 "From kunafa to matcha, here's a roundup of some of the most viral food trends that took the internet by storm this year. Representational image/Pixabay")
This year has been a wild (but delicious!) ride for food lovers, with viral food trends 2025 taking the spotlight as dishes went viral overnight, chefs reinvented classics, and social media transformed everyday meals into global sensations.
From whipped coffees and matcha desserts to swicy treats and kunafa reinventions, the year was full of culinary surprises.
As 2025 draws to a close, let’s take a look at some of these trends that swept the internet off its feet and gave 2026 exciting new flavors to relish.
1. Kunafa: An Instagram food trend of 2025
What kicked off as a niche Middle Eastern dessert exploded into mainstream popularity worldwide this year. Kunafa, a sweet pastry known for its shredded phyllo crust and stretchy molten cheese, became fluid and inventive, and soon, a household name too! Safe to call it among the top trending foods of 2025, isn’t it?
Cafes and chefs across the world introduced kunafa cheesecakes, kunafa‑stuffed croissants, kunafa ice creams, kunafa chocolates, kunafa pastry cups, and even Kunafa milkcakes!
The stretch-and-crackle texture, the molten-cheese pull, and the dessert’s visual appeal made it a perfect fit for social media food videos. Safe to say that for many, Kunafa became 2025’s go-to indulgence.
2. ‘Swicy’ dishes among the most trending foods of 2025
"Swicy" (a blend of sweet and spicy) captivated taste buds and transformed menus in 2025. Among those, hot honey (spicy-sweet honey drizzled over everything from pizza and fried chicken to ice cream and toast) became a runaway hit on social media.
Besides its bold flavor profile, what made it a viral food trend is its appeal - dramatic flavours with high “video value” made it perfect for social-media reels and satisfying for tastebuds craving contrast and richness.
Top viral recipes of 2025 were honey chilli tofu/fries, swicy chicken wings, swicy pavs/sandwiches, swicy nuts, and swicy desserts (think chilli and caramel fudge!).
3. Cloud coffee earns a spot in viral recipes of 2025
2025 witnessed airy, fluffy coffee beverages made using plant-based foams or milk-protein, often in pastel hues.
Varieties including rose cloud latte, matcha cloud coffee, blue-pea vanilla cloud beverage, and caramel-cold-brew cloud coffees stole the show especially for cafe-goers and home-baristas alike.
The coffee became a trend mostly for its aesthetics. The velvety swirl on the top is seen as art in a cup.
Another aspect is the fact that one can easily customize the drink - sweeten it, spice it up, or spike it as you like. From vanilla oat milk to almond milk with cinnamon, the flavours can get you spoilt for choice.
4. Traditional mithai fusions among the food trends of 2025
Traditional Indian sweets (mithai) saw a drastic makeover in 2025. Old-school favourites like jalebi, rasgulla, motichoor ladoo, and mysore pak were reimagined as fusion desserts.
Menus involved combinations like jalebi-cheesecake jars, mysore pak truffles, motichoor-tiramisu, etc. that promised indulgence and nostalgia in equal measures.
In fact, during the festive months of October and November, many brands ventured into offering these fusion combos as gift packs! These desserts emerged as a bridge between traditional mithai lovers and those who preferred contemporary sweet creations.
5. Matcha: A Gen Z food trend
What was once a niche or wellness-centric drink from Japan became mainstream in 2025 across many Indian cafes.
Right from matcha-based drinks to desserts, people became creative and gave culinary world more delicious ways to enjoy this green goodness.
With matcha kulfi, matcha-rasmalai, matcha-chai hybrids, and matcha sweets, the approach was twofold - health as well as aesthetics.
Anuj is a senior sub-editor (lifestyle desk) at Firstpost who covers food, travel, health, and fitness, mostly because they’re all excellent excuses to leave the house. Powered by coffee, he spends his downtime airplane-spotting and exploring spirituality, hoping one day to understand both turbulence and the universe.