classics to feel good and right at home — and it shows.

As more and more Canadians whipped up their favourites in the kitchen and revisited fond memories of their favourites, they were hungry for the perfect bite of the best, tried and tested recipes. To guide their quest, many looked up recipes for these classic comforts online, driving searches for Canadian cuisines to an all-time high throughout 2021. Coming in second are other classics, like American, Italian, and Mexican recipes that are deeply woven into Canada’s culturally diverse population and palate.

The comeback of Canadian cuisine is definitely here to stay. With both Google and YouTube searches and Instagram hashtags trending upwards over the past five years, the interest in Canadian comforts only continues to grow as more and more people ask what it means to be and eat Canadian — and the unique flavours that define it coast-to-coast.

Do Canadians prefer vegetarian or meat dishes?

Meat lovers or green, healthy living? The results are in: Canadians are both, with a balanced, hearty appetite packed with protein and essential vitamins and nutrients. Armed with the most popular meat and veggie recipes found on Google and YouTube searches, they whipped up all-time favourites in the kitchen, indulging in both meaty and healthy goodness.

From classic meat recipes like sauces, pies, meatballs, and more, to vegetarian delight and vegan alternatives, Canadians cultivated a true lifestyle balance. Data from the most popular recipe searches show that Canadians are just as eager to indulge in tender, juicy meats, as they are to eat mindfully and chow down on fun, new vegetarian takes like all-veggie chilli and other easy and healthy dinner recipes.

Now more than ever, Canadians are mixing up their balanced, healthy appetite with guilt-free indulgence in classic comforts. This year saw more and more Canadians embrace the rising trend of going vegan, all without giving up their favourites. For Canadians craving pasta, curry, soup, and quick breakfast fixes, it was all about choosing healthy, vegan alternatives. Adding a vegan twist meant consuming a lot more lean and green, infused with the same flavours and textures they love about meat, but without the fat, calories, and guilt. Thanks to these trends, we know Canadians are all about a balance of good food, good times, and good health.

Canadians Reached for Garlic Bread When They Wanted a Little Bit of Comfort

With its undeniably delicious, roasted scent infused with herbs in butter or olive oil, what’s not to love about garlic bread? Perfect on its own, topped off with cheese, or on the side, there’s nothing like garlic bread to complete a meal — especially when lovingly homemade.

For Canadians, garlic bread is all about comfort: an indulgent, flavourful bite to complement a plate of spaghetti, or a steaming bowl of soup or stew on chilly days. That’s the magic of garlic — a strong, versatile taste that lends warmth and a hint of sweet, earthy nuttiness perfect for bringing together various flavours. And it’s also why you can’t resist a piece of garlic bread and munch on it, even on its own. Just ask the thousands of Canadians looking up classic and all-new garlic bread recipes on Google and trending on Instagram.

With tons of garlic bread recipes online, Canadians certainly didn’t run out of ways to enjoy its signature deliciously roasted aroma on soft, pillowy bread. Demand for the perfect garlic bread recipe ranged from the classic, all the way to fun fusions like cheesy garlic bread and garlic bread pizza. Even those on a strict diet like keto, as well as vegans, found garlic bread recipes they loved. And if these parallel trends of popular searches and new recipes are any indication, you’ll always find the perfect way to elevate every garlicky bite.

Carbs Carbs Carbs! Here's What Canada Can't Get Enough Of

Carbs nourish and energize the body, so a healthy serving is always in order. For Canadians, this means choosing from a wide range of options — and coming out with the favourites they can’t live without. Here are the most popular carbs you’ll see in every Canadian’s pantry, cooked for ultimate satisfaction and an energy boost in countless ways.

Coming out on top is basmati rice, one of the most versatile carbs that pair perfectly with rich stews and rich flavours in broth, saffron, onions, garlic, cilantro, cumin, and more. Canadians also loved potatoes — especially the sweet and yellow varieties — baked, mashed, roasted, and scalloped. For a Mexican fusion like tacos, tortilla recipes, including the homemade corn and flour varieties, were widely searched online.

Together, these top 3 carbs are Canadians’ cooking staples. Loved for their versatility, Canadians simply couldn’t get enough — and if the most popular online searches are any indication, there’s an endless supply of recipes to try, from learning the best way to cook rice, to roasting and baking potatoes, and even making tortilla soups, pizzas, and wraps. With all these ways to cook their favourite carbs and recipes to try, we know one thing for sure: Canadians can’t live without carbs — and they certainly shouldn’t, because these superfoods fuel the body and feed the soul.

Food in 10 years

HelloFresh has studied the approach to cooking, eating and selecting food of 1073 respondents across Canada and reveals how food at home culture is changing.

Half of Canadians (48.9%) have increased their home cooking frequency over the past decade and reduced the frequency at which they eat out. At the same time, the rise of home cooking is associated with a higher interest in food and where it comes from for more than a third (36%) of those polled.
In 2022, one-third of Canadians (34%) plan to spend more time cooking more from scratch, 27% people want to include more vegetables and 37.5% want to include locally sourced foods into their diet.
44% of adults are eager to change their eating habits to look after their family's health in 2022, it also shows as most of them (40%) are willing to integrate more balanced and quality ingredients in the upcoming years.

What are experts saying

What recipes are you most excited about over the coming months?

I'm really excited by recipes that surprise and delight. In our 'Discovery' preference, we've shown customers that duck is NOT just for restaurants! Duck and Double Berry Sauce with Squash and Sweet Potato Mash is both a taste sensation and easy to prepare. Customers will be thrilled at getting this showstopper on the table.

Cheesy Beef & Rigatoni with Veggies and Tomato Sauce, comfort food at it's best! This evergreen recipe is perfect for that 'Quick' mid-week, easy-to-make dinner. If there's leftovers, makes a perfect lunch for the next day!

As a dedicated flexitarian, this Veggie Burrito Bowl with Beyond Meat® and DIY salsa is a great recipe to introduce meat lovers to alt-proteins and amazing flavours. This bowl packs a punch!

Corby-Sue Neumann, Director of culinary for HelloFresh

What predictions do you have to share about home cooking in 2022 and beyond?

We've definitely seen a shift in the way people choose to eat and HelloFresh Canada has been a big part of that positive change! The appreciation of a meal prepared and shared together is not going away anytime soon. I believe this is influenced in part by people wanting to know where their food comes from and what they're putting into their bodies. In 2022 we will continue to build out plant-based recipes, celebrate seasonality and source local wherever possible.

Canada has a culturally-diverse landscape and this is reflected in the many cuisines we enjoy today. We're exploring all of these flavours in our Classic, Family and Discovery recipes while also supporting the need to get tasty meals on the table in a flash with our Quick-designed meals. We're also really excited to offer our customers customizable recipes and will continue to build out this functionality. Sourcing great ingredients and pairing them with professional cooking tips and tricks is at the core of what we do. You don't need to be a great chef in order to be a great cook!

About The Data

The survey data is from a survey conducted by HelloFresh among Canadians and from the Google search volumes, Instagram hashtag followers and YouTube searches. Search increases were found using data from Google Trends over a 5 year timeline.