As 2022 draws to a close, we’re seeing lots of year-end retrospectives in the vein of Spotify Wrapped. While a lot of the data about people’s eating habits tracks with what we already know about the biggest fast food chains, Grubhub’s top delivery trends of 2022 have provided some fresh insight into what everyone ate and drank this year—including some surprises worth taking a closer look at.
Grubhub’s top takeout orders of 2022
Burritos managed to jump upward by several slots over last year and take the number-one spot in Grubhub’s top 10 delivery items of 2022. The fact that burritos bounced past both cheeseburgers and cheese pizza (second and third in the list, respectively) shows just how much we love them. They are, in fact, my favorite delivery food item. You just can’t beat an enormous burrito dropped off on your doorstep.
Here’s what made the top ten:
- Burrito (bowls and regular burritos)
- Cheeseburger
- Cheese Pizza
- Pad Thai
- Chicken Quesadilla
- California Roll
- Fried Chicken Sandwich
- Caesar Salad
- Chicken Tikka Masala
- Boneless Wings
Interestingly, bone-in chicken wings didn’t crack the list, but boneless ones came in at 10th. It’s cool to see Asian food represented so prominently too; pad thai, California rolls, and chicken tikka masala all feel at home in this ranking. A notable omission from the list is anything Chinese-American, since orange chicken, General Tso’s, and egg rolls are all popular options for takeout. Maybe people tend order those through their local restaurants, rather than via a third-party app?
Our favorite desserts, revealed
If you had to guess the most popular delivery dessert, would you even be in the right ballpark? This one definitely caught me off guard—it’s tiramisu! This Italian coffee-flavored dessert is certainly one that I love, but it never occurred to me to have it delivered. (Side note: If you ever see the tiramisu in glass cups at Costco, get them.)
These are the top 10 dessert items ordered on Grubhub in 2022:
- Tiramisu
- Baklava
- Cookies
- Cheesecake
- Brownie
- Churros
- Cannoli
- Carrot Cake
- Chocolate Cake
- Flan
Coming in hot in the number two spot is baklava, which I’ve never considered getting delivered either. Notably, neither tiramisu nor baklava seem to have a strong correlation to the rest of the cuisine ordered most via the app. For instance, I have never seen tiramisu and burritos featured on the same menu; and the same goes with baklava and pretty much anything listed in the top 10 entrees. Then again, who’s to say these desserts are being tacked on to other orders and aren’t just occasions in themselves? Maybe the decision to order tiramisu is one that stands fully on its own.
The top alcoholic beverages delivered in 2022
The top five alcoholic beverages we loved this year (via Grubhub at least) are almost all what you’d expect. Except for one of them. Take a look:
- Beer
- Margarita
- Hot Sake
- Pina Colada
- White Wine (sauvignon blanc, specifically)
Everything here looks pretty standard—except, hot sake in the number three spot? Really?
If any of you have ordered hot sake for delivery, please, by all means, let us know about your experiences in the comments below. Does it arrive hot? I mean, buying a bottle either chilled or off the shelf is one thing, but having it heated up prior to being sent over seems a little dicey to me.
The year 2022 has been full of surprises, and it seems fitting that food delivery trends only reinforce that fact. Catch the rest of Grubhub’s 2022 delivery trends here, and let us know whether they match your own ordering habits when you’re not in the mood to cook. Before the year is out, maybe I’ll kick back with a nice fat burrito and some tiramisu, then wash it all down with a gulp of piping hot sake. If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em.