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TikTok has a reputation for culture-shifting virality. The top viral TikTok recipes highlight the app’s sweeping trendsetting ability across all niches, cause we all love some good food.
In 2016, Kylie Jenner snapped a pic of her ramen recipe for her millions of fans on her kingkylie Snapchat story. It promptly went viral. The photo showcased Jenner’s cooked ramen with the caption, “I add Butter, Garlic Powder, and an Egg to my ramen noodles. What do u add?” The internet went crazy for the recipe, despite the rather simple ingredients.
It was all over news sites, trended on Twitter, and various articles were written about the recipe dubbing it “Kylie’s Ramen.” BuzzFeed filmed the video, “People Try Kylie Jenner’s Ramen” where people tried the recipe. The video received 9.8 million views and demonstrated how the internet responds to simple and accessible recipes.
This has since become one of the internet’s first viral recipes. Now with the rise of TikTok as the internet’s default hub, creators and users are able to bring simple recipes and meals to new heights right in their own homes.
From Emily Mariko’s salmon and rice bowl recipe to baked feta pasta, TikTok recipes have surpassed infamy on the app and have bled onto YouTube, Twitter, and Instagram. The cooking community on the internet has seen some of the highest interactions with their audiences.
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1. Emily Mariko’s Salmon & Rice Bowl
In 2021, video creator Emily Mariko broke the internet with her Salmon & Rice Bowl recipe. She posted the video on her TikTok, and, needless to say, it became an instant viral recipe. The bowl received a jarring 7.7 million likes in addition to already 9.9 million views. The transfixing editing coupled with the ASMR sound effects creates an effectively productively ambiance that enthralls the viewers and captures their attention.
@emilymariko
Mariko first shreds left-over salmon with a fork and transfers it into another bowl covered with cold rice. Then, she famously takes a single piece of ice and places it right in the center of the rice. She covers it all tightly with parchment paper and microwaves it. She removes the ice and tops it with a drizzle of soy sauce, sriracha, mayo, perfectly sliced avocado, kimchi, and seaweed. And with a chopstick, she elegantly curates the perfect bite.
This recipe has been stitched and recreated thousands of times. TikTok creator MyHealthyDish made a video making the Salmon and Rice recipe herself while giving tips of her own. Since then, Mariko has continued to create and post healthy recipes for her 11.3 million followers.
2. Baked Feta Pasta
In Finland, it was said that due to this viral recipe, grocery stores ran out of feta cheese. Finnish blogger and self-proclaimed food artist, Jenni Häyrinen, or Liemessa, posted the recipe on her blog. The viral recipe eventually found mainstream popularity when recreated on TikTok by feelgoodfoodie. It received over 17 million views on TikTok and 1.7 million likes.
Liemessa herself has since taken to TikTok to share the original recipe and more.
@liemessa Baked feta pasta – the original viral #Uunifetapasta 🍝🔥#bakedfetapasta #tiktokfood #fetapasta #foodtiktok
The recipe is delightfully easy and efficient. According to the viral recipe video, you add cherry red tomatoes into an oven-safe dish along with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Then, put a block of feta cheese in the center of the dish. Place it in the oven and bake at 400 degrees for 35 minutes. In the meantime, prepare the pasta and have it ready. Once baked, mix everything together for a delicious and fool-proof pasta dish.
Since the video has circulated, users all over TikTok have recreated and reposted the video with their own versions and inspirations. TikTok user feelgoodfoodie has made similar videos and recipes inspired by the original viral baked feta pasta recipe.
@feelgoodfoodie If you love baked feta pasta, try this version with @cedarsfoods limited batch Organic Pesto Hommus – available exclusively at Whole Foods Market! AD
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3. Whipped Coffee
In the midst of the pandemic in 2020, everyone was in their homes and slowly becoming stir-crazy. One of the escapes that kept people afloat was TikTok viral recipes. A notable viral recipe is whipped coffee, an aesthetic and slightly labor-intensive coffee that became incredibly popular during that time.
Everyone and their mother was trying this recipe at home during quarantine, so much so that people dubbed this coffee the “quarantine coffee.” A video on YouTube recreated the recipe which received over a million views.
First, add coffee grounds, sugar, and some hot water. The recipe, though simple, required a lot of arm strength, as the next step is to whip the mixture for about 15 to 20 minutes until it thickens. Once the mixture forms peaks, you can add it atop milk and ice for the perfect cup of Whipped Coffee.
4. Taki, Cream Cheese, and a Jalapeño
This viral recipe consists of nothing more than 3 ingredients: Takis, a jalapeño, and cream cheese. Simply cut the stem off the jalapeño, carve out all the seeds and stuff it with cream cheese and Takis.
This viral recipe was so popular that it was made into compilation videos on YouTube. Even influencer Corinna Kopf made a video trying the concoction. She put her own twist on the recipe, however, and traded the jalapeño for baby bell peppers for a sweeter bite. A user reposted the TikTok of hers, and it promptly received 1.2 million views.
@corinnakopf has anyone tried this? holy balls
5. Cowboy Caviar
A more recent viral recipe popping up all over TikTok is the Cowboy Caviar recipe. The recipe is essentially an enhanced salsa dip. It consists of various fine chopped veggies such as yellow, orange, and red peppers, red onion, jalapeño, and corn. Also, black and pinto beans, cilantro, olive oil, and seasoning.
https://www.tiktok.com/@brialem/video/7116999716277161259?is_copy_url=1&is_from_webapp=v1
This became viral in the last couple of months, attracting the attention of, Instagram Model Stassiebaby, who posted a video making the recipe on her TikTok. It received over 6 million views, and she captioned it “lol took me 40 mins to chop all this just to finish it in 20 😋🤤”.
This viral TikTok recipe, however, highlights the deeper issue behind TikTok’s trendsetting ability. Cowboy caviar was just one example of POC cuisine, clothing, religion, and celebration taken and rebranded by white creators, only then becoming popularized as a “trend.” While there’s no harm in making or sharing the recipe, creators like @chobani0atmilk on TikTok explain how it inherently participates in cultural erasure by rebranding salsa as “cowboy caviar” or calling agua fresca “spa water.”
Like any trend, viral TikTok recipes move faster than we can record them. Try any of these recipes, or any of the thousands of other recipes being posted daily by creators on TikTok.
