At this time of year, supermarkets, food magazines and websites are predicting what they think will be the hot new food trends for the coming year. Apparently everything from tonka beans to snails and even more fermented foods will be on our plates next year.

But as a food editor, I’ve realized that it’s ingredients that are relatively easy to get hold of and taste wonderful that will actually be big hits with culinary enthusiasts and novices alike.

With that in mind, here is my definitive list of the most desirable ingredients set to take over in 2025.

1. Hot honey

Chili-infused honey is definitely having a moment. With a flavor profile described as ‘swicy’ (sweet and spicy), it was first seen drizzled over pepperoni pizzas at hip pizzerias in NYC and East London, but has now gone mainstream. You might want to try it drizzled over grilled haloumi, pancakes with crispy bacon, fried chicken or even ice cream. You can pick up a bottle in most major supermarkets now or find it in craft stores (delli.market is a great online deli).

BEST CHOICES:

Available at Tesco

Hilltop Hot Honey, £3.50

Scotch bonnet infused honey from delli.market

Wilderbee Hot Honey, £7.99

2. Bold beans

We all think much more about what we eat, for the sake of our health and for the environment. Beans and legumes tick every box: they’re nutritious, a source of fiber and plant-based protein, and can be grown sustainably. If you think canned beans are a little dull, I encourage you to try a can from Bold Bean Co (available in several major supermarkets). They are the best brand you can buy right now: plump, tender and as flavorful as beans can be. The range includes black beans, butter beans, kidney beans and even a variation of classic baked beans.

TOP CHOICES:

The best brand of beans you can buy right now

Bold Bean Co. Queen Butter Beans, £3.25

3. Better sliced ​​bread

Since Chris Van Tulleken’s book Ultra-Processed People came out last year, we thankfully know a lot more about the dangers of UPF foods. One of the most shocking findings was that most packaged sliced ​​breads were full of all sorts of nasty things we shouldn’t be eating. A loaf of artisan sourdough, we were told, was a better option, but going to a bakery for a £5 loaf isn’t really an everyday option for most of us. So it’s good to see some excellent sliced ​​options now on the supermarket shelves, making our morning tea and toast feel more wholesome. If you’re not sure how to tell the good bread from the bad, try the Yuka app. It allows you to scan any barcode and analyzes the ingredients.

TOP CHOICES:

Wildfarmed sliced ​​seed and white bread, £2.80

4. Blonde chocolate

In 2024, TikTokers went crazy for Dubai Chocolate – thick dark chocolate filled with knafeh (pieces of crispy pastry) and pistachio cream, which can only be bought in a few very select London stores for around £15 a bar. A bit unaffordable for most of us, so instead it’s worth getting excited about the increasingly decadent blonde chocolate options available. Blonde chocolate is caramelized white chocolate that has lovely buttery chocolate tones and a sense of sophistication despite its low cocoa content. You’ll find luxury chocolatiers offering more and more blond options, or Waitrose’s bar of Blond Chocolate with Feuilletine & Sea Salt is not to be missed!

TOP CHOICES:

Blonde chocolate is caramelized white chocolate

Waitrose’s No.1 Fairtrade Blond Chocolate with Feuilletine & Sea Salt £2.25

5. Frozen tomatoes

TikTok continues to bombard us with food trends – some good, some bad. Recently, we’ve seen cucumber sales rise in the wake of TikTok’s viral cucumber salad, while cottage cheese (revered for its high protein content) has been turned into everything from pizza bases to ice cream. Perhaps the trend of grating frozen fruits and vegetables over dishes has the longest shelf life… we’ll have to wait until the summer of 2025 to see. The idea is simple: freeze a whole peach or some strawberries or chopped mango, say, then use a fine grater (like a microplane) to grate (over ice cream or yogurt) for delicious fruit ice cream. You can do the same with tomatoesgrate the frozen meat over mozzarella or burrata before topping with extra virgin olive oil, sea salt and basil leaves for a refreshing summer salad.

6. Crispy rice salads

If there’s one recipe I’ve seen littering the internet this past year that I actually want to make, it’s crispy rice salads. Inspired by the flavored salads of Thailand and Laos, the method is quite simple: take leftover cooked rice (or you can use a handy pre-cooked packet) and mix with spices (perhaps soy sauce, sesame oil, chilli sauce or red curry paste) and then roast in a oven at 200 degrees for 30-40 minutes until they are crispy (or cooked in an air fryer). Toss the rice with paper-thin chopped vegetables, fresh herbs, maybe some roasted cashews, cooked shrimp or shredded chicken and a zesty dressing and you have a colorful plate of food that’s full of texture and flavor.

BEST RECIPES: From nadiashealthykitchen.com

7. Lion’s mane mushroom

Chestnuts and buttons are probably our most popular cooking mushrooms (I personally love the rich savory flavor of shiitakes), but we’re likely to see many more varieties available as mushrooms continue to be hailed as a true superfood. Lion’s mane is celebrated in traditional Chinese medicine for its purported brain-enhancing properties and is becoming much more widely available for purchase. They are firm, mild and sweet in taste and look a bit like a shagpile rug (don’t let that put you off). The texture is so tender that it is said to mimic scallops, and they can be easily fried with butter and garlic, roasted or braised. They’re widely grown now, so you’ll likely see them pop up at farmers markets and online stores like Riverford.

TOP CHOICES:

Lion’s Mane Mushroom £7.50/200g

The lion’s mane mushroom has a distinctive appearance