ClickAnalytic

Top 25 US Food Influencers on Instagram

American food on Instagram has moved from glossy plating to the home kitchen, where one cook with a phone can teach millions a weeknight dinner.

This list gathers 25 US food creators, from classically trained chefs and registered dietitians to home cooks, recipe developers, and food reviewers who built large followings.

What connects them is repeat viewing: people come back to make the food, which is exactly why their audiences stay close even as the accounts cross a million followers.

Denis Golubev headshotDenis Golubev8 min readLast updated: Jun 16, 2026

How this list was built

A public shortlist from the ClickAnalytic creator database

ClickAnalytic tracks 400M+ creator profiles. We found 18,580 profiles matching this ranking and selected 25 for the public shortlist; inside the platform you can search the full set, compare audience quality and unlock verified contacts.

Search all 18,580 matching creators

The ranking

US food creators engage 2.5x more than average

Across the 18,580 US food creators we track, audiences engage about 2.5x more per post than a typical account of the same size, and their followers read as about 81% real on average.

Liam Layton
#1
2.0M
Followers
2.65%
Engagement rate
688.4K
Avg reel plays
$12.2K+
Est. $/post

For business inquiries liam@jakerosenentertainment.com

Audience location
US73.0%
Audience gender
15.0%
Average: some noise
fake followers / suspicious accounts

Explore the audience split between influencers, businesses, mass followers, and real potential buyers. See full breakdown

Liam Layton leads the list on size and pairs it with above-average engagement for a creator this large. The plant-forward angle makes the account a strong fit for vegan and meat-alternative brands that want scale without losing a clear food identity.

Alton Brown
#2
1.8M
Followers
1.73%
Engagement rate
1.1M
Avg reel plays
$12.2K+
Est. $/post

Just a lowly cook

Audience location
US87.0%
Audience gender
19.0%
Average: some noise
fake followers / suspicious accounts

Explore the audience split between influencers, businesses, mass followers, and real potential buyers. See full breakdown

Alton Brown brings decades of broadcast cooking credibility to the feed. Best when a brand wants an established, trusted name rather than a fast-rising creator, especially for technique-led or science-of-cooking messaging.

Hannah Taylor
#3
1.7M
Followers
2.51%
Engagement rate
879.8K
Avg reel plays
$12.2K+
Est. $/post

✨ NYT Best Seller: Measure With Your Heart

Audience location
US83.0%
Audience gender
12.0%
Good: clean audience
fake followers / suspicious accounts

Explore the audience split between influencers, businesses, mass followers, and real potential buyers. See full breakdown

Hannah Taylor pairs a large audience with one of the highest real-audience reads on the list at 88%. As an NYT bestselling author, she suits cookbook, baking, and pantry partners that value a clean, engaged following.

Ms Shi and Mr He
#4
1.5M
Followers
1.35%
Engagement rate
990.2K
Avg reel plays
$12.2K+
Est. $/post

🇺🇸📩 msshiandmrhe@gmail.com See all my recipes on msshiandmrhe.com 👩‍🍳⬇️

Audience location
US54.0%
Audience gender
22.0%
Average: some noise
fake followers / suspicious accounts

Explore the audience split between influencers, businesses, mass followers, and real potential buyers. See full breakdown

Ms Shi and Mr He publish a steady stream of easy recipes with a full website behind them. The account fits grocery and kitchen brands that want a warm, couple-led home-cooking voice at scale.

Crazy Korean Cooking
#5
1.5M
Followers
4.99%
Engagement rate
1.2M
Avg reel plays
$12.2K+
Est. $/post

NYC| NJ We cook, eat & laugh. Dad’s channel 👉🏻 @bussinhello 👇merch, recipes, products

Audience location
US51.0%
Audience gender
22.0%
Average: some noise
fake followers / suspicious accounts

Explore the audience split between influencers, businesses, mass followers, and real potential buyers. See full breakdown

Crazy Korean Cooking posts the highest engagement on the shortlist at nearly 5%, well above what accounts this size usually see. A clear fit for Korean and Asian grocery, fermentation, and cookware brands.

Mariam 🫶🏼
#6
1.5M
Followers
2.35%
Engagement rate
161.2K
Avg reel plays
$12.2K+
Est. $/post

🎞️ I sleep in my kitchen ☪︎ °❀⋆ 🇵🇸 NYT best selling author & Recipe developer ᝰ.ᐟ my debut cookbook is out now !! ⤵︎

Audience location
US67.0%
Audience gender
15.0%
Average: some noise
fake followers / suspicious accounts

Explore the audience split between influencers, businesses, mass followers, and real potential buyers. See full breakdown

Mariam combines a large audience with an 85% real-audience read and a debut cookbook. Strong for publishing, pantry, and brands that want a distinctive cultural cooking voice rather than generic recipes.

Nikita Fair
#7
1.5M
Followers
2.35%
Engagement rate
1.3M
Avg reel plays
$12.2K+
Est. $/post

💪 Lost 100 lbs eating healthy “junk” food 🍕 Lose fat + gain muscle w/o diet food or giving up the foods you love 🍔 👇MEAL PREP COOKBOOK👇

Audience location
US80.0%
Audience gender
19.0%
Average: some noise
fake followers / suspicious accounts

Explore the audience split between influencers, businesses, mass followers, and real potential buyers. See full breakdown

Nikita Fair frames food around realistic weight and fitness goals while keeping it indulgent. Best for meal-prep, protein, and grocery brands targeting people who want healthy eating without strict diet food.

Marianna Moore
#8
1.4M
Followers
1.13%
Engagement rate
349.6K
Avg reel plays
$12.2K+
Est. $/post

MS nutrition Easy healthy recipes| Realistic nutrition tips Partnerships: mariannamoore@dulcedo.com Tupperware/kitchen tools⬇️ Books: @mariannasreads

Audience location
US38.0%
Audience gender
20.0%
Average: some noise
fake followers / suspicious accounts

Explore the audience split between influencers, businesses, mass followers, and real potential buyers. See full breakdown

Marianna Moore holds a nutrition background and posts easy healthy recipes with realistic tips. A credible pick for brands that want food-first health messaging from someone qualified to give it.

Joe Vadakkedam | Fire Escape Cooking
#9
Joe Vadakkedam | Fire Escape CookingMega
1.3M
Followers
2.98%
Engagement rate
964.4K
Avg reel plays
$12.2K+
Est. $/post

🎙️The Joes Must Go On… 👨🏽‍🍳 Fire Escape| Cooking for People 🗃️ All Recipes on my Website! 📩 contact@joemustgoon.com

Audience location
US53.0%
Audience gender
24.0%
Average: some noise
fake followers / suspicious accounts

Explore the audience split between influencers, businesses, mass followers, and real potential buyers. See full breakdown

Joe Vadakkedam blends cooking with a strong on-camera personality and a full recipe site. Good for brands that want entertainment value alongside the dish, not just a quiet recipe demo.

Thomas Winkler
#10
1.3M
Followers
3.83%
Engagement rate
1.0M
Avg reel plays
$12.2K+
Est. $/post

a.k.a. THE FOOD GUY🍔🍕🍟 @dontask.podcast @tommywinklergolf @tommywinklerfitness 📧Tommy@ingenuity.live 👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼

Audience location
US35.0%
Audience gender
22.0%
Average: some noise
fake followers / suspicious accounts

Explore the audience split between influencers, businesses, mass followers, and real potential buyers. See full breakdown

Thomas Winkler, known as the Food Guy, posts some of the highest engagement on the list at 3.8% with a fast-food and reaction style. Best for brands chasing reach and personality over careful technique.

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Raunak Sunder
#11
1.3M
Followers
2.34%
Engagement rate
657.4K
Avg reel plays
$12.2K+
Est. $/post

📍Georgia, US 🇺🇸 📱TikTok: 2.1M 🤝🏽 Collabs - chefron@jakerosenentertainment.com 👇🏽Teaching you how to make Easy/Delicious meals for yourself

Audience location
US42.0%
Audience gender
15.0%
Average: some noise
fake followers / suspicious accounts

Explore the audience split between influencers, businesses, mass followers, and real potential buyers. See full breakdown

Raunak Sunder teaches simple, delicious meals and carries a strong cross-platform TikTok audience. An 85% real-audience read makes him a dependable fit for grocery and weeknight-dinner campaigns.

Joanne Molinaro
#12
1.3M
Followers
1.78%
Engagement rate
512.5K
Avg reel plays
$12.2K+
Est. $/post

Joanne Molinaro| 선영 @nytimes Bestselling Author| James Beard Winner| Lawyer| 작가 CEO of @koreanveganbeauty 📍LA

Audience location
US53.0%
Audience gender
18.0%
Average: some noise
fake followers / suspicious accounts

Explore the audience split between influencers, businesses, mass followers, and real potential buyers. See full breakdown

Joanne Molinaro is a James Beard winner and bestselling author working in Korean vegan cooking. The clear niche and credentials suit plant-based, publishing, and premium food partners that value authority.

Chef Khristianne U
#13
Chef Khristianne UMega
1.3M
Followers
1.78%
Engagement rate
593.4K
Avg reel plays
$12.2K+
Est. $/post

Your favorite celeb’s favorite chef 𝕷𝖔𝖘 𝕬𝖓𝖌𝖊𝖑𝖊𝖘🔪 @therealdba inquires: kylie.frink@thedigitalbrandarchitects.com

Audience location
US61.0%
Audience gender
27.0%
Poor: high risk
fake followers / suspicious accounts

Explore the audience split between influencers, businesses, mass followers, and real potential buyers. See full breakdown

Chef Khristianne U cooks with a celebrity-chef positioning in Los Angeles. Useful for brands that want a polished, professional kitchen voice, though the 73% real-audience read is the lower end of this list.

Genio Ng
#14
1.3M
Followers
1.63%
Engagement rate
791.9K
Avg reel plays
$12.2K+
Est. $/post

I cook easy recipes 🥢 📍Sydney🇦🇺 x LA 🇺🇸 📩: geniuseatss@empwr.asia Free written recipes 👇🏻

Audience location
US35.0%
Audience gender
19.0%
Average: some noise
fake followers / suspicious accounts

Explore the audience split between influencers, businesses, mass followers, and real potential buyers. See full breakdown

Genio Ng posts easy recipes to a large following split between Australia and Los Angeles. Solid for broad recipe reach, with the caveat that part of the audience sits outside the US.

RUHAMA SHITRIT
#15
1.2M
Followers
1.74%
Engagement rate
611.2K
Avg reel plays
$12.2K+
Est. $/post

Recipes• Life• Inspiration Mom of 4 📍Boston 📩 Ruhamasfood@gmail.com

Audience location
US34.0%
Audience gender
23.0%
Average: some noise
fake followers / suspicious accounts

Explore the audience split between influencers, businesses, mass followers, and real potential buyers. See full breakdown

Ruhama Shitrit posts recipes and life as a Boston mom of four. A warm fit for family-focused grocery, kitchen, and meal-planning brands that want a relatable home-cook voice.

Doughtoli
#16
1.2M
Followers
2.43%
Engagement rate
469.1K
Avg reel plays
$12.2K+
Est. $/post

Decided to BE better and DO better one day at a time. Business email: doughtoli@gmail.com

Audience location
US45.0%
Audience gender
18.0%
Average: some noise
fake followers / suspicious accounts

Explore the audience split between influencers, businesses, mass followers, and real potential buyers. See full breakdown

Doughtoli centers on baking and dough-led content with steady engagement. Best for flour, baking-tool, and home-oven brands that want a creator clearly known for one craft.

Faith Boyer
#17
1.2M
Followers
1.80%
Engagement rate
688.2K
Avg reel plays
$12.2K+
Est. $/post

ur dairy free daddy alix@thedigitalbrandarchitects.com recipes below 🧺

Audience location
US64.0%
Audience gender
11.0%
Good: clean audience
fake followers / suspicious accounts

Explore the audience split between influencers, businesses, mass followers, and real potential buyers. See full breakdown

Faith Boyer carries the highest real-audience read on the list at 89% and a clear dairy-free angle. A strong, well-defined fit for plant-based dairy and allergy-friendly food brands.

Claire
#18
1.2M
Followers
1.26%
Engagement rate
498.2K
Avg reel plays
$12.2K+
Est. $/post

Easy recipes for home cooks! 🍝 Cozy meals and one-pot dinners 🌞 San Diego 💌 heresyourbite@gmail.com

Audience location
US59.0%
Audience gender
22.0%
Average: some noise
fake followers / suspicious accounts

Explore the audience split between influencers, businesses, mass followers, and real potential buyers. See full breakdown

Claire posts easy one-pot and cozy meals for home cooks from San Diego. A clean fit for grocery and cookware brands selling everyday weeknight cooking rather than special-occasion food.

Kiley O'Donnell
#19
1.1M
Followers
1.36%
Engagement rate
391.3K
Avg reel plays
$12.2K+
Est. $/post

approachable, fun recipes + elevated classics 💌: wellmadebykiley@rangemp.com + @unitedtalent 📍fort worth, tx 🤠 recipes + more!! ⬇️

Audience location
US60.0%
Audience gender
28.0%
Poor: high risk
fake followers / suspicious accounts

Explore the audience split between influencers, businesses, mass followers, and real potential buyers. See full breakdown

Kiley ODonnell makes approachable, fun recipes and elevated classics from Texas. Good for kitchen and grocery brands, though the 72% real-audience read is worth checking before a large buy.

Steven Gao
#20
1.1M
Followers
1.60%
Engagement rate
386.8K
Avg reel plays
$12.2K+
Est. $/post

never stop learning Institute of Culinary Education NYC ‘24 alumni @perseny *** steven@sixteenth.com

Audience location
US49.0%
Audience gender
20.0%
Average: some noise
fake followers / suspicious accounts

Explore the audience split between influencers, businesses, mass followers, and real potential buyers. See full breakdown

Steven Gao is a recent culinary-institute graduate cooking in New York. Best for brands that want technically capable, on-trend recipe content from a younger, rising creator.

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LazyPotNoodle
#21
1.1M
Followers
4.78%
Engagement rate
1.0M
Avg reel plays
$12.2K+
Est. $/post

👨‍🍳 Plug & Cook 🔌 📧 Lazypot@juggernautmp.com 🍳 Order Lazy Pot on Amazon! ↓

Audience location
US70.0%
Audience gender
17.0%
Average: some noise
fake followers / suspicious accounts

Explore the audience split between influencers, businesses, mass followers, and real potential buyers. See full breakdown

LazyPotNoodle posts simple plug-and-cook recipes and engages at nearly 5%, among the highest on the list. A natural fit for appliance, noodle, and convenience-food brands.

Chef Tyler
#22
1.1M
Followers
1.75%
Engagement rate
398.3K
Avg reel plays
$12.2K+
Est. $/post

📍North Carolina, USA Tyler@verticaltalent.co 5,500,000+ Subscribers on Youtube! 1,700,000+ Followers on TikTok

Audience location
US73.0%
Audience gender
19.0%
Average: some noise
fake followers / suspicious accounts

Explore the audience split between influencers, businesses, mass followers, and real potential buyers. See full breakdown

Chef Tyler runs a very large cross-platform audience with millions on YouTube and TikTok alongside Instagram. Strong for brands that want a chef who can carry a campaign across several channels.

Karina Valladares
#23
1.1M
Followers
1.33%
Engagement rate
313.8K
Avg reel plays
$12.2K+
Est. $/post

YouTube 855K: @LoveKariCooking TikTok 1.5M: @lov.kari Management+kari@33ave.com Recetas en Español: @kari.receta

Audience location
US89.0%
Audience gender
20.0%
Average: some noise
fake followers / suspicious accounts

Explore the audience split between influencers, businesses, mass followers, and real potential buyers. See full breakdown

Karina Valladares publishes recipes in English and Spanish across Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok. A useful pick for brands targeting US Hispanic audiences with cooking content.

Zach Coen, RD/LN
#24
1.1M
Followers
1.25%
Engagement rate
560.7K
Avg reel plays
$12.2K+
Est. $/post

‼️CEO of Easy Meal Prep‼️ 🥦 Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN) ⬇️ Join for my virtual cookbook 🔽

Audience location
US84.0%
Audience gender
15.0%
Average: some noise
fake followers / suspicious accounts

Explore the audience split between influencers, businesses, mass followers, and real potential buyers. See full breakdown

Zach Coen is a registered dietitian nutritionist built around easy meal prep, with an 85% real-audience read. The credential makes him a credible fit for nutrition and health-led food brands.

DoughJoe
#25
1.1M
Followers
2.44%
Engagement rate
667.3K
Avg reel plays
$12.2K+
Est. $/post

Becoming Better One day at a time. Follow to Come along!!

Audience location
US39.0%
Audience gender
19.0%
Average: some noise
fake followers / suspicious accounts

Explore the audience split between influencers, businesses, mass followers, and real potential buyers. See full breakdown

DoughJoe posts consistent improvement-led cooking content with solid engagement for the size. A dependable fit for grocery and kitchen brands wanting reliable recipe reach without a strong single niche.

Niche analytics

Who's on this list

These are working US food creators who publish recipes and cooking as their main job, not lifestyle accounts that occasionally post a meal. The list runs from a James Beard winner and an NYT bestselling cookbook author to home cooks who turned one-pot dinners into a following, plus a registered dietitian and several private and trained chefs. Many list a cookbook, a management contact, or a recipe website in their bio, which signals a working creator rather than a casual poster.

The defining trait of this group is utility. The accounts that grow here are the ones people open to cook from, not just to admire, and that practical pull is what keeps engagement steady across some very large audiences. The blocks below break down what they post, how the group splits by creator type, which brand categories fit, and how the shortlist compares with the wider US food pool we track.

59%
avg US food audience
2.2%
avg engagement rate
81%
avg real audience
$12.2K+
estimated price per post

ClickAnalytic pricing model, how we worked this out

What they post
Step-by-step recipe ReelsWeeknight dinner ideasOne-pot and meal-prep cookingRegional and heritage dishesRestaurant-style at homeHealthy and high-protein meals
Who they are

Trained and pro chefs

Restaurant-trained or culinary-school cooks who teach technique, including a James Beard winner and a private chef.

Home cooks

Self-taught creators who turned easy, repeatable family dinners into very large followings.

Recipe developers and authors

Cookbook authors and NYT bestsellers who treat the feed as an extension of the book.

Heritage and regional cooking

Creators who center Korean, Mexican, and other cuisines and bring those dishes to a US audience.

Healthy-eating creators

A registered dietitian and high-protein, meal-prep creators framing food around realistic nutrition.

Food reviewers and entertainers

Creators who lead with personality and food commentary as much as the recipe itself.

Creator sizes

Which size of creator should you pick?

Bigger is not always better. The right size depends on whether you mainly want awareness or action. Smaller creators bring a tighter audience and stronger engagement; larger ones bring reach and recognition.

Nano

Emerging creators · 1K-10K

Highest trust and engagement. Best for hyper-local or niche campaigns where authenticity matters most.

Strong trustNiche reach
0 in this list

Micro

Recommended

High-efficiency creators · 10K-50K

Best balance of reach, engagement and cost. Ideal for product launches, DTC brands and performance campaigns.

Best efficiencyProduct fit
0 in this list

Macro

Scale creators · 50K-500K

Broad visibility and recognition. Good for awareness and brand positioning at scale.

Wide reachAwareness
0 in this list

Mega

Celebrity-level creators · 500K+

Mass awareness and cultural reach. Premium pricing; use where broad visibility matters most.

Mass reachPremium
25 in this list

Not sure which size fits your campaign? Match creators to your exact goal and budget.

Find your creators

Brand fit

Best brand fits for US food influencers

Food creators fit brands that show up in a real kitchen. These categories are inferred from what the creators on this list actually cook and mention, not from any sponsorship record.

Kitchen tools and cookware
Best fit

Many demonstrate technique on camera, so pans, knives, and appliances slot naturally into a recipe Reel.

Grocery and pantry brands
Best fit

Recipe-led accounts name ingredients constantly, making staples, sauces, and pantry products an easy fit.

Meal kits and grocery delivery
Strong

Home-cook and weeknight-dinner creators map directly to convenience food services.

Cookbooks and food publishing
Strong

Several are published authors, so book launches and publishing partners align with their audience.

Nutrition and supplements
Good

The dietitian and high-protein creators suit brands that want credible, food-first health messaging.

Beverage and coffee
Good

Pairs well with cooking and at-home entertaining content across most of the list.

Recommendations are inferred from creator bios and content themes, not invented sponsorship history.

Most of the creators here are not casual food posters. Many list a cookbook, a recipe website, or a management contact in their bio, and several hold professional credentials, including a James Beard winner, an NYT bestselling author, and a registered dietitian. That mix is why the engagement holds up even at this size: people open these accounts to cook from them, not just to scroll.

The shortlist also shows how much heritage and regional cooking drives US food on Instagram. Several creators center Korean, Mexican, or other cuisines, and a few publish in more than one language, which makes the group useful for brands that want to reach specific cultural audiences alongside broad weeknight-dinner reach.

Our verdict

This shortlist is best used as a starting map of the largest US food creators who still post real, cook-along content.

Start with the home cooks and recipe developers if you want broad reach on weeknight meals, the trained chefs if you need culinary credibility, and the registered dietitian or high-protein creators if the brief is nutrition-led.

Each is near or above a million followers, so this is the macro and mega end of the market, not the smaller nano tier where many brand programs begin. To go deeper, search the wider US food slice we track to filter by audience location, real-audience score, and verified contact before you shortlist.

For developers & data teams

Put the data behind this ranking in your own stack

The same live data we used to rank US food creators, followers, engagement, audience quality and more across 400M+ creators, is available programmatically through the ClickAnalytic Influencer Marketing API.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Everything brands ask before shortlisting US food creators.

How were these US food influencers chosen and ranked?

We pulled US food creators from the Click Analytic database and ranked them on reach, engagement, and audience quality. We kept individual creators whose main content is cooking, recipes, or food, and excluded food brands, restaurant chains, and recipe-aggregator pages.

Is this list specific to Instagram?

Yes. Every creator here is measured on Instagram, though many also publish on YouTube and TikTok. The follower and engagement figures shown are their Instagram numbers.

How is audience quality measured for food creators?

Each creator has a real-audience score that estimates the share of genuine followers. Across the 25 shown, the average real-audience read is about 80%. For context, across all US Instagram creators in the Creator Economy Report 2026, only 39% clear a 75%-real-audience bar.

How big is the food niche on US Instagram?

Food is the third-largest Instagram interest area in the Creator Economy Report 2026 (data: December 2025), about 6% of creators or roughly 356K accounts. The 25 here sit at the top of that pool by reach.

How do these creators compare with a typical food account?

The 25 shown engage their audiences about 2.5x more than the typical Instagram account of similar size, using the Creator Economy Report 2026 tier benchmarks. They are large accounts, so this is the macro and mega end of the market.

How do I find more US food creators or their contact details?

Search the wider US food slice we track inside the platform. You can filter by follower size, audience location, real-audience score, and verified contact email to build a shortlist beyond the 25 shown here.

Denis Golubev

Written by

Denis Golubev

Marketer at Click Analytic, turning live data on 400M+ creators into rankings brands can actually act on.

Last updated Jun 16, 20268 min readRefreshed monthly

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