Our 10 Favorite Food Podcasts (and the Must-Listen Episodes)
Updated: Dec. 01, 2023
These food podcasts will help keep you entertained in the kitchen, whether you're new to podcasts or already a devotee.
Best Food Podcast for Entertaining Advice
Home Cooking
In this limited-run food podcast, hosts Samin Nosrat and Hrishikesh Hirway answer listeners’ culinary questions about topics ranging from how to use kohlrabi to the merits of bay leaves. With witty, pun-filled banter, Home Cooking is as entertaining as it is useful.
Recommended episode: The first episode, “Bean There, Done That.” (But all of the episodes are great. Once you hear one, you’ll be hooked!)
Best Food Podcast for Light Listening
The Sporkful
This award-winning food podcast tackles issues ranging from whether a hot dog is a sandwich to how race affects culinary traditions. Hosted by Dan Pashman, The Sporkful offers silly, insightful commentary about how food affects our lives in big and small ways. The show’s tagline is “It’s not for foodies, it’s for eaters.”
Recommended episode: “The Great Office Coffee Election” or “Spicy Doritos and How Foods Become American.”
Best Food Podcast for Cookbook Collectors
Salt + Spine
Each episode of Salt + Spine features a behind-the-scenes look at a different cookbook. Host Brian Stewart has interviewed guests including Nigella Lawson (author of At My Table), Alison Roman (author of Nothing Fancy) and Julia Turshen (author of Now & Again).
Recommended episode: The Joy of Cooking episode, which features an interview with the most recent edition’s authors.
Best Food Podcast About Female Foodies
Radio Cherry Bombe
This food podcast features interviews with women from all aspects of the food world—from chefs and bakers to cookbook authors and food entrepreneurs. Past Radio Cherry Bombe guests have included filmmaker Sofia Coppola and Sarah Kieffer, author of the Internet-famous pan-bang chocolate chip cookies recipe.
Recommended episode: “Ina Garten and the Comfort Food We Need,” where Garten talks about Modern Comfort Food, one of the best cookbooks of 2020.
Best Food Podcast for Pop Culture Fans
What’s Gaby Cooking?
Hosted by food blogger and cookbook author Gaby Dalkin, What’s Gaby Cooking? features cooking tips and interviews with culinary experts. Past guests have included Carla Hall of Top Chef and Tyler Malek, co-founder of the gourmet ice cream company Salt & Straw. Dalkin was formerly Jessica Simpson’s personal chef and is friends with Ree Drummond, The Pioneer Woman.
Recommended episode: Gaby’s interview with Adeena Sussman, the cookbook author and recipe developer behind Chrissy Teigen’s two cookbooks. (Sussman’s own cookbook, Sababa, was also one of the best cookbooks of 2019.)
Best Food Podcast for Public Radio Listeners
Milk Street Radio
This food podcast covers cooking, culture, farming, restaurants and more. Hosted by Christopher Kimball, Milk Street Radio airs on the radio but is also available in podcast form. Each episode features multiple segments including tips, recipes and interviews. The show’s guests have included iconic chefs and food experts like Rachael Ray and Padma Lakshmi, host of Hulu’s Taste the Nation.
Recommended episode: “The Ace of Cakes: Duff Goldman Bakes Up The Hogwarts Express” or “Dating Games: How Couples Survive Food Fights.”
Best Food Podcast About Southern Cooking
Gravy
Created by the Southern Foodways Alliance, this award-winning podcast showcases stories about food in the American South. Whether the hosts are discussing what it means to eat tacos in Kentucky or touring Louisiana fish frys, Gravy is informative and heartwarming.
Recommended episode: “A Taste of Dollywood,” about how the Tennessee-based tourist destination came to have some of the best amusement park food.
Best Food Podcast for Food Activists
The Splendid Table
This long-running radio show and food podcast features stories about issues like sustainability, ethical eating and multicultural cuisines. (Speaking of sustainability, here’s how to go green in the kitchen.) While thought-provoking, The Splendid Table also covers practical topics like recipes, cooking techniques and kitchen equipment. Food writer Francis Lam is the current host.
Recommended episode: Episode 722: “Staying Close, Even When Distant” or episode 640: “Iconic Desserts.”
Best Food Podcast for Science Lovers
Gastropod
This compelling food podcast covers cooking and food through the lens of science and history. Led by dynamic hosts Cynthia Graber and Nicola Twilley, Gastropod dives into subjects like the history of pizza, the backstory behind bouillon and how potatoes became ubiquitous in cuisines across the globe.
Recommended episode: “Dig for Victory,” which examines the history of victory gardens and their resurgence during the coronavirus pandemic.
Best Food Podcast for History Buffs
A Taste of the Past
Culinary historian Linda Pelaccio hosts this food podcast, which discusses food through both a modern and historical lens. Episodes have featured conversations ranging from the history of traditional Rosh Hashana foods to comfort foods of the past and present.
Recommended episode: “American Pie History,” which features an interview with Petra Paredez, author of Pie for Everyone. (We’ve also interviewed Paredez about her Nesselrode pie recipe, which has its own storied history.)
Originally Published: December 22, 2020
