25 Top Food Blogs Of 2013 (Slideshow)

Simple Bites is "a family-oriented community that believes in the importance of bringing the whole family together around the table on a daily basis." They offer everything from simple recipes to tutorials on canning and tips for cooking with kids. Editor Aimée Wimbush-Bourque "chronicles her family food life from the dining room table surrounded by toy cars and cookie crumbs."

Average Monthly Unique Visitors: 66,675
Twitter: 11,393
Facebook: 16,453
Pinterest: 226

Geared toward those on special diets, Elana's Pantry is an amazing resource for those who are grain-free, gluten-free, nut-free, paleo, agave-free, dairy-free, egg-free, or on the Candida diet. Elana doesn't just provide recipes; she offers info on the fundamentals of everything from flaxseed meal to yacon syrup, and also posts articles on ways to lead a healthy lifestyle.

Average Monthly Unique Visitors: 71,253
Twitter: 19,254
Facebook: 71,742
Pinterest: n/a

Joy the Baker, the founder of her namesake web site, has been delighting readers with beautiful photos and sweet dessert recipes since January 2008. The blog has spawned a series of podcasts and a cookbook.

Average Monthly Unique Visitors: 59,056
Twitter: 38,043
Facebook: 49,680
Pinterest: 120

Joy the Baker, the founder of her namesake web site, has been delighting readers with beautiful photos and sweet dessert recipes since January 2008. The blog has spawned a series of podcasts and a cookbook.

Average Monthly Unique Visitors: 59,056
Twitter: 38,043
Facebook: 49,680
Pinterest: 120

Lori Lange left her post as an elementary school teacher in 2006 to start Recipe Girl. The blog includes thousands of recipes (mostly developed by Lange, though she occasionally posts curated submissions from users). Lange served alongside Paula Deen as a judge of the Real Women of Philadelphia Cream Cheese Cook-Off in 2010 and published the first Recipe Girl Cookbook earlier this year.

Average Monthly Unique Visitors: 144,155
Twitter: 27,210
Facebook: 56,583
Pinterest: 26

A newcomer to our list based largely on a booming Pinterest board, Bakers Royale was started by editor Naomi in February 2010 and features baking recipes developed by her and found from sources all over the Web. The goal is to keep it simple, so when she posts complicated recipes, a simpler alternative is also provided as well.

Average Monthly Unique Visitors: 48,271
Twitter: 9,246
Facebook: 24,290
Pinterest: 694

Jaden Hair, a professional recipe developer, food columnist, and food photographer, runs the show at Steamy Kitchen. Dishing out "fast, fresh, and simple" recipes, the blog has become a favorite of busy home cooks.

Average Monthly Unique Visitors: 116,532
Twitter: 129,539
Facebook: 44,478
Pinterest: 59

This blog started out as a venue for family and friends to view the recipes developed by the husband-and-wife duo of Maria and Josh. Soon their page views began flourishing and they decided to turn Two Peas into a full-time blog. Maria has become so well-known for her outstanding cookie recipes that she published several e-books featuring her favorites.

Average Monthly Unique Visitors: 118,702
Twitter: 23,536
Facebook: 60,532
Pinterest: 261

Founder Angie Dudley was inspired to start baking and blogging after taking a cake-decorating class. Bakerella focuses on "fun and easy baking," featuring recipes, decorating tips, the occasional giveaway, and lots and lots of dessert.

Average Monthly Unique Visitors: 76,038
Twitter: 60,122
Facebook: 157,275
Pinterest: 3

Since the Wild West days of 2003, Heidi Swanson has written about her meals, travels, and interests in her blog 101 Cookbooks. Swanson's recipes — taken from her personal cookbook collection, friends, and family, or created by Swanson herself — focus on utilizing natural, whole foods and ingredients. While a large portion of the site's recipes are for savory vegetarian dishes, Swanson occasionally features desserts as well.

Average Monthly Unique Visitors: 131,250
Twitter: 158,730
Facebook: 2,013
Pinterest: 215

Christy Jordan captures the hearts of readers with her down-home Southern recipes and personal accounts of her adventures in the kitchen. The majority of the recipes on the site were developed by her family or inspired by childhood favorites. In 2010 she published her first cookbook, Southern Plate: Classic Comfort Food That Makes Everyone Feel Like Family.

Average Monthly Unique Visitors: 157,501
Twitter: 1,1100
Facebook: 61,891
Pinterest: 261

Moving back seven spots on this years' list is Deb Perelman's Smitten Kitchen. This blog has it all: beautiful food photography, contemporary twists on classic comfort food, and cooking technique tutorials. Perelman's recipes are inspired by her quaint New York City kitchen.

Average Monthly Unique Visitors: 214,597
Twitter: 48,055
Facebook: 146,824
Pinterest: n/a

Eater produces some of the best original and aggregated food news content and covers some of the nation's most important food cities. Edited by Raphael Brion, Eater is a favorite for food pros and amateurs alike.

Average Monthly Unique Visitors: 289,637
Twitter: 67,003
Facebook: 24,989
Pinterest: n/a

Punctuated by world-class food photography, Food52 was founded to "bring cooks together from all over to exchange recipes and ideas and to support each other in the kitchen." At the smartly designed site, you'll find recipes, columns about everything from apple-picking tips to advice on gluten-free baking, recipe contests, a new kitchenware shop called Provisions, and a "hotline" where you can post all your food-related questions.

Average Monthly Unique Visitors: 260,006
Twitter: 75,960
Facebook: 63,448
Pinterest: 148

This hilarious blog combines recipes and other food-related content with some profanity-laden, R-rated instructions that will have you cracking up. The 1-year-old site's tone might have you thinking it doesn't take its recipes seriously. But behind each one there's a real commitment to promoting a healthy lifestyle ("Stop the shameful snacking. Make your own goddamn dip. Don't buy into that Frito-Lay f*ckery.") And for those who can't get enough, there's a book in the works.

Average Monthly Unique Visitors: 33,479
Twitter: 40,468
Facebook: 399,045
Pinterest: n/a

Since September 2003, Clotilde Dusoulier has been posting recipes and writing about quirky ingredients and kitchen tools, reviewing cookbooks, and reviewing restaurants on her blog Chocolate & Zucchini, and since then she's become a full-time food writer and has published three books. She still posts a few times a week. And her writing is always conversational, informative, and thoroughly entertaining.

Average Monthly Unique Visitors: 23,035
Twitter: 58,265
Facebook: 17,687
Pinterest: 2,145

Skinnytaste features recipes developed by author and founder Gina Homolka. Skinnytaste's recipes are "healthy dishes that don't sacrifice any of the flavor" of their full-fat counterparts.

Average Monthly Unique Visitors: 358,778
Twitter: 27,350
Facebook: 268,263
Pinterest: 144

Bee Yinn Low, the author and professional recipe developer behind Rasa Malaysia, has published authentic and approachable pan-Asian recipes since July 2006, and the blog has jumped up from number 24 last year. Low's cookbook of easy Chinese recipes hit bookshelves a couple of years ago. The blog has one of the largest Asian recipe collections available online.

Average Monthly Unique Visitors: 97,817
Twitter: 29,546
Facebook: 53,445
Pinterest: 2,063

Shauna James Ahern has been living a gluten-free lifestyle since 2005, and on her blog she has been writing about her experiences living with Celiac along with recipes and cooking videos from her husband, "the chef." She's published three books and their site has become a must-visit for anyone interested in a gluten-free lifestyle.

Average Monthly Unique Visitors: 33,101
Twitter: 165,041
Facebook: 54,798
Pinterest: 2,183

Serious Eats founder Ed Levine has assembled a team of knowledgeable food writers to explore everything from how to sear a perfect steak to how to differentiate between pizza styles, with recipes, restaurant reviews, taste tests, and plenty of other food-oriented content mixed in. There's also a very active community of commenters, and coverage has expanded to 12 cities.

Average Monthly Unique Visitors: 528,944
Twitter: 206,531
Facebook: 65,970
Pinterest: 128

Acclaimed former professional pastry chef David Lebovitz has a food blog that's chock-full of recipes, reviews, and all things Paris. With seven cookbooks under his belt, Lebovitz uses his blog as a place to share musings on his travels and newly created recipes.

Average Monthly Unique Visitors: 90,770
Twitter: 167,157
Facebook: 45,959
Pinterest: 2,501

Started by Jenny Flake in 2007 after she retired from her job as a dental hygienist to spend more time at home with her sons, Picky Palate is full of recipes designed to appeal to picky eaters of all ages. The dishes that appear on the blog tend to be family-friendly and are interspersed with giveaways and the occasional product review. The first Picky Palate Cookbook was released last year.

Average Monthly Unique Visitors: 80,043
Twitter: 20,401
Facebook: 66,816
Pinterest: 3,075

Holding steady at number four, Cake Wrecks documents the most outrageous, silliest, and creative cakes out there. Users submit snapshots of the cake wrecks they come across and the best are hand-picked by founder Jen Yates and published.

Average Monthly Unique Visitors: 38,325
Twitter: 1,250,073
Facebook: 181,685
Pinterest: n/a

Pioneer Woman Ree Drummond documents her life as a "domestic country wife," with photos and recipes that she whips up for her husband and four young cowpokes. Two years ago, Drummond went from blogger to television host, bringing her "cowboy-friendly" dishes to Food Network.

Average Monthly Unique Visitors: 162,477
Twitter: 423,685
Facebook: 841,945
Pinterest: 14

The Kitchn is the food-focused arm of the home improvement site Apartment Therapy. The Kitchn believes that, "simplicity and luxury are not mutually exclusive," and provides its readers with simple tips, how-tos, and recipes. Sara Kate Gillingham-Ryan is the founding editor of this blog, however, Faith Durand (pictured) manages The Kitchn on a daily basis.

Average Monthly Unique Visitors: 1,043,813
Twitter: 53,680
Facebook: 72,123
Pinterest: 8

A virtual recipe box of founder Elise Bauer's favorite homespun dishes, Simply Recipes features her tried-and-true recipes, along with those crafted by family and friends. Bauer started the blog in 2003 as a way to document the recipes that she grew up with and those that she developed. Simply Recipes claims the top spot on our list for the fourth year running.

Average Monthly Unique Visitors: 2,130,665
Twitter: 81,313
Facebook: 91,557
Pinterest: 58