Spotlight on the Top Food Trends for 2025

November 2024

As 2024 begins to wind down, we are found reflecting on the past year and looking ahead to what is on the horizon for 2025. It is also that time when many food and insights companies present their trend predictions for the upcoming year. We at Lentils.org enjoy doing a deep dive into these forecasts and expectations of food, operations, and consumer interest and are once again pleased to see so many of the top trends aligning with lentils and what they bring to the menu.

The National Restaurant Association (NRA) once again drew upon the expertise of culinary professionals from across the U.S. to produce the What’s Hot 2025 Culinary Forecast including the following relevant trends from their list:

Macro Trend: Sustainability – from the perspective of both personal and planetary health, the report notes that restaurants’ commitment to sustainability is the leading overall trend that will impact where customers choose to eat out. Since lentils are among the most sustainable ingredients, and particularly protein ingredients available, they are well-positioned to help impact the overall sustainability impact of restaurant menus while providing necessary nutrition for customers. Watch our video to learn more about why lentils are so sustainable.

Dish & Cuisine Trends – Consumers are expected to indulge in a deeper exploration of Southeast Asian cuisines in 2025, with particular interest in Korean, Vietnamese, and Filipino foods including classic dishes and components like kimchi and bahn mi. Inspired dishes from Lentils.org include: Korean Lentil Kimchi Salad, Lentil Pate Bahn Mi, Lentil & Pork Sisig (Filipino Crispy Pork Hash).

Top Flavors & Condiments – consumers and interested in more complex flavors, from sweet and spicy to fermented and pickled applications. Hot honey and spicy maple are trending – we love using these flavors to elevate dishes like our Hot Honey Chicken Bowl. We also love pickling lentils to create more depth to a dish, or incorporating umami with miso in our Warm Asian Umami Bowl.

In Whole Foods Market’s Top 10 Food & Beverage Trends for 2025, a few interesting concepts resonated to the top including:

• International Snacking – snack culture continues to grow but the enthusiasm around global influences in snack foods continues to drive interest. From bringing global flavors to classic snacks to authentic ethnic snacks we are loving watching where this trend goes. Chivda is an Indian crunchy snack often served at sports bars.
• Crunch & Texture – textural complexity can be a key driver to interest in a dish. Lentils.org loves experimenting with texture – did you know that you can oven roast or fry lentils? Once your lentils are cooked and well-drained they can be roasted in the oven or deep fried to create impeccably crunchy or crispy bits. Toss these warm in global spice blends to create deeply flavorful savory garnishes and toppings, or toss warm with nuts and chocolate to create a sweet protein granola or trail mix.
• Protein Power Up – consumers are looking to ramp up protein consumption at meal periods and also prioritize it in snack foods. Lentils pack 12 grams of protein into a ½ cup cooked serving size, acting as a strong protein component whether you are adding them to an existing dish to amp up the protein level or build a dish around lentils as the star. Some of our favorite protein-packed snacks include this Simple Lentil Hummus.

Mintel’s 2025 Global Food & Drink Trends touch on some high-level macro trends relevant with the consumer.

• One named “Fundamentally Nutritious” touches on consumer’s interest in functional ingredients, finding the best nutrition for them, and the search for ease in understanding claims about protein, fiber, and vitamins with simplified claims. The nutrition story of lentils is simple – high in protein, high in fiber, resulting in strong satiety keeping you full for longer and providing long-burn sustained energy.
• Mintel also identifies “Hybrid Harvests” as an interesting topic to keep top of mind, digging into how technology and agriculture work together to enhance each other. This trend identifies that a greater use of technology, of all kinds, in food production is inevitable to meet current food supply challenges, yet some consumers are not ready to embrace it. There is a need for the food industry (foodservice operators and food companies) to explain to consumers how nature and technology compliment and enhance one another, and must demonstrate the benefit to consumers (including taste, nutrition, and consistent supply) first, and environment second. Read and watch more about why lentils are sustainable and practices used here.

The Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) Food Technology Magazine’s Outlook 2025: Flavor Trends really dug into flavors and combinations at the micro level. Some Exciting Flavors they highlight include smoke, char, and spice, predominantly led by Gen-Z, as well as the added complexity of “spicy AND” found in many global cuisines like Indian food as is found in chamoy (spicy and smoky), tamarind chutney (spicy and tangy), and romesco (spicy and nutty).

Notable Satisfying Flavors like umami were highlighted, as well as the elevation of veggies as the hero ingredient. We love featuring lentils with vegetables in concepts like Turkish Style Stuffed Eggplant, Moroccan Spiced Lentil & Sweet Potato Tagine, Tandoor Veggie Bowl. Finally, Comfort Flavors were highlighted in the familiar yet new feeling found within nostalgic flavors and new elements. Read more on this trend in our Global Mash-Up Trend Spotlight.

In closing, consumers still value health and sustainability in 2025, however it must come alongside delicious food, often seeking more complex and interesting flavors, dishes, condiments, and continue to seek out new and diversified global cuisines that tap into that.

For help or inspiration in translating these trends onto your menu, reach out to our team for a one-on-one innovation session by contacting info@lentils.org.