Grubhub's 2022 Delivered Report: Trends in Comfort Food

Grubhub just dropped its annual retrospective look at the biggest national ordering trends and eating habits of the year in an exciting report called 2022 Delivered: a year that delivered so many moments made better with takeout, all of which were bundled in layers and wrapped in comfort. By analyzing millions of orders from diners this year, it’s clear that comfort inspired what we ate, revealing who we were in 2022.

Grubhub’s ‘2022 Delivered’ Report: Top Food Ordering Trends

Experience the full interactive Multichannel News Release here: https://www.multivu.com/players/English/9122051-grubhub-2022-delivered-report-on-top-ordering-trends/

What food and vibes did 2022 deliver to America’s doorstep? Casual Friday was every day. Staying in with a cold beer was cooler than going out, hoodies always went under blazers and layering didn’t just happen in our wardrobes; it happened on our plates (topped with ketchup, or perhaps ranch). Look no further than the most ordered dish of the year – the hand-held, make it your way, wrapped-in-a-warm, cozy tortilla – the burrito! 2022 even delivered layers to the sweet tooth in everyone with Tiramisu and Baklava dominating dessert orders.

As the authority on what America eats when it comes to takeout, Grubhub today is also sending diners their customized 2022 Delivered recap report that delves into personal ordering highlights and reveals unique self-discovery stories about how delivery impacted much more than what they ate, but who they are.

Let’s dig in to the 2022 results:

BURRITO IS THE TOP ORDER OF THE YEAR

2022 delivered the burrito in the no. 1 spot as diners stuck to the comfort that layered gooey goodness brought directly to hearts, bellies, and doorsteps. Jumping all the way from no. 8 last year, diners packed their burritos with everything from sausage and eggs to guac and sour cream more than 4 MILLION times.

To celebrate the burrito claiming the most popular order of the year on Grubhub, Chipotle is offering $5 off orders of $20 or more for Grubhub+ members during the month of December (now-12/31). No promo code is needed as the offer will automatically be applied at check-out on eligible Chipotle orders in the Grubhub app, up to one daily redemption per diner.

From stacked-up cheeseburgers to a stack of 60 pizzas (and that’s just for one order), 2022 delivered a variety of ethnic cuisines this year..

Top Dishes

Burrito (bowl or regular)
Cheeseburger
Cheese Pizza
Pad Thai
Chicken Quesadilla
California Roll
Fried Chicken Sandwich
Caesar Salad
Chicken Tikka Masala
Boneless Wings

BUT BURRITOS WEREN’T THE ONLY LAYERED DISHES THAT DINERS DEVOURED

Americans sought layers of familiarity from sunup to sundown in their eating choices. The top breakfast order, lunch order, and late-night order provided portable, one-dish meals that allowed diners to work and eat, scroll and eat, even stream and eat.

Top Breakfast Orders

Sausage, Egg + Cheese Sandwich
Pizza Donuts
Sausage Burrito
Bagel with Cream Cheese
Muffins

In a surprising turn of events, in 2022 Denver unseated NYC in hustle culture, ranking no. 1 in early bird breakfast orders (placed between 5 a.m. – 8 a.m.).

Top Lunch Orders

Burrito
Cheeseburger
Fried Chicken Sandwich
Cheese Pizza
Chicken Quesadilla

Layers weren’t always seen in stacks, sometimes they were tossed. Just off the Top 5 at no. 6, salads were a hit for diners at lunch. The most popular? Greek salads, followed by Caesar, House, and Cobb.

Top Late-Night Orders (10 p.m. and later) 

Chicken Quesadilla
Fried Chicken Sandwich
Cheeseburger
Mozzarella Sticks
Cheese Pizza

While NYC holds the title of the city that never sleeps, it was Boston that topped the charts in late-night noshing (highest % of total orders placed 10 p.m. and later).

EVERYONE HAD SWEET TOOTH CRAVINGS

2022 even delivered layers of comfort to the sweet tooth in everyone, with Tiramisu and Baklava among the country’s top dessert picks, ordered more than 44,000 and 35,000 times each.

Top Dessert Orders 

Tiramisu
Baklava
Cookies
Cheesecake
Brownie
Churros
Cannoli
Carrot Cake
Chocolate Cake
Flan

WE ATE. WE DRANK. WE STAYED COZY.

2021 was all about that red, red wine, but 2022 was the Year of the Beer as it made its way back to the top of the chart. The chill vibes had diners cozying up on the couch to crack a cold one. When it wasn’t a crisp lager accompanying that burrito, the margarita sure spiced up evenings burritoed in a warm blanket. And it’s white wine for the win, overtaking the red wine dominance seen last year. Cheers!

Top Alcohol Orders

Beer
Margarita
Hot Sake
Pina Colada
White Wine (Sauvignon Blanc)

**COFFEE, BUT MAKE IT ICED (SWIRLS THE CUP)**

Some liked it hot but most everyone preferred it cold. Iced Coffee jumped from third place last year to top coffee order this year. “Iced coffee over everything” was the motto—regardless of the temperature outside. It became a daily routine, getting that coffee to milk ratio just right. America chose oat milk to do the trick. In fact, oat milk was preferred 4:1 over almond milk this year. Coffee lovers knew just what color to look for as they swirled their cups to achieve the perfect hue. Americans perfected this motion with iced coffees delivered to almost every moment (sun or snow).

Top Coffee Orders

Iced Coffee
Hot Coffee
Iced Caramel Coffee
Iced French Vanilla Coffee
Frozen Coffee

Top Milk Alternatives

Oat Milk
Almond Milk
Coconut Milk
Soy Milk
Cashew Milk

NEW FLAVORS CAME UP FROM DOWN UNDER

Australian cuisine spiked off the charts in new interest (a 500% jump!), transporting diners across the globe with fresh, colorful dishes and buzzy cafe vibes delivered to their door. According to diners, the outback was, in fact, delivered out-front.

Top Trending Cuisines 

Australian (531% growth YOY)
South African (294% growth YOY)
Cambodian (4% growth YOY)

TOP IT OFF WITH SOME KETCHUP ON TOP

And there’s nothing like topping-off the superlative orders of 2022 than with the last layer, the part of the meal that makes the meal, the sauce. While diners spiced up their culinary palettes with ethnic cuisines this year, there was something comforting and classic about good-ole ketchup. Mustard met America’s preference for both sweet and spicy, and ranch was an undeniable dipping companion.

Top Dipping Sauces

Ketchup
Ranch
Buffalo Sauce
Honey Mustard
Spicy Mustard

THERE’S NO [MORE COMFORTING] PLACE LIKE HOME

While new trends in takeout emerged in 2022, comfort was also found in the familiar for major cities coast-to-coast. New Yorkers just want their bagels and Philly loves their cream cheese.

An iconic and fitting choice, in NYC the top breakfast order was the bagel
Philadelphia also stuck to its roots, foregoing Tiramisu or Baklava for their loyal namesake dessert, the Philly Cheesecake
In wine country, San Francisco stayed sophisticated and opted for a long-stemmed glass of Sauvignon Blanc as their alcoholic drink of choice
Los Angeles, in true California fashion, piled on the heat, choosing buffalo sauce as their number one condiment over ketchup
Austin skipped the cold beer and instead made the Mexican Martini their favorite drink order – we’ll have what they’re having

EXPLORING LOCAL EATS HAS ITS PERKS

2022 also delivered Amazon Prime members incredible value with a free one-year Grubhub+ membership trial – valued at $9.99 per month. In addition to ongoing perks and rewards, with Grubhub+, Prime members are enjoying unlimited, $0 delivery fees on orders over $12 from hundreds of thousands of restaurants across the country.

Since the Grubhub+ offer launched in July of 2022, Prime diners have placed millions of orders across the country, many from locally-owned restaurants.

Grubhub has identified the Top 5 local restaurants of the year for Prime members with Grubhub+ in select cities and is offering a special, limited-time promotion for all Grubhub diners in an effort to encourage more people to explore the amazing local eats in their neighborhood.

And if you’re an Amazon Prime member, make sure you’re getting that local food delivered for free and unlocking all the value that comes with Prime membership! Prime members in the U.S. can still sign up for a one-year Grubhub+ trial membership for free by visiting amazon.com/grubhub.

In addition to $0 delivery on eligible orders, Grubhub+ members get access to member-only perks and rewards. Members also enjoy a donation match on Grubhub+ orders through Grubhub’s Donate the Change program, which has awarded more than $21 million in 2022, benefiting more than 30 local and national nonprofit organizations.

For more information on Grubhub’s 2022 Delivered visit: http://gh-2022-delivered.grubhub.com/

Methodology: Grubhub’s “2022 Delivered” report is based on trends gathered from tens of millions of orders on the Grubhub platform. Order trends detail the rise in popularity of food items placed by Grubhub diners from January-November 2022, as compared to the same timeframe in 2021.

About Grubhub

Grubhub is part of Just Eat Takeaway.com (LSE: JET) (AMS: TKWY), and is a leading U.S. food ordering and delivery marketplace. Dedicated to connecting diners with the food they love from their favorite local restaurants, Grubhub elevates food ordering through innovative restaurant technology, easy-to-use platforms and an improved delivery experience. Grubhub features more than 365,000 restaurant partners in over 4,000 U.S. cities.