The Top Trending Recipe Searches On Google In 2022

As 2022 comes to a close, the folks at Google took a look back at people’s online habits over the past 12 months and shared some of the most interesting findings in the tech giant’s annual “Year in Search” report .

The data covers the “top trending searches” in the U.S., which means searches that showed a high spike in traffic over a sustained period in 2022, compared with 2021. While the overall 2022 trending searches included terms like “Wordle,” “Queen Elizabeth ” and “election results,” the report also features separate categories, such as for movies, sports and recipes.

On the latter front, the data reveals the top 10 trending recipes of 2022. While some of these sought-after recipes are linked to celebrities (“Jennifer Aniston salad” and “Bella Hadid sandwich”), others stem from viral videos and TV appearances (cheers to “Mango Pie”).

Keep scrolling for the full list and explanations for all 10 recipes. 

Sugo

According to Google, the top trending recipe search of 2022 was sugo, a traditional Italian tomato sauce typically made with tomatoes, basil, olive oil, garlic and onions. 

Cincinnati Chili

Next on the list is Cincinnati chili undoubtedly in reference to the Ohio city’s famous dish. According to Google Trends data, the search term got a bump in February, when the Cincinnati Bengals played the Los Angeles Rams in the Super Bowl.

Typically served over spaghetti, Cincinnati chili is a meat sauce made with ground beef, tomato sauce and tomato paste, broth, onions, garlic and spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, clove, cumin, chili powder and bay leaf. It’s sometimes prepared with chocolate as well, and the typical topping is a mountain of grated cheddar cheese. Perhaps the most famous establishment to enjoy the dish is Skyline Chili. 

Marry Me Chicken

The third trending recipe made the ranking thanks to the power of TikTok, where #MarryMeChicken has more than 63 million views. In April, TikTok user @cookinginthemidwest posted a video tutorial for a simple chicken breast recipe involving garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, heavy cream, Parmesan cheese, and a few herbs and spices.  

To date, that “Marry Me Chicken” video has racked up more than 1.4 million likes, making it perhaps the most viral iteration of the notion that a well-prepared chicken dish has the power to lead couples to the altar.

Quick Pancake

The term “quick pancake” saw solid search activity throughout 2022, with a small peak in July. Although the trend doesn’t appear tied to any particular buzzy moment, the general appeal of pancakes is hard to deny especially when you find a delicious recipe that doesn’t require much time or effort. 

Mango Pie

Of course, pie is always on people’s minds at Thanksgiving. But this year, “mango pie” specifically got a big bump in search traffic around that time. The reason? Musician and “Song Exploder” podcast host Hrishikesh Hirway shared his mother’s recipe for the treat on CBS.

Hirway had previously published the recipe which includes mango purée, heavy cream, powdered gelatin and cream cheese in The New York Times in 2019 . In November 2022, he also announced a collaboration for a mango pie ice cream flavor with Salt & Straw.

Green Goddess Salad

Another trending TikTok recipe that made the ranking was “green goddess salad,” which had a big moment on the platform. Melissa Ben-Ishay, founder of Baked By Melissa , shared her chopped salad on TikTok , where it’s reached more than 22.7 million views to date.

The recipe consists of green cabbage, cucumbers, chives, green onions, and a dressing made with spinach, basil, garlic, shallots and nuts. Ben-Ishay likes to serve it as a dip with tortilla chips as well. Musician Lizzo even tried the recipe herself. 

Jennifer Aniston Salad

The other viral salad on the list is the “Jennifer Aniston salad.” The name stems from the fact that Jennifer Aniston ate the same salad on the “Friends” set every day for a decade.

That salad, a twist on a Cobb salad, features shredded lettuce, chicken, egg whites, chickpeas, bacon, and a basic vinaigrette. But, as the actor herself clarified, the dish that popped over the summer was a different recipe, involving bulgur wheat, chickpeas, cucumbers, red onions, feta cheese, pistachios, parsley and mint. 

Grinder Sandwich

Once again, TikTok was at work with “Grinder Sandwich,” which got a boost from spring into summer 2022. 

In late March, TikTok user @ohheyimgray posted a video  of her boyfriend, @joshcookswright, making what she called an Italian grinder sandwich . The long list of ingredients includes toasted bread, melted cheese, turkey, ham, soppressata, capicola, prosciutto and pepperoni. The video has been viewed more than 884,000 times. 

Bella Hadid Sandwich

Another sandwich search made the list: the “Bella Hadid sandwich.” Like the aforementioned grinder, this recipe also contains a long list of ingredients. 

After Hadid posted a TikTok from a picnic with a friend , fans inquired about the sandwich shown in the video. She later shared the 21-ingredient recipe for the hearty sando made with turkey, salami, provolone, tomatoes, pepperoncini, basil aioli and balsamic vinaigrette. 

The Bear Spaghetti

Hulu’s “The Bear” transported viewers to the gritty kitchen of an Italian beef sandwich shop in Chicago, and also took them on a journey through grief and restaurant industry lingo.

One particular dish the “Family Meal Spaghetti wound up playing a major role in the plot — and apparently in people’s Google searches. Rounding out the “Year in Search” recipe data is “The Bear Spaghetti,” which is made with San Marzano tomatoes, basil and garlic.