Food blogging has exploded in popularity over the last decade. What was once a niche hobby has transformed into a full-fledged industry, with talented home cooks and photographers building devoted followings and even six-figure businesses around their sites.
But in an increasingly crowded playing field, it can be hard for aspiring food bloggers to stand out. Where should you start? What should you write about? And how do you build an audience and actually make money from a little old food blog?
The best way to find answers is to look at blogs who are already successful. In this post, we‘ll analyze 7 top-earning, highly-trafficked food blogs across different niches, breaking down the keys to their content, monetization, and social media strategies. Consider it a masterclass in modern food blogging best practices!
Why Food Blogging is So Popular
Before diving into the examples, let‘s quickly cover why food blogging has become so popular both for readers and creators in 2024:
For readers:
- Food blogs provide inspiration and easy access to recipes
- They showcase pretty photography that brings dishes to life
- Many focus on current food trends like meal prep, plant-based eating, batch cooking, and simplifying recipes
For bloggers:
- Food is an easy, visual topic to photograph and write about
- Bloggers can monetize through ads, affiliate links, products, and cookbooks
- Some have turned their sites into full-scale multimedia brands and companies
Food truly is one of the most engaging blogging niches out there. Now let‘s look at some stellar examples who are killing it!
7 Successful Food Blog Examples
I analyzed over two dozen high-traffic food blogs and chose 7 stellar examples across different specialty niches:
- Cookie and Kate — Vegetarian
- Budget Bytes — Affordable Meals
- Oh She Glows — Plant-Based
- Pinch of Yum — General Recipes
- Sally‘s Baking Addiction — Baking
- Gimme Some Oven — Mediterranean Diet
- Iowa Girl Eats — Gluten-Free
Below, you’ll find a deep dive into what makes each of these sites so successful. We’ll explore the details of their content strategies, income generation methods, and social media brands.
Consider repurposing elements you like from these blogs into your own. There’s a goldmine of tips within!
1. Cookie and Kate
Niche: Vegetarian
Traffic: 10+ million monthly pageviews
Income Streams: Cookbooks, affiliate links, advertising
Content Strategy
Cookie and Kate has published multiple vegetarian and whole food cookbooks, but the blog itself sticks to a consistent publishing schedule of 2-3x a month. This is higher than some food blogs, but lower than daily bloggers.
Recipes are broken into logical categories like soups, salads, dinners, desserts, and more. Cookie and Kate also has strong lifestyle and informational content, including beginner guides to vegetarianism.
As for recipes, most follow a similar format:
- Engaging lead paragraph and intro
- Detailed ingredient lists with affiliate links to purchase
- Step-by-step instructions paired with mouthwatering images
- Printable recipe card with serving adjustments
- Consistent keyword-optimized titles like “15 Vegetarian Chili Recipes”
This clear structure, helpful instructions, and balance of text and images serve readers well while also boosting SEO.
Income and Monetization
Cookie and Kate keeps income streams diversified with advertising, affiliate links, and cookbooks:
- Display ads: Uses site-wide header bidding
- Affiliate links: Links ingredients to Amazon
- Cookbooks: Promotes 2 self-published vegetarian cookbooks
These multiple streams provide a safety net if one vertical underperforms. Cookbooks and loyalty also ensure income doesn’t solely rely on third party platforms like Amazon Associates or external ad networks.
Social Media and Community Building
With 1.3 million Instagram followers and over 850K on Pinterest, Cookie and Kate has exceptional social reach. Giveaways, lovely food photos, and engaging captions attract a very active community across platforms.
The site also sends email newsletters with subscriber-only content. Combined, these community-building assets help drive traffic and book sales.
2. Budget Bytes
Niche: Affordable Meals
Traffic: 5+ million monthly pageviews
Income Streams: Digital products, ads, branded content
Content Strategy
As a site tailored to home cooks on a budget, Budget Bytes sticks to simple, affordable ingredients in all recipes. Site founder Beth also provides a cost breakdown per serving with each recipe post.
The site publishes 5-6x a month on average. Posts tend to be short and scannable compared to other food blogs. Images support recipes visually while keeping written word count low.
From building custom cooking apps to ecookbook bundles, Beth experiments often with translating content into new digital avenues. This innovation combined with SEO keeps traffic steady.
Income and Monetization
Budget Bytes earns from display advertising, affiliate links, branded content partnerships, and digital products like ecookbooks.
Some standout products include:
- SNAP Budget Cookbook: Sold via Gumroad for $9.99
- Ad-free mobile app: $2.99 via app stores
- Layered Jpeg bundles: $15 digital packs with layered images site members can edit
Beth also works with brands like Silk that align well with her affordability concept.
Social Media and Community Building
As the OG budget food blogger, Beth has earned 1.3 million Facebook fans and 400K+ Instagram followers. Utilizing in-post pins and pin queueing services like Tailwind, she also drives great Pinterest traffic.
Alongside social accounts, Budget Bytes sends email newsletters and SMS messages to engage subscribers. Combined with SEO, these promotion channels push lots of eyes to new recipes and products.
3. Oh She Glows
Niche: Plant-Based Recipes
Traffic: 2+ million monthly pageviews
Income Streams: Cookbooks, meal plans, advertising, affiliate links
Content Strategy
As a pioneering vegan recipe blog, all of Oh She Glows’ recipes are 100% plant-based. They also happen to look beautiful!
Founder Angela Liddon focuses solely on original recipes rather than rounds up or links as some food blogs do. She publishes just 1-2x a month but delivers extremely high quality content in this space.
From one-pot meals to holiday dishes, OSG’s recipe indexes let you browse by category too. This extra navigation combined with stunning food photos helps Angela stand out in the now crowded vegan food space.
Income and Monetization
Oh She Glows monetizes brilliantly with ads, affiliate links, and digital products:
- Display ads: Site-wide header bidding ads
- Affiliate links: Links ingredients to sites like Amazon
- Glowing Lean eCourse: A self-paced vegan meal planning video course
- Cookbooks: Six best-selling vegan cookbook releases
Angela’s best-seller status in the cookbook world shows how leveraging content into books can prove wildly profitable for food blogs.
Social Media and Community Building
Oh She Glows has expanded expertly across social platforms, driving an engaged audience to recipes, meal plans, and cookbooks:
- 538K Facebook followers
- 719K Pinterest monthly viewers
- 389K Instagram followers
Captivating recipe photos posted across these accounts entice clicks back to OhSheGlows.com. Angela also promotes her books, app, and ecourse regularly through social posts, landing lots of sales.
4. Pinch of Yum
Niche: General Recipes
Traffic: 4+ million monthly pageviews
Income Streams: Software, courses, advertising, affiliate links
Content Strategy
Unlike our other examples tailored to budgets or diets, Pinch of Yum simply focuses on publishing awesome recipes and food content.
From chicken pot pie to berry galette, they serve a tasty mix of classic American comfort foods with global fare too. Photos look consistently bright and stunning as well!
While no dietary specialty, you can still browse Pinch of Yum’s massive recipe database by categories, ingredients, cuisine type, and more filters. So if seeking gluten-free or 30-minute meals, for instance, you can filter to just that.
Pinch of Yum also incorporates lots of lifestyle content from family travel to home renovations alongside all those yummy recipes. This provides a well-rounded reading experience for returning visitors.
Income and Monetization
Here’s where Pinch of Yum deviates from most food blogs significantly. While they do run ads and affiliate links, software and courses now make up over 50% of the business‘s income:
- WP Tasty: WordPress recipe plugins for food bloggers
- Food Blogger Pro: Paid community and courses on running a food biz
- Advertising and affiliates: Also big revenue streams
This shows how if you grow influence in the food space, you can translate that authority into other product lines far beyond just cookbooks and ingredients affiliates.
Social Media and Community Building
Pinch of Yum boasts 1.5 million Facebook fans and 1.1 million Instagram followers. They actively foster community engagement across all platforms:
- Facebook Group: Very active discussion among 187K members
- Pinterest: Drive traffic via optimized pins
- Instagram: Partner with brands on sponsored post recipes
Alongside advertiser partners like Bob’s Red Mill, Lindsay communicates daily with her audience through social channels and email newsletters. This keeps fans hooked, website traffic steady, and money making opportunities rolling in!
5. Sally‘s Baking Addiction
Niche: Baking Recipes
Traffic: 1.3+ million monthly pageviews
Income Streams: Cookbooks, bakeware affiliates
Content Strategy
As one of today’s most popular baking sites, Sally’s publishes new cake, cookie, bread, pie, and other sweet treat recipes 3-4x a month. She also posts lots of holiday baking content timed to peak seasons.
Recipes tend to be more complex than everyday quick meals on other food sites. Sally breaks down even intricate steps clearly with text and images though so home bakers can follow.
Alongside drool-worthy recipes, she includes resources like baking equipment must-haves and guides to techniques such as frosting cakes or kneading dough. This helps convert new bakers from beginner to regular Sally’s visitors.
Income and Monetization
Sally’s top income streams include:
- Cookbooks: Sally has published multiple baking cookbooks that sell very well, especially for gifting.
- Affiliate links: She links to baking equipment and bakeware via sites like Amazon. As bakers need reliable tools, this earns well!
Display advertising rounds out revenue. Focused purely on baking, Sally’s can charge premium rates to food brands targeting the niche.
Social Media and Community Building
Over 2 million Facebook fans and 735K Instagram followers give Sally’s great visibility for new recipes and cookbooks. She also shares real-time deals from kitchenware affiliates.
To foster community, Sally emails subscribers with extra tips, troubleshooting advice, and deals along with social posts. She wants to be readers‘ go-to baking guru!
6. Gimme Some Oven
Niche: Mediterranean Diet Recipes
Traffic: 600K+ monthly pageviews
Income Streams: Cookbooks, meal plans, advertising, affiliates
Content Strategy
As a spin on Mediterranean cuisine, Gimme Some Oven features lots of olive oil, vegetables, lean meats like chicken and fish, and heart-healthy fats. Founder Ali also incorporates trendy ingredients like quinoa or avocado.
Recipes span everything from tapas dishes to vegetarian meals to cocktails and gluten-free desserts. Images look consistently bright and vibrant—perfect for the Mediterranean niche.
Besides just recipes, Ali includes lots of quick cooking tips and roundups like “Foods for Beautiful Skin” that use site content to create compelling titles for Pinterest.
Income and Monetization
Monetization happens through ads, affiliates, digital products, and promoted cookbooks:
- Display ads: Site-wide header bidding
- Affiliate links: Ingredients and kitchenware links via partnerships
- Mediterranean Diet eBook: A digital cookbook helping others transition to the diet
- Physical cookbooks: Two published books so far
This diversified setup brings multiple income streams so revenue doesn’t rely solely on fluctuating ad performance.
Social Media and Community Building
Gimme Some Oven has expanded onto all major social platforms quite well:
- 568K Facebook fans
- 335K Pinterest followers
- 274K Instagram followers
Alongside beautiful food photography, Ali shares lifestyle snapshots from Spain and Portugal on social feeds—inspiring fans to cook and travel!
7. Iowa Girl Eats
Niche: Gluten-Free Recipes
Traffic: 900K+ monthly pageviews
Income Streams: eBooks, advertising, affiliates
Content Strategy
Iowa Girl Eats founder Kristin removes gluten from all recipes, but most dishes remain simple with farmhouse vibes. While gluten-free, she includes both vegetarian and meat options.
On average, the site publishes just 1-2x a month but has amassed over 650 recipes in 10+ years. Photos capture delicious, Midwestern flavors.
Readers can browse Kristen’s recipes by category, ingredients, prep method, and more. There are also convenient labels marking dairy-free, nut-free, low FODMAP, and other dietary preferences.
Income and Monetization
Iowa Girl Eats takes a simple route for monetization:
- Display ads: Site-wide header bidding ads
- Affiliate links: Links ingredients to sites like Amazon
- Gluten-Free eCookbook: Sells a digital gluten-free recipe book
This covers multiple models—pay-per-click advertising, affiliate percentages, and 100% earned book royalties—to diversify income streams.
Social Media and Community Building
Most social activity and reader conversations happen on Iowa Girl’s Facebook page which has attracted over 114K fans. Pinterest is also popular for pinning recipes.
Kristin sends email newsletters as well highlighting latest recipes and affiliate deals on gluten-free flours or baking ingredients. These messages nurture current site fans and provides helpful deals they appreciate.
Key Takeaways for Food Blog Success
If you made it this far, congrats! 🎉 I know that was an epic amount of information on what makes these sites so successful…but I promise distilling the key elements will help transform your own food blogging efforts.
Here are the 6 crucial lessons to take with you:
1. Find Your Specific Niche
While you don’t have to be as focused as a gluten-free or vegan-only site, do hone your blog’s concept early on. Quick recipes? Budget meals? Batch cooking? Comfort food favorites? Family-friendly dinners? Baking? Grilling?
Let your special angle shine through in all branding and content decisions.
2. Structure Pages Consistently
No matter your niche, adopt consistent page structures across all recipes like: engaging headlines – ingredients – nicely formatted instructions – vibrant images – printable recipe cards – helpful notes.
Pages that look reliably uniform, clean, and reader-friendly across your site increase perceived authority.
3. Diversify Income Streams
From ads, affiliates, and cookbooks to digital products and services, put multiple monetization irons in the revenue fire right away, especially passive ones like display ads and affiliate product links which earn as your traffic grows.
4. Use Social Channels to Attract Your Audience
Optimizing visual recipe content for platforms like Facebook and Pinterest should be built into your ongoing marketing approach. Don‘t just write blog posts then hope readers come. Share your fabulous food photos actively across channels to raise awareness and clicks back to your site!
5. Send Email Newsletters
Email subscribers are like gold since once signed up, you can market to this captive audience directly. Send regular newsletters with fresh recipes, related affiliate product features, cookbook promotions, or behind-the-scenes site content.
6. Continually Evolve Your Model
Start an ingredient selling store, launch online cooking classes, publish a cookbook, create membership content, build a custom recipe app – the possibilities are endless! As your audience grows, keep finding new ways to expand your food brand.
Now I’d love to hear from YOU!
- Which was your favorite example in this post & why?
- What niche interests you most for a food blog?
- Do you already have a food site? What questions do you still have on monetization or growth?
Let me know in the comments!
