Gift Ideas for Foodies: 10 Gifts They’ll Actually Use

We all have a foodie in our lives, those friends who know the best spot in town for tapas or are always cooking up something new at home. Choosing a gift for a food-lover can be hard, especially if your culinary skills are minimal (how many times have you burnt toast?). These gift ideas for foodies are sure to impress someone with even the most eclectic tastes. You’ll find gifts for every budget and foodie type. Whether they’re into a certain style of fooding, eating out or DIY’ing everything, there’s a gift in here for them.

1. AeroGarden Harvest 360

Fresh herbs and veggies make everything taste better. Give your chef an in-kitchen garden system so they always have their most used seasonings on-hand. No gardening expertise necessary! The AeroGarden Harvest 360 comes with six herb seed pods, with dozens more available for any kitchen need. Watering reminders and LED grow lights take the guesswork out of growing, and the stainless steel design looks great on any counter!

2. Happy Dining Gift Card

Treat your foodie to a night out with a Happy Dining Gift Card. As much as they might love cooking something at home, sometimes your foodie just wants a day off from the kitchen, and they deserve it! Redeemable at popular restaurants like The Cheesecake Factory, McCormick & Schmick’s, Red Lobster, Buffalo Wild Wings, Cracker Barrel and PF Chang’s, your foodie can choose something yummy no matter what they have a taste for. If they are always on the go, the Happy Eats Gift Card is great for quick bites or can be used at Dave and Buster’s for food and fun!

3. DIY Hot Sauce Making Kit

If your foodie likes it hot, spice up their gift with a DIY hot sauce kit. This hot sauce making kit comes with the ingredients and recipes to make 7 bottles and a Scoville scale so they can get the heat level to their tasting. They can make the perfect sauce to complement their favorite dish or experiment with new flavors. They might even make you a bottle too!

4. Himalayan Salt Block

Your foodie is all about flavor, and this Himalayan Salt Block will definitely be their new favorite cooking tool! Heat it on the grill to cook meat and seafood to perfection, or chill it and use it as a serving tray for sushi, cheeses and even ice cream. The metal salt plate holder makes handling easier and helps extend the life of the salt block. This unique cooking method is sure to taste great, making it one of the best gifts for foodies!

5. Amazon Echo Show

No modern kitchen is complete without an Amazon Echo Show. Your cook can display recipes, watch cooking videos, set timers, create shopping lists and play music and audio books with this sleek kitchen companion. Bundle the Echo Show with a 1-year subscription to Food Network Kitchen so your foodie can cook along with their favorite Food Network chef. The Echo Show also connects to smart home devices, so they can turn their appliances and lights on and off even when their hands are dirty.

This also makes a really great housewarming gift since it’s so versatile and handy. Check out our housewarming gift guide for more gift ideas your friends actually need.

6. Sushi Making Kit

Your foodie doesn’t need to be an Itamae (the Japanese term for a sushi chef) to roll like a pro. Homemade sushi can be a fun dinner idea, but it might be intimidating to novice chefs. In that case, a beginner-friendly sushi making kit is a great gift idea for foodies. Bed Bath & Beyond has a kit that comes with everything you need to make sushi, including molds in different shapes and sizes, a rice paddle, a spatula and an instruction. For a more traditional option, this simple little bamboo sushi mat makes sushi-rolling easy. It even comes with a paddle to spread rice evenly across the mat.

7. Wine Decanter

You might not know which red pairs best with steak, but your foodie likely does! A wine decanter is the perfect kitchen upgrade for any foodie who regularly serves wine for friends and family. This Le Chateau decanter is a top-rated decanter with a large surface area for maximum aeration. This is one of the best gifts for foodies because they are the type of person to appreciate the experience of eating a meal. The perfectly paired wine served in a high-quality decanter adds to that experience.

8. KitchenAid Stand Mixer

If you’ve ever watched a recipe video or TV show, you’ll notice that a KitchenAid stand mixer is the star of many dishes. It’s versatile and durable. It comes in tons of colors and there is an endless amount of attachments that make this stand mixer ready for any dish, dessert, salad or smoothie. The 5-quart model is a few hundred dollars, but your foodie friend will love it – and use it a lot.

By the way, if a gift that’s more than $100 is out of your budget, check out our budget gift gift guide for gift ideas under $50, $25, and $10.

9. Cookbook Stand

Give your foodie a cookbook stand that gets their books off the counter and makes them easier to read. This sleek cookbook stand from Crate and Barrel folds flat for convenient storage and comes with an acrylic cover to protect pages from splatter and spills. You can even personalize this gift by getting a hand-made cookbook stand with their name or initials engraved on it.

Personalized gifts also make great engagement gifts. If that’s the occasion you’re shopping for, we have a whole list of 15 engagement gift ideas.

10. Hand-Made Spoon Rest

Spoon rests are the unsung heroes of any kitchen. Place one on the stove to catch drips between the occasional stir, on a desk to hold teabags and spoons or on the buffet for serving utensils. Your foodie will definitely get good use out of this versatile tool. The right spoon rest can even be a part of their kitchen décor. This hand-thrown clay spoon rest comes in different patterns to match your chef’s handcrafted sense of style. If you need an option from a local store, check out this spoon rest from Bed Bath & Beyond. It has an easy-to-clean ceramic dish to catch any drippings.

Food can make or break any event or celebration, and your foodie knows that. Give them a gift that celebrates them and their passion. Need a reason to give your foodie something sweet? Check out our Rules of Gift-Giving for guidance on when to gift and how much to spend.

More Gift Guides & Inspiration

Happy Gift Cards issued by MetaBank, Member FDIC. Card valid only in the US, no cash or ATM access. Use your Happy Gift Card to purchase goods and services at locations listed on card.