Food Trends of the Past Decade That Aren't Going Anywhere

Food and drink trends come and go but, for some reason — maybe because what we eat and drink is such a multi-sensory experience — we remember them better than other trends. I mean, who can forget Zima? Or those aesthetically pleasing, but weird-in-every-other-way Jell-O molds moms used to make? Unlike those examples, however, some food trends come along … and never go away. And the past decade brought plenty of those. From ubiquitous bacon and tacos to delectable sweets to fast-food madness, here are the food trends from the past 10 years that won't be going anywhere anytime soon. (Check out these 20 Foods Americans Eat Now That They Never Heard of 20 Years Ago, too.)

Starbucks introduced the pumpkin spice latte in 2003, but it took another few years for the proverbial jack-o'-lantern to go off in the food marketing industry's collective brain. It's tough to pinpoint exactly when that happened, but between 2011 and 2016, McCormick saw sales of pumpkin pie spice increase by 80%, so it's clear that the public's appetite for the flavor took off around then. Once it did, pumpkin spice started showing up everywhere, including in cereals, teas, doughnuts, and, inexplicably, sausage and Pringles. Greenies even recently introduced a pumpkin spice treat for dogs. In 2018, pumpkin spice products were purchased to the tune of around $500 million.

Related: How to Make Your Own Pumpkin Spice Latte: 10 Recipes to Try at Home

This one was really a no-brainer waiting to happen. While bacon has been around since someone first saw a pig and thought "yum," it took humankind awhile to realize the culinary marketability of a food that works as well as an accompaniment to tomato and vodka as it does dipped in maple syrup. Then, early in the decade, bacon began to show up everywhere. Bacon can now be found in everything from pancakes and ice cream to mac and cheese and pizza. And, while some are declaring the bacon trend over, numbers don't lie.

Related: 27 Amazing Bacon Dishes Across America

Remember when eggs became (one of) the pariahs of the food industry? They — particularly the yolky bits — were thought to be a major culprit when it came to high cholesterol, which caused heart disease, which caused death. You get the point. But as it turns out, eaten in moderation, just like with most things, eggs are fine, and cooks and chefs started to catch onto that around mid-decade. Now eggs are on the menu in lots of different ways: on burgers, in shakshuka, and even served with breakfast pizza.

Another nutritional no-no for decades was any type of fat. In 1976, the federal government got in the business of nutrition, issuing the first-ever dietary guidelines stating, in part, that low- and no-fat was the way to go if, you know, you liked being alive, or thin, or both. Only the obesity rate — and its many comorbidities — skyrocketed in America after that. It took us a few decades, but we now know that there are good fats and bad ones, and, nowadays, people are rediscovering the beauty of butter, avocados, coconuts, and nuts.

Brooklyn Magazine declared the food truck fad dead in 2014. Turns out that was a bit premature, as the number of food trucks in America has grown to nearly 24,000, a number that industry and market research site IBISWorld says represents an annual average growth of 12.8% between 2014 and 2019, with an additional 8.4% growth expected this year. With that many food trucks roaming the U.S. streets, we don't expect the trend will be running out of gas anytime soon.

Related: 42 Food Trucks Worth Following in Every Major City

Voodoo Doughnut knew the value of a unique doughnut offering starting in 2003, when it opened its first shop in Portland, Oregon, but it took some time for others to catch on. By 2011, however, the unique doughnut landscape was as full as an overstuffed jelly, enough so that food-covering media everywhere were writing about the craziest versions out there. With an estimated 200 million Americans stuffing their faces with doughnuts, the trend seems here to stay.

These crisp meringue delights have actually been around for hundreds of years, especially in France, but they started popping up all over the U.S. in 2011, and they don't show any signs of slowing down. Why? Well, not only are they tasty, but they can be made in a variety of flavors — pecan pie, cotton candy, buttered popcorn, or clementine, anyone? — and are an actual reasonable portion size (as long as you can limit yourself to one or two). They also come in about a zillion different colors, which is perfect in the Instagram age.

This one is a gimme, really. Before the past decade, the poor celiac disease sufferers amongst us really had to go out of their way to make sure their snacks and meals didn't make them ill. But around 2011, more and more products started popping up. By the end of 2019, retail sales of gluten-free products are projected to reach over $4 billion, more than double what they were in 2012, according to Market Publishers.

Remember 10 years or so ago, when a taco was just a taco, and the nearest one you could find was at Taco Bell or your local Mexican restaurant? While the Bell still has a massive number of fans — and your local Mexican restaurant likely is your best bet for an authentic and tasty taco — these days you can also find a lot more taco diversity in fast-casual franchises like Fuzzy's, Torchy's, and R Taco. As QSR Magazine put it in 2018, "probably no Latin American food has conquered the U.S. quite like the taco." And any food that has tons of internet memes dedicated to it is probably not going anywhere.

Related: 27 Tasty Taco Places Across the Country

Just like tacos, there was a time not long ago when a cup of Joe was just a cup of Joe. And, while Starbucks started to change the java landscape well before 2010, it seems coffee slingers these days are trying increasingly inventive ways to sell you a $5 cup. Cold brew started happening en masse around 2012. You could get a cup of nitro coffee starting around 2016. A monstrosity called a Unicorn Frappuccino debuted in 2017. Coffee and craft beer are the new peanut butter and jelly. And now you can order a cup of mushroom coffee — and apparently, it's good for you, and not all that bad-tasting.

Related: 25 Crazy Coffee Products From All Around the World

A theme really is developing here, but you probably remember a time when milk did a body good, and no one knew what the heck milk spelled with a "y" was (many probably still don't). "Mylk" is any milk that doesn't come from a cow, goat, or other mammal. Basically, it's made from a plant, and it started becoming a major food trend around 2013. Today there are mylks made from coconut, almonds, soy, rice, cashews, oats, and so on, and the length of that list alone is probably the best evidence that this trend — which is great for the lactose-intolerant and vegans — isn't going anywhere.

Thanks in large part to the growing popularity of the keto and paleo diets, cauliflower, which started having its moment in the food spotlight six or seven years ago, probably is here to stay. Until the last decade, no one really knew just how versatile this bland-looking veggie was; now we know it can be used to make pizza crusts, as a low-carb rice and mashed potato substitute, and even as the base of a savory cake, and sales just keep growing. The newest use of this bulbous white brassica species? Buffalo cauliflower, as a substitute for wings.

Related: Paleo Diet, Gluten Free, or Keto? Eat Cheap No Matter What

C'mon now — can toast really be doctored up that much? Certain Instagram accounts and tons of online recipes would argue that yes, it can. The idea that toast could be anything other than something you served with breakfast began to heat up around 2014, and since then it's begun popping up everywhere, with the omnipresent avocado toast being the face of the movement. Sure, but won't it die down at some point? Fortune Magazine doesn't think so, saying that the "fancy-toast fad transition (has gone) from trend to menu stalwart."

Until recently, many considered the dirt-cheap, crunchy packages of Maruchan Ramen Noodle Soup part of the culinary realm of the destitute college student, and didn't realize more gourmet options were out there. Around mid-decade, however, the ramen industry gathered steam, so much so that by 2018, Groupon was asking "What is Ramen and Why Is It Suddenly Everywhere?" People began to realize that this Japanese noodle soup is so much more than an incredibly cheap meal. Its deliciously salty broth that can be served with all manner of proteins and vegetables, then topped with a massive array of ingredients, from fried eggs to green onions to — yes, of course — bacon (it really does go with everything!).

Related: 15 Hacks to Make Instant Ramen More Delicious Under $1

Did fried chicken ever really go away? Well, no. But around 2015, chefs started experimenting with ways to elevate it, and by 2017, it also was dominating the fast-food industry, and everyone knows what happened with Popeye's fried chicken sandwich this summer. And therein lies the reason why the revived fried chicken isn't going anywhere anytime soon. From a $20 KFC bucket to a New York East Village restaurant that classes the same concept up for $150, there will always be people who crave — and will pay for — fried chicken.

Related: Best Fried Chicken in Every State

This also was the decade when fast-food marketing leaned a little on the cuckoo side, and not just in the U.S. From Taco Bell's Doritos Cheesy Gordita Crunch to stuffed crust pizzas to whatever Jack in the Box's Burger Dippers were, it seems like every fast-food chain in America is trying to one up the others with ridiculous new menu items. With an estimated $200 billion-plus spent annually on fast food in this country, we don't expect the franchises' "Look at me! Look at me!" marketing tactics to end anytime soon.

Related: The Most Over-the-Top Fast Food of the Past 10 Years

As long as its creamy tastiness keeps taking our sads away, ice cream will continue to exist. But in the last 10 years, America's ice cream parlors have continued to find ways to make their mainstay more interesting. From a soft-serve revival to rolled ice cream to the elevated ice cream sandwich, this frozen treat — like many foods on this list; what up, bacon and toast! — went from basic to boundless.

Related: 50 Ice Cream Shops With Unique Treats Across the Country

Of course, not all food trends are over-the-top, gimmicky, or crassly designed for social media. This was also the decade that Americans started listening to registered dietitians when they told us that certain foods like dark chocolate, blueberries, and turmeric have anti-inflammatory properties — courtesy of their antioxidants — and can therefore help fight disease. One of the yummiest spinoff trends to come out of this knowledge? The turmeric latte, which also fits nicely into the anything-but-basic coffee trend.

Related: 15 Superfoods to Help You Eat Healthy This Winter

It's no surprise that the oversaturated craft-brewing industry is starting to slow down, and also no surprise that its brewers would want to find a way to diversify. Enter two new contenders in the effort to get your I-could-use-a-drink dollars: craft cider and hard seltzer. While craft or small-batch cider has made a quieter debut, cideries like Colorado's Stem Ciders and Austin's Eastciders are popping up more and more. And who can forget 2019's Summer of White Claw, when so much hard seltzer was being thrown back that a shortage occurred. No worries, though — tons of other hard seltzer producers have popped up before and since then, making this trend one we see enduring.

Related: The Best Selling Craft Beer in Every State

Six years ago, Dutch scientist Mark Post produced the first lab-grown burger — it took two years and $300,000. Since then, the cost of producing what is being coined "clean meat," due to its much-lower environmental impact, has fallen while the number of players racing to produce meatballs, steaks, pork, poultry, and seafood, has skyrocketed. How do we know this trend won't end soon? Well, not only is it more sustainable for the planet, but even fast food giants like Burger King are getting in on the action with offerings like the Impossible Whopper, and reviews are largely positive.

Cannabidiol, the non-psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, is having a major couple of years. The chemical compound is being added to everything from sparkling water and baked goods to honey and lollipops for its purported ability to help with chronic pain, anxiety, insomnia, and other afflictions. And, though still illegal on a federal level, the government has, for the time being, been mostly turning a blind eye to products made in states where medical and recreational marijuana is legal. Why is this trend here to stay? In short, money and growth potential. Major companies like Coca-Cola and Ben & Jerry's have said they'll launch CBD-infused products when they're able, and a recent BDS Analytics report estimates that spending on all CBD products (including those that contain THC) is expected to reach over $4 billion by 2022 — up from $1.5 billion in 2018.

Related: Why So Many Seniors Are Turning to CBD