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

Favourite Foods

Vegetarian or Meat?

Trending dish

Choice of carbs

What are Canadians cooking?

Canadian food takes the number one spot for Canada’s favourite cuisine! Compared to January 2020, the demand for Canadian cuisines increased by 67% in 2021 while the demand for American dishes dropped by 41%.

In 2019 and 2020, American dishes were ordered the most. But Canadian food represents 25% of all orders in 2021, much higher than American (19%) and Italian (18%).

While American food continues to be a popular choice, the decline in orders and increase in Canadian food orders tells us that more and more people choose local dishes during uncertain times.

Vegetarian or Meat?

Order data tells us that Saskatchewan’s eat the most vegetables — with green beans being the top choice in the province and also in New Brunswick and Ontario. And while orders with peppers and green beans increased overall in 2021, orders for vegetarian food decreased in 2021. In January 2020, vegetarian orders represented 21% of all orders. But in January 2021, they slipped to 15% and only 7.88% in March 2021.

Non-vegetarian orders continue to rise, with dishes containing chicken, beef, and pork coming out on top. It's evident from the data that vegetarian food requests have decreased as Canadians search for more meat and comfort food recipes.

Garlic Bread is Canadians’ Favourite Comfort Food

Data from early 2020 — when we were all spending more time at home — shows us that garlic bread orders spiked. While orders dipped during the warmer months, data shows us that during the coldest months of the year, garlic bread orders went up again!

Canadians enjoy comfort foods during colder months and times of uncertainty.

Top 3 Carbs in Canada

The data shows some noticeable changes in the popularity of some food items, especially basmati rice, in which the demand increased by 70.8% in January 2021. Basmati rice has become Canada’s favourite carb, overtaking potatoes, which were the number one choice in 2019 and 2020.

Canadians' searches for recipes reflect the increased demand for these carbs — such as scalloped potatoes, meatloaf recipes, and chilli recipes — all of which are dishes that can utilize these ingredients.

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About The Data

Survey data is from a survey conducted by HelloFresh among Québécois and from the Keyword Planner tool.