With Thanksgiving right around the corner, everyone’s getting ready to spend time with their loved ones and, most importantly, feast on Fall favorites like turkey, stuffing, and pumpkin pie.
In honor of Turkey Day, we’ve gathered a list of some of our top foodie influencers and culinary content creators who’ve risen to the top of their craft because they go beyond recipe sharing with their amazing on-screen personalities that keep audiences invested in their content. Brands and audiences alike flock to their content because they share authentic stories through food – and what better time to share stories over delicious creations than Thanksgiving?
So whether you’re a brand looking to align your products with authentic digital storytellers, an up-and-coming creator seeking content inspiration, or a foodie craving some inspired recipe, this list has a little something for everyone but be warned – it will probably leave you hungry!
So without further ado, let’s get into it.
1. Steph Grasso
Steph Grasso is a licensed dietitian with over 2.2M followers on TikTok. She’s known for her popular and engaging nutritional content that’s focused on inspiring her audience to eat right. Her bite-sized TikToks make eating right easy and accessible while her bubbly personality will inspire you to take your grocery shopping, meal prepping, and cooking to new, healthier heights.
In one of her latest TikToks, Steph Grasso shows us how she takes the boxed Stove Top Stuffing (a Thanksgiving staple in many households) and upgrades it to be more balanced and delicious than ever – to the point where your guests might think you made it from scratch!
@stephgrassodietitian
THE ONE TIME I EDIT ON TIKTOK, I ACCIDENTALLY HIT STORIES. ugh although quality is down, it’s a high quality recipe How to upgrade a thanksgiving classic (and by upgrade I mean more balanced and DELICIOUS). -Carbs: Stove top bread -Protein: pre cooked apple chicken sausage (and egg) – Veggies/fiber: mushrooms, celery, onion -fats: walnuts + parm cheese -extra nutrients: dried cranberries Ingredients: -1 box Stove Top stuffing mix -1 1/4 cups chicken broth -1/2 medium onion, chopped -1/2 cup celery, finely chopped -2 cloves garlic, minced -1 cup precooked sausage, finely chopped -1/2 cup dried cranberries and walnuts (a bag with both) -Fresh sage and rosemary, finely chopped -1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese -1 egg, beaten -Salt and black pepper to taste Directions: 1.Preheat the Oven: Preheat your oven to 350°F . Grease baking dish and set it aside. 2. Saute the Aromatics: In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the chopped onion, celery, mushrooms, sausage, and minced garlic. Cook until the onions become translucent and tender, which should take about 5 minutes. 3. Add Flavors: Stir in the dried cranberries, chopped walnuts, rosemary, sage, salt, and black pepper. Cook for an additional 2 minutes, then remove the skillet from the heat. 4. Mix Stuffing: In a large mixing bowl, combine the Stove Top Stuffing Mix with the vegetable and sausage mixture. Pour in the chicken broth and mix well. Allow the mixture to sit for a few minutes to fully absorb the liquid. 5. Incorporate Eggs and Cheese: Add the beaten egg and grated Parmesan cheese to the stuffing mixture, and stir well until all ingredients are thoroughly combined. 6. Transfer to Baking Dish: Transfer the stuffing mixture to the prepared baking dish, spreading it out evenly. 7. Bake: Bake the stuffing in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and slightly crisp. 8. Cool and Serve: Remove the dish from the oven and allow it to cool for a few minutes before serving. #thanksgiving #stuffing #balance #dietitian #veggies
♬ original sound – Steph Grasso, MS, RD
2. Al Dante
Al Dante is a culinary creator with a clever wit that begins with his creator alias. “Al” is his first name and “Dante” is the name of his adorable dog. Putting them together gets you “Al Dante”, which is a food-related pun as “al dente” is an Italian word for perfectly cooked pasta.
His social media feed is an appetizing cornucopia of culinary wonders with production values that rival Food Network’s best chefs. And with over 1.2M followers on Instagram and 927.1K on TikTok, he’s found a huge audience of like-minded foodies with delicious recipes like Ghapama (aka Armenian stuffed pumpkin) to creamy salmon chowder but one of his best seasonal standouts has to be his classic Thanksgiving Turkey on Salt with over 2M views.
@al_dante_channel
Thanksgiving Turkey on Salt 📕Recipe here: Ingredients: ❂ For turkey 9 Lb Whole Raw Turkey 3 sprigs Rosemary 3 sprigs Thyme 2 sprigs Sage 2 Oranges 3 Shallot 2 Packs of Kosher Salt (coarse grinding) ❂ For Butter Spread 240g. Salted Butter 1 Tbsp Smoked Paprika 4 sprigs Thyme 3 sprigs Rosemary 1 sprig Sage 6 Garlic Cloves 1 Tbsp Ground Coriander 1 Tsp Black Ground Pepper ❂ Cooking process: 1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Prepare a large roasting pan. Remove the turkey from its packaging and remove the giblets and neck. 2. Pat the turkey dry with paper towels. Using a small rubber spatula to separate the skin away from the turkey breast, taking care not to puncture the skin. 3. Prepare the herbed butter spread. In a mixing bowl, combine the softened butter, greens, smoked paprika and pepper. Mix until well combined. 4. Spread the butter underneath the turkey skin, inside and all over, coating it well. 5. Stuff the turkey with the citrus fruit, garlic, herbs and shallots. 6. Use twine to tie the turkey legs. 7. Wrap the drumstick tips with foil to prevent them from burning! 8. Sprinkle coarse salt into a 1.5-2 inch layer on a large roasting pan and place the turkey on top of the salt. 9. Bake the turkey in the preheated oven 3.5 hours. 10. Simply put the turkey to a platter and decorate to your liking (oranges and herbs work well). The turkey is ready for the festive table. Bon appetite and Happy Holidays! #thanksgiving #turkey #easyrecipes #thanksgivingdinner #foodie #foodaddict #fypシ
♬ Idea 10 – Gibran Alcocer
3. Tess Sinatro
Tess Sinatro, who goes by lamb_chop97 on TikTok and tsinatro11 on Instagram, has over 877K followers across the two platforms. Her impeccable taste extends to her music choices as well as she cooks up her culinary creations to the likes of John Mayer, Gnarls Barkley, Hall and Oates, and the Dropkick Murphys just to name a few.
Last year, Tess did a five-part Thanksgiving series where she showed us how to take your side dishes to the next level that got over 1.07M combined views! So make sure to check out her Green Beans Almondine, Brown Butter Corn Souffle, Stuffing, Scalloped Potatoes, and Maple bourbon pork belly brussels.
And for all the leftovers the next day, she’s got her famous Chicken Pot Pie recipe (we suggest swapping out the chicken for turkey) and her from-scratch Thanksgiving Eggs Benny (no store-bought English muffins here!).
4. Salad Lab
As it says in her bio, the Salad Lab is all about “having fun making salads” and it couldn’t be more accurate. Her audience definitely agrees as she’s amassed over 2.7M followers on TikTok and 425K on Instagram with delicious delights such as her Winter Harvest Salad (which makes an amazing Thanksgiving appetizer) and her Thanksgiving Leftovers Salad.
One of her most popular salads (with over 7.5M views on TikTok alone) is the Chicken and Avocado Salad with Honey Tabasco Dressing that could make even the most dedicated meat eaters have some greens – and it also happens to be her daughter’s favorite, too.
After an overwhelming number of requests from her fans, The Salad Lab collaborated with Viral Nation to offer her fans a high-end salad bowl made by local artisans. That bowl is available now with more Salad Lab products set to release in the future.
5. LindseyBakedThis
LindseyBakedThis is an outstanding baker and content creator whose cupcakes blur the line between food and art. With over 3.1M followers on TikTok and 312K on Instagram, Lindsey has a dedicated audience of cupcake connoisseurs who eagerly await every new creation fresh out the oven.
From her adorable Autumn hedgehog cupcake to ones inspired by the Super Mario universe (her cupcake based on Mario’s iconic red mushroom got over 2M views). But for Thanksgiving, you have to see her cute Turkey cupcake she made with a Twix bar, the one that looks like a mini pumpkin pie complete with crust, and her “sweater weather” cupcake with texturing so detailed, it really does look like a bite-sized knitted sweater!
6. Tobias Young
Tobias Young – who goes by simplyfoodbyty on TikTok, simplytobiasyoung on Instagram, and Tobias Young on YouTube – boasts almost 2M followers across the three platforms. He specializes in Southern cooking and soul food and his Maryland Crab Dip got over 10.7M views on TikTok while his BBQ Dinner racked up an astounding 12.6M views!
Tobias is a man of many talents. In addition to his high-energy cooking videos, he’s also a singer/actor and a proud member and advocate for the LGBTQ+ community.
He can be loud and brash but his love of food always comes through. One thing that sets him apart from other online chefs is how in-depth he goes with some of his cooking videos, as his previously mentioned crab dip and BBQ dinner videos are around 9 minutes long – even on TikTok – but he also has plenty of short-form content, too, which makes him a versatile creator who isn’t afraid to let his audience get to know him beyond cooking.
Recently, Paris Hilton Cookware tapped SimplyFoodByTy to put her new baby pink cookware to the test. At first glance, Tobias and Paris are an unlikely pairing but dig a bit deeper and this is an iconic brand collab! Paris Hilton even commented on the video – now #ThatsHot!
7. Food My Muse
Food My Muse is an amazing culinary creator who does Thanksgiving a little differently because of her Mexican background where turkey is specially reserved for Christmas. So instead, she celebrates Thanksgiving with a mouthwatering Tenderloin Roast and Balsamic Brown Butter that was inspired by her dad’s recipe.
Her recipes incorporate multiple influences from all over the world and they reflect her own background as her Instagram bio proudly includes the Mexican, Syrian, French, and American flags with over 568K followers on Instagram and 218.2K on TikTok.
For everyone hosting Thanksgiving this year, she also put together a cheese board to die for that’s both impressive and low-maintenance, which is perfect to hold your guests over until the main course begins!
Plus, her Tenderloin Roast and Cheese Board posts were part of a brand partnership with Albertsons, which shows how she and influencers like her can seamlessly integrate a brand into her content in a natural way.
@foodmymuse
#ad In my family, turkey is reserved for Christmas because of my Mexican background, so we celebrate Thanksgiving with a tenderloin roast. This recipe is inspired by my dad’s roast, and it is so delicious for any holiday celebration! The holidays can be hectic with all of the recipes, ingredients, and guests, but @Albertsons has you covered with their Deals & Delivery app – I use DriveUp & Go™ during this time of year to save time on shopping, and I know I can always count on a quick grocery delivery with Albertsons Flash™ Delivery in case I forget an ingredient! Check out all of the holiday offerings at www.albertsons.com! #AlbertsonsforU Tenderloin Roast & Balsamic Brown Butter Ingredients: 3 lb tenderloin butt roast (peeled and silverskin removed). kosher salt. 8 oz unsalted butter. 1 garlic clove (minced). 1/2 tbsp soy sauce. 1/2 tbsp balsamic vinegar. 1/4 cup fresh parsley (chopped). 1/4 cup chives (chopped). seasoned salt to taste. Directions: 1. Tie your roast with butchers twine so it cooks evenly. Coat in kosher salt and let it sit uncovered in the fridge for 1 hour and up to 12 to draw out excess moisture and season the meat. 2. Pat dry your tenderloin and let it come to room temp. Sprinkle with seasoned salt. 3. Sear the tenderloin in a preheated oven safe pan until browned. 4. Roast at 400F for 15-25 min or to an internal temp of 125-130F for medium rare, internal temp will raise while resting. 5. In a saucepan brown your butter and once it is golden, turn heat off and add in balsamic, soy sauce, garlic and herbs. 6. Whip your butter over ice until it is all incorporated. 7. Once your tenderloin is resting, baste it with half of the butter and cut the twine off. 8. Melt the rest of the butter and spoon it over your tenderloin once you serve it.
♬ original sound – Nadia Aidi
8. Wishbone Kitchen
Wishbone Kitchen is run by Meredith, a professional chef and recipe developer who’s passionate about inspiring you to cook at home. She’s garnered more than 2M followers on TikTok and 1M on Instagram with her charming personality, food inspo, and great vibes.
One of her latest videos features a bunch of tips and tricks for making your Thanksgiving the best it can be – starting with a mood board so you can achieve that perfect fall aesthetic and ambiance. In just a few short days, the video gained over 334K views on TikTok as she tells us how she’s embracing the classic Thanksgiving – think Gossip Girl, except you don’t need a billion dollars to pull it off!
And don’t miss the video where she showed off everything she made for last year’s Friendsgiving that features all of her must-haves, including turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, and canned cranberry (which is still the reigning and undefeated best cranberry sauce imo) that garnered almost 1M views.
Have a happy Thanksgiving
This versatile list of foodie influencers has something for everyone, whether you’re a marketer looking for the perfect food creator to showcase your brand, a creator needing some inspiration or simply getting the entire extended family together or having a smaller celebration with close friends. We hope you’re inspired to make this year’s Thanksgiving better than ever and try out a few new recipes (and potential future favorites).
So unpack your favorite pair of stretchy sweatpants and set your attitude to gratitude because there’s so much to celebrate and be thankful for.
The Viral Nation Talent team represents over 800+ creators and influencers across 35 content verticals. Our food vertical is home to 38 top food content creators alone, some of whom are highlighted above. If you’re interested in influencer marketing for your next campaign, please contact us today.
