Food YouTube Recommendations
A screenshot of some YouTube channels I’m subscribed to 😄
For those of you who know me, you know that I love to cook, and that I learned through watching a lot of YouTube videos. I find myself sharing the channels I watch quite frequently, especially with those who are trying to pick up cooking. So I figured, I might as well share all the YouTube channels I’m subscribed to in one blog post — it makes both my life and your life easier!
As I (inevitably) subscribe to more channels, I’ll update this list. One note: I did leave out more specialty channels that have food as a secondary focus from this list (e.g., cookware, comedy, etc.).
Top Recommendations for the Home Cook
Pro Home Cooks (Mike Green)
Pro Home Cooks is one of my favourite channels for learning home cooking! I love Mike’s approach of sharing his thoughts as he cooks, and the topics he covers is very approachable and relevant. In my earlier days, I’d often watch his videos late into the night (2 AM… 😅); they’re all really good!
If I were to recommend one video to everyone, that would be his video on teriyaki chicken! He shares a simple recipe for making teriyaki sauce, which can then be applied to just about anything!
Ethan Chlebowski
Ethan has a very different approach to cooking. If I were to describe it in one word, it’d be methodical. A lot of his videos are about laying out frameworks to make cooking approachable, so that you aren’t tied to specific recipes (which I think is the pinnacle of home cooking). He often comments on alternative approaches or ingredients, getting to the heart of cooking, by focusing on the how instead of the what. Sometimes, his videos can be more “scientific” (such as comparing various balsamic vinegars), and other times, he simply shares what he’s been cooking recently.
If I were to recommend one video to everyone, it’d be his video on one-pot pastas. Whenever I’m in a rush, I’ll use this technique, since you can just build the sauce in the pan.
Recipe-Oriented Cooking
Brian Lagerstrom
Brian isn’t as flashy as the other channels on this list, and I think that’s the appeal! His recent videos have been more oriented toward the home cook, yet he’ll still add his own “chefy” flairs throughout the video, if you want to elevate your cooking. He also creates his recipes by weight instead of by volume, which is a huge plus.
Joshua Weissman
I’d say Josh is on the more flashy side of recipe cooking, as he often comes up with recipes that go to lengths to maximize flavour. But he still comes up with more down-to-earth videos that are helpful for the home cook. Still, it’s nice to use his videos as inspiration, and they show you what can be done to bring your cooking to the next level. His recipes are also by weight instead of volume, another huge plus.
My Name Is Andong (Arseny Knaifel)
Andong (as he’s often referred to on the internet) has a variety of video genres, ranging from the history of particular foods to recipe videos. I’d say the special thing about Andong is that he explores a lot of international dishes, even though he’s based in Germany.
Proto Cooks (Chef Frank Proto)
Chef Frank is known to be a personality on the Epicurious channel, and he created his own channel to share a variety of recipes. I haven’t watched him as seriously, but his videos are very friendly for the home cook.
Food 52
I’ll admit, I haven’t subscribed to Food 52 as long as the other channels, but they do come up with short and simple recipe videos. I’m a huge fan of Lucas Sin’s appearances, since his passion for food overflows into his commentary. Looking around, there’s lots of other videos and personalities on this channel, so you’re bound to find lots of good content.
Babish Culinary Universe (Andrew Rea)
Andrew (often referred to “Babish” on the internet, even though that isn’t his name) is famous for his show, “Binging with Babish” where he comes up with recipes inspired by shows and movies. He also often has guests on his channel that do the same. I personally avoid those videos if I’m trying to learn (though they are entertaining). What I think is more valuable are his “Basics with Babish” series, that cover the fundamentals of cooking, and realistic dishes you’d cook.
Ethnic Cooking
Chinese
Made With Lau (Randy & “Daddy” Lau)
If you’re trying to learn simple Chinese cooking, Randy has worked with his dad (Daddy Lau) to document all his knowledge and experience for classic Chinese home cooking. Embarrassingly, I don’t cook a lot of Chinese food, and so Made With Lau has been a huge help in exploring classic dishes.
Chinese Cooking Demystified (Steph & Chris)
Steph and Chris explore a lot of authentic Chinese dishes, often tying in some history, and ways to make a Western supermarket-friendly version. I’d highly recommend them if you want to explore actual Chinese cooking (instead heavily Americanized “Chinese” dishes).
Chef Wang (Wang Gang)
Chef Wang Gang is another awesome channel for authentic Chinese cooking videos (you’ll even need captions on if you don’t speak Mandarin)! At the end of his videos, he’ll often have a “technical summary” and recap, which helps you understand the methods and techniques he’s using.
Italian
Vincenzo’s Plate
I’ll admit, I don’t watch Vincenzo as much, since he does a mix of recipe videos, and reaction videos. But, his recipe videos are very friendly for the home cook!
Italia Squisita
I don’t watch Italia Squisita as much, but if you want inspiration from top level Italian chefs, just to see what’s possible, I’d go to this channel in a heartbeat. Note, you’ll have to turn on captions (unless if you speak Italian).
Bread/Baking
Chain Baker (Charlie)
Charlie comes up with a lot of bread/baking oriented recipe videos. He also has lots of tutorials and experiments to help you understand how to work with dough. While I don’t bake as much, I still learn lots from his channel! Personally, it’s very helpful to see him shape and knead bread doughs, as I don’t have that experience.
Proof Bread (Jon & Amanda)
Sometimes you just want to watch the masters at work (for inspiration, of course). Proof is a bakery based in Arizona, and Jon likes to share his experiences in owning a bakery and improving his processes. It’s super inspiring and cool to see what goes on in his mind as a business owner trying to continuously adapt and improve.
Everything Meats
Guga Foods & Sous Vide Everything
Guga has two major channels on cooking meats. His main channel will tend to use charcoal grilling, and his other channel will use sous vide. He also comes up with lots of experiments (e.g., playing around with dry-age methods). While his videos are harder to relate to, you might find gold nuggets dotted throughout his videos — namely, his side dishes. He comes up with super creative side dishes, that you can take inspiration from. Of course, you can also take ideas from his less-crazy experiment videos. The most helpful thing for me however, was how to properly salt meat. There’s something about seeing meat get seasoned that helps me understand how much I salt I need. It’s infinitely more helpful than trying to base everything off a recipe.
“Obsessive” (Detail-Oriented) Cooking
Alex, “French Guy Cooking”
Alex is known for his cinematic style in his multi-part series on a very peculiar topic. He has an engineering background, and will go to extreme lengths to best understand one particular food to maximize its flavour and experience. For example, he made a series on meatballs, and one of the videos was just about trying to get the perfect spherical shape. It’s odd, but it’s awesome seeing the level of detail he explores in his videos. In the end, you get to take away his lessons that he learned, and apply however many you want into your cooking to make it better! Alex also has some older videos that are more recipe oriented.
About to Eat, “ATE”
ATE was a channel birthed out of sharing the love for food. A lot of the videos are about finding creative ways to (realistically) use simple ingredients. For example, they have videos titled, “4 Ways We Use Chili Oil” and, “How I Cooked 25 Pounds Of Potatoes”. There’s lots of cool tricks you can learn by just watching this group of friends share their love and obsession over food. Unfortunately, ATE is no longer being uploaded to, but I still will refer to their videos from time to time for inspiration.
Entertainment-Oriented Cooking
Sorted Food
The guys from Sorted are based in the UK, and they have a variety of videos, ranging from purely entertainment (e.g., reviewing kitchen gadgets) to home cooking (e.g., chefs vs. home cooks using the same ingredients). You’ll have to search around a bit more to find what you’re looking for, if you want home cooking content. But, they also have a mobile app called “Sorted Sidekick” that is heavily focused on no-waste home cooking.
Epicurious & Bon Appétit
Epicurious and Bon Appétit are both owned by Condé Nast, and so there’s some overlap, but there’s also lots of differences.
Epicurious is more friendly to the home cook, as they make lots of recipe videos. They also often have professional chefs cook against home cooks, and you’ll be able to pick up on techniques that the pro chefs share. There’s one series in particular that I recommend, called The Smart Cook, where the host shares budget friendly recipes that use one common ingredient across 4 (or more) various meals (e.g., using canned tomatoes for a breakfast, lunch, dinner, and a snack). There’s lots you can learn on this channel!
Bon Appétit on the other hand, is known first for their food magazine. On their YouTube channel, they’ll feature their food editors in a variety of videos: some being recipes, some being tips, while others are just purely for entertainment. They also bring on lots of (famous) guests, and talk about things like specialty wines, or showcase professional chefs working at their restaurant. There’s definitely some cool and fun content. But, if I were to recommend videos for the home cook, I’d check out their recipe videos, From the Test Kitchen and From the Home Kitchen, as well as their “chef advice” video series, Test Kitchen Talks.