25 Perfect Holiday Gifts For The Foodies In Your Life

Despite all the cheer and joy, nobody ever said the holidays were a stress-free time. In fact, it's usually quite the opposite. One of the most anxiety-inducing parts of the season is finding the right gift for everyone in your life. Whether it be for friends or family, the perfect gift rarely just shows up in your lap. That is, unless your loved one is a diehard foodie. In that case, you can stop worrying and keep scrolling.

When it comes to getting holiday gifts for the foodies in your life, we at The Daily Meal have got you covered with these 25 amazing options. Each one suits a different type of food lover, so regardless of whether the foodie in your life is into cooking, or just eating, or even watching cooking shows on TV, we guarantee there is a perfect gift to impress them somewhere on this list.

We based our selections on user reviews, professional reviews and recommendations, and personal experience. Each of our 25 choices has been compared to the competition and, while it's impossible to determine the absolute best in every category, we've determined each one of the products picked to be the best options for gift giving this holiday season.

This means we aren't going to ask you to spend $200 to buy a rice cooker when you can get one just as good for half the price. Nor will we recommend a knife set meant for professional chefs, since that's probably not who you are buying for. These product recommendations are instead aimed at home cooks of all levels, from amateur to borderline genius in the kitchen. It doesn't matter if the foodies in your life like to bake or if they like to eat steak. This gift guide will undoubtedly have something for each and every one of them.

In addition to being a great online marketplace for cookware and kitchen goods, Sur La Table offers cooking classes — both virtual and in-person. These highly reviewed classes are great for singles wanting to learn new recipes or couples looking for a romantic night in. For the adventurous cook (or cooks) in your life, we recommend booking them an online session.

Online cooking classes start at less than $30 per session, but that doesn't include the cost of ingredients. Sur La Table provides only a shopping list. It's up to you to pick up the ingredients, so this might be a better choice for the more experienced cooks in your life.

Purchase online cooking classes at Sur La Table starting from $29. 

If you're looking to make the recent college grad (who also happens to be a foodie) in your life happy, you can't go wrong with a full cookware set. Sure, this is an investment, but one well worth it. For its price, the Tramontina Gourmet Tri-Ply Clad Stainless Steel sets are the best ones on the market.

This stainless steel assortment of pots and pans is one of the top rated cookware bundles of 2023. It comes with everything a home cook needs. Previous bundles included 10 or 14 pieces, but the current offering on sale is a perfectly even dozen. If you get this for the foodies in your life, they might not need to buy another a stainless steel pot or pan for a long, long time.

Purchase the 12-piece Tramontina Gourmet Tri-Ply Clad Stainless Steel Cookware Set on Amazon for $280.

If you aren't looking to buy a week's worth of meals or burden your loved one with a subscription box service they will have to keep paying for month after month, we recommend this small, exciting meal kit. Started in 2014 by chef Jorge Gaviria, Masienda makes environmentally sustainable masa, the corn maize substance used to make tamales.

This holiday, Masienda is selling a tamal kit with everything you need to make tamales from scratch. The kit comes with a bag of white corn masa, around 50 non-GMO corn husks, and a cookbook with tamal recipes. Your recipient will have to provide the fillings, but that's a low effort compared to how difficult and time-consuming making tamales from scratch can be.

Purchase the tamal kit directly from Masienda for $26. 

Blue Apron and HelloFresh might be the leaders in the meal kit subscription market, but what if the foodie in your life doesn't have the time or energy to cook? For them, we recommend a month (or more if you are generous) subscription to CookUnity, a rising star in the field brought to you by chefs based in New York City.

CookUnity delivers chilled, fresh (never frozen) meals that simply need to be reheated and eaten. This subscription kit features meals from celebrity chefs such as Esther Choi, Jose Garces, and Einat Admony as well as a bunch more local Brooklyn and Manhattan restaurant chefs. There are hundreds of recipes for gourmet dishes and dozens of ways to customize your plan options.

Purchase 4-16 meals a month from CookUnity, starting at $7.76 per meal.

Some foodies spend all day in the kitchen, and guess what, they don't even use the stovetop. We call this special breed of cooks bakers, and their combination of scientific and artistic skills never fails to impress us. For the best baker in your life, we recommend picking up this wonderful cookbook full of awesome recipes for sweets.

"Snacking Bakes" was written by Yossy Arefi, a contributor to The New York Times and Bon Appétit and former baker at Alice's Tea Cup in New York City. With this brand new cookbook, she has accomplished something miraculous. Not only will these easy bakes turn out delicious, but Arefi also knows better than almost anyone how to turn baked goods into pure aesthetic joy.

Purchase "Snacking Bakes" on Amazon for $22.50.

This is a book we don't think any serious cook should live without. You don't need to be a professional to appreciate the wisdom contained within Samin Nosrat's renowned "Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat." If it was good enough to inspire a Netflix series, it will be good enough for your favorite home cook.

Subtitled "Mastering the Elements of Good Cooking," this is less of a cookbook and more of an instructional textbook on what makes food taste good. From the science of cooking to how to apply these concepts, Nosrat's book will make anyone a certifiable food snob.

Purchase "Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat: Mastering the Elements of Good Cooking" on Amazon for $26.87.

Sure, a bottle of high quality red is a great gift. But going even a step further for the wine drinkers in your life will make you the talk of the town this holiday season. By purchasing your loved one a subscription to Sommselect Wine Club, they won't only get to drink fancy wines, but they will learn about them too.

This monthly delivery service comes highly recommended for its selection and inclusion of background information on the wines you're tasting. All bottles come hand-selected by a sommelier so you know they are worth it. Sommselect also offers one-off gifts if you just want to buy a single box for this holiday.

Purchase a gift pack at Sommselect starting at $128.

Japanese snack box Bokksu is a perfect gift for the foodie who likes to try new and exotic snack foods. Those who've tried it agree that this subscription service is worth the price. You get to try delicious new snacks each month instead of once again picking up your usual order of Triscuits and Oreos from the supermarket.

Each Bokksu comes loaded with sweet and salty snacks from all over Japan. They even include a helpful map to teach you what part of the country your munchy came from. This is an informative and tasty gift — what else could you want?

Purchase a snack box subscription on Bokksu, starting at $39.99 per month. 

As a Brooklyn resident, not a month passes that we don't at least think about picking up a slice of Junior's cheesecake. This holiday season, though, you can spread the joy of Junior's to anyone across the country by sending them 18 mini cheesecakes. 

Junior's mini cheesecake sampler gives you a taste of three of the most popular and indulgent flavors: Red Velvet, Raspberry Swirl, and Devil's Food. If the foodie with a sweet tooth in your life happens to like cheesecake and chocolate, it literally doesn't get better than this. If your loved one can't eat cheesecake, or doesn't want to, Magnolia Bakery is another mega-popular New York City dessert spot shipping out holiday samplers.

Purchase Junior's mini cheesecake sampler on Goldbelly for $99.95. 

Some folks cannot get enough spice in their life. We aren't talking about dating or dropping in hot in "Fortnite." When we say spice lover, we mean the people who love to put chili oil or hot sauce on everything they eat. For the chili crisp obsessive in your life, we can't think of a better gift than the By Jing box from Fly By Jing.

Fly By Jing focuses on Sichuan flavor profiles, and this all-in-one box includes multiple hot sauces and types of chili crunch as well as a spicy dry rub. There's enough in here to last your spice addicted foodie (no, not like in "Dune") all the way until next holiday season.

Purchase a By Jing box at Fly By Jing for $70. 

Another one we find hard to live without is Lou Malnati's deep dish pizzas. As a pizza fan who lives in New York, I'm never hurting for good pizza, and yet, at the same time, there are four Lou's pies sitting in my freezer waiting for a rainy day. If you have a pizza lover who lives outside of Chicago, we can't recommend this pack enough. This is some of the best pizza in the country. 

Lou's is some of the best deep dish in Chicago. The institution's frozen pizzas don't quite match up to the real thing, but that doesn't stop them from being among the highest quality frozen pizzas money can buy.

Purchase Lou Malnati's deep dish pizzas at Tastes of Chicago starting at $76.99, including shipping.

If you want, you can go all out on knives. You can pay as much as professionals do for the highest quality chef's knives on the market. But if the home cook in your life is in need of a solid starter set, or even an upgrade, consider the Wüsthof Gourmet 6-Piece Starter Knife Block Set.

The Wüsthof set comes from a reliable brand known for its great steak knives. Sharp and durable, the Gourmet 6-Piece Knife Block Set is a wonderful and relatively inexpensive place to start with the high-end brand. 

Purchase the Wüsthof Gourmet 6-Piece Starter Knife Block Set at Williams Sonoma for $190.

If you have to buy someone a kitchen appliance this holiday season, it's hard to deny the staying power of the Instant Pot Vortex Plus Air Fryer. This essential appliance acts as an Instant Pot and an Air Fryer, but it can also broil, roast, dehydrate, bake, and reheat.

This is a powerful machine for its size, it's easy to clean, and it's loaded with stylish accoutrement like a touch screen. It comes in sizes ranging from 4 quarts to 8 quarts. A quick multi-purpose device like this shouldn't be allowed to come this cheap, especially with all the holiday deals going on.

Purchase the 4-quart Instant Pot Vortex Plus 6-in-1 Air Fryer Oven at Amazon for $59.95. 

If you want to splurge for the outdoor chef in your life, you can get this life-changing appliance. Actually, the Ooni Fyra 12 Wood Pellet Pizza Oven is pretty affordable as far as pizza ovens go.

When it comes to pizza ovens for home cooks, Ooni scores high marks from the press for its price and usability. The Fyra 12 especially is portable and powered by wood pellets that you feed into the oven. That means the pizza lover in your life doesn't need to be near an outlet or gas hookup to get the pizza party started.

Purchase the Ooni Fyra 12 Wood Pellet Pizza Oven at Williams Sonoma for $244.95.

When it comes to cheese, it doesn't get much better than Murray's. This New York City-based establishment is one of the best places to buy cheese. And don't need to live in the city to be able to taste these revered cheeses or send them to a loved one.

This holiday, you can get the cheesiest member of your family a subscription to Murray's Cheese Club. Choosing which option is most delicious may be difficult, but each is tailored to the recipient's tastes. Does your loved one like wine pairing or exotic cheese from around the globe? Either way, Murray's has a Cheese Club perfect for them.

Purchase a Cheese Club subscription at Murray's starting at $70 a month.

There is a certain joy to eating food you've grown yourself, but not everyone has the time and space for this experience. To give a microcosm of this joy this holiday, may we suggest you try the Back to the Roots mushroom grow kit?

Back to the Roots is one of the top mushroom kit brands. Everything you need to grow your own oyster mushrooms (our personal favorite variety) is included in this package, and you don't even need to remove the seeds from the box to start your harvest. Just fill up the provided spray bottle and mist twice daily.

Purchase the Back to the Roots Oyster Mushroom Growing Kit on Amazon for $19.98. 

If you know a meat lover who bemoans the inability to grill in the winter, you can gift them this kitchen tool they can use to make steaks year-round. The Anova Culinary Sous Vide Precision Cooker Nano is a sleek, easy-to-use starter device for this new-age method of meat cooking.

The sous vide method involves vacuum-sealing food in a bag and cooking it in a precisely regulated water bath. This Anova device even has a companion app and is an excellent way to begin your sous vide adventure. 

Purchase the Anova Culinary Sous Vide Precision Cooker Nano at Best Buy for $89.99. 

Depending on where you live, it's not always easy to find high quality seafood. If the seafood lover in your life is having trouble finding good fish, or even if they aren't and you just want to give them a break from grocery shopping, consider sending them a Sizzlefish box.

This seafood subscription service has received stellar reviews and is easily top of its class compared to the competition. Gift a monthly subscription to let them make their own boxes, or send them one of Sizzlefish's many pre-made sampler boxes, which include such delicacies as scallops, salmon, and lobster tails. Or maybe you want to go with smoked fish, or surf and turf. The options at Sizzlefish aren't endless, but they sure feel that way.

Purchase a gift box or subscription at Sizzlefish. Prices vary depending on products and availability. 

Okay, we admit this one leans more heavily into espresso lover territory than traditional coffee. But if your recipient is a mark for lattes and cappuccinos, we cannot recommend the Nespresso VertuoPlus Deluxe highly enough.

Consumers who purchased the machine have been universally happy with the results. Across the board, the Nespresso VertuoPlus Deluxe delivers high-quality drinks quickly and doesn't require the barista-level knowledge of how to operate an espresso machine. Plus, it comes equipped with a milk frothing attachment. If the coffee lover in your life likes it tall and black, try some high quality beans from a local roasting company instead.

Purchase the Nespresso VertuoPlus Deluxe on Amazon for $174.30.

There is a certain type of foodie, myself included, who can't get enough of competition shows. Sure, Food Network is on every night, but "Top Chef" season is one of the highlights of the year. For the "Top Chef" fan in your family, head over to the Bravo store for this cutting board.

This thick wood cutting board comes in two sizes. You can even pay extra to customize it with the name of the "Top Chef" fan you are buying it for. That little bit of personalization can go a long way toward making a gift feel truly special.

Purchase the large Bravo Top Chef Cutting Board from the NBC Store for $39.95.

Listen, we're not going to convince Zojirushi diehards that their beloved brand isn't the best in class. But for the money, the Tiger JBV-A10U rice cooker does just as good of a job, according to the experts.

The Tiger Micom rice cooker is compact and affordable, without all the unnecessary bells and whistles of other models. It has a handful of basic settings for things like white or brown rice. If a foodie in your life is looking to upgrade from a low-tech one-button rice cooker or has never had a rice cooker at all, this is a perfect gift.

Purchase the Tiger Micom JBV-A10U Rice Cooker on Amazon for $94.99.

Everyone agrees that when it comes to getting a pasta maker, there is no better option than the Marcato Atlas 150 Pasta Machine. It might require a little elbow grease, but for its price and size you aren't going to find something that creates a more consistent end result.

The Marcato Atlas 150 is sturdy, and it comes with only a little assembly required. It has a dual-sided attachment that can make spaghetti, linguine, lasagna, or fettuccine at various stages of thickness. The company who makes the machine, Marcato, has been operating out of Italy since 1930. When it comes to reliability and reputation, companies don't stick around that long without a stellar track record.

Purchase the Marcato Atlas 150 Pasta Machine from Walmart for $154.65.

If the cheese lover in your life has access to all the "Gouda stuff" they need, or if you bought them a box from Murray's last year, this charcuterie board is the next best thing. The compact swivel cheeseboard from Uncommon Goods is stylish and easy to store.

This circular board compacts into a quarter circle for easy storage. Expand it, and you'll find four different elevation levels on which to put your charcuterie. Your cheesy bestie can use one for cheese, one for crackers, and one for fruits and dried meats and still have space leftover. The set also comes with two stainless steel cheese tools to complete the set.

Purchase the compact swivel cheeseboard at Uncommon Goods for $47. 

It's impossible to overstate just how important a good apron is for those who are in the kitchen every day. And when it comes to picking an apron that is comfortable and long-lasting, it's hard to beat the form factor of the crossback. Experts say Hedley & Bennett is a brand at the top of its class.

The Hedley & Bennett crossback apron is the perfect gift for your loved one who spends all day every Sunday cooking for the week. These aprons are adjustable, gender neutral, and come in a variety of colors and patterns. If you want to get your favorite foodie a gift that will last, go with this.

Purchase the Hedley & Bennett crossback apron at Bespoke Post for $71. 

Contrary to what some obsessive foodies might think, you don't have to import olive oil directly from Italy to get a high-quality product. Californian brand Brightland would beg to differ, as would the customers and outlets who've reviewed the company's various olive oils.

For our money, The Duo is the best gift option from Brightland. With it, you'll get two 375-milliliter bottles of the brand's best-selling oils, Awake and Alive. Plus, if you want to buy only one of these bottles of olive oil, that's an option as well, and it will make a great stocking stuffer.

Purchase The Duo from Brightland for $74.