Food gifts are almost always a winner; they can elevate a celebration or provide comfort when times are tough. They also have a bit of a “leave no trace” effect too, in that once the recipient has enjoyed it, it’s but a wonderful memory.
When picking out a food gift, consider its size and presentation in addition to the obvious — is it delicious? To that end, we’ve got gift ideas to suit every gift-giving need under the sun.
Whether you need a Christmas gift, a birthday present or a condolence gift, our list includes incredible food gift ideas for every palate, occasion and budget.
Best food gifts under $25
This gift box contains an 8-ounce tin of La Monarca's house-ground Chocolate Mexicano, aka Mexican hot chocolate; a handcrafted molinillo to produce the perfect froth on each cup of chocolate Mexicano; and a bag of traditional Mexican cinnamon cookies for dunking.
Vosges' gorgeous chocolate raspberry truffles are so beautiful you might not want to eat them — but you should, because then you can reuse the stunning box they come in.
Blue Diamond's holiday almonds come in a festive can, complete with a "to and from" field on the lid perfect for gifting. The sweet-flavored almonds are available in Snickerdoodle or Peppermint Cocoa.
When it comes to holiday sweets, a little gift can go a long way. Harry & David's mini gift set features a box of signature chocolate truffles and a box of chocolate-covered cherries — just enough to sweeten their holiday season!
Add some zing to just about any dish with Blank Slate Kitchen's zhug, a vegan, gluten-free and non-GMO blend of jalapeño, cilantro, parsley, lemon juice, garlic, olive oil, salt, black pepper, cumin and cardamom.
Bonne Maman's eminently giftable variety pack includes mini jars of its strawberry, apricot, cherry, orange marmalade and redcurrant jams in teeny-tiny versions of its beloved signature jars.
Hot honey is a great gift for anyone, but we especially love it as a gourmet gift for your better half or bestie, because it provides so many ways to tell your "honey" that you think they're "hot stuff" and the "bee's knees."
Honey sticks make a great addition to a gift of tea, or on their own for someone who takes pride in their elaborate home coffee bar setup.
Small food gifts can pack a big punch, especially when unusual flavors or visually appealing packaging is involved, like this chili fig spread that makes a perfect gift for a person obsessed with leveling up their charcuterie board.
Zabar's babka is a practically perfect gift: It's delicious and comforting, and the Zabar's name and logo belies the wallet-friendly price.
The bottle alone is a gift, and this cult-favorite "secret sauce" made from citrus, saffron and fermented habanero and escabeche peppers has sold out five times.
Sparkly maple syrup is a perfect gift for the person in your life who's always just a little over the top.
Mustard is, to many, the king of condiments, and a gift set from the Mustard Museum — yes, really! — is just the thing for the mustard lover in your life.
The gold Godiva gift box is such a classic; we love the small eight-piece box for its $20 price point, making it the perfect gift to buy in multiples to keep on hand for easy gift-giving.
Maldon salt is the key to turning out the most delicious salted sweets like salted brownies, salted blondies, salted ice cream … and this giant tub of the stuff makes an eye-popping gift idea.
Best food gifts under $50
An upgraded oil is a great way to take home-cooked dishes to the next level. Gift your favorite home chefs this duo from Graza that includes a "Sizzle" oil for cooking and a "Drizzle" oil for finishing dishes. Plus, they come in convenient squeeze bottles for mess-free cooking.
Baked by Melissa's Holiday Cheer gift set features its signature cupcakes in 25 seasonal flavors like Christmas Sugar Cookie, Vanilla Fluff, Snowcap and Brookie.
This eye-popping — get it?! — popcorn cake will be the talk of the holiday party. It's as beautiful as it is unusual, making it an unexpected turn on traditional holiday cakes that will leave everyone talking.
Raspberry-filled shortbread cookies are delicious at any time of the year, but this version with sweet Christmas tree-shaped cutouts is a perfect gift to give this holiday season.
Take holiday snacking up a notch with this set of red and green salsas paired with crispy tostadas packed in a ready-to-gift seasonal box.
The primary colors and geometric designs on Compartés' incredibly decadent chocolate truffles make them perfect for gift-giving for any person or occasion.
These colorful rainbow cookie brownies from the Oprah-loved brand Zola Bakes are a perfect — and delicious! — way to brighten up someone's day.
The baker in your life will thank you (possibly with cookies!) for this thoughtful gift set that includes unsweetened dark chocolate cocoa powder, semisweet, bittersweet and unsweetened dark chocolate baking portions, semisweet and bittersweet dark chocolate baking chunk bag.
Levain Bakery's chocolate lovers gift set is packed with everything a chocolate lover could want: classic chocolate chip cookies loaded with chips and decadent, almost brownie-like dark chocolate chocolate chip cookies.
Tinned fish is having a moment, and for lovers of the fishy treat, Fishwife's gift trio featuring smoked rainbow trout, smoked Atlantic salmon and smoked albacore tuna is a perfect better-for-you gift idea.
There are some occasions that call for something pink and sparkly and pretty, and these cake bites fit the bill perfectly.
Who says food gifts have to come in a box or basket? Why not give the food attached right to the tree it grew on, like a dwarf Meyer lemon tree.
One way to really nail a food gift is to give something with a wow factor, such as Savannah Bee's raw honeycomb.
Going big, big and bigger with food gifts is another fantastic way to deliver that wow factor, like a bundle of giant Tony's Chocolonely chocolate bars.
When we think of food gifts, indulgences usually come to mind (gourmet cookies, for example!). But healthy food gifts, even sweet ones, exist and can be fantastic choices for fitness enthusiasts or people who are especially particular about their diet.
Fruit is, naturally, one of the most common healthy food gifts — and one of the most popular. Harry & David's gold foil-wrapped Royal Riviera pears are one of my favorite food gifts to give or to receive, because pears are just so elegant, and the gold foil is absurdly pretty.
You know what's better than bacon? Three kinds of bacon. D'Artagnan's gift sampler includes 12-ounce packages of uncured applewood smoked bacon, uncured hickory smoked bacon and uncured smoked duck bacon.
We love a personalized gift — especially a personalized food gift, such as these shortbread cookies that can be customized with a message up to 36 characters in length.
When you need to buy a present for the pinkest pink person in your life, look no further than the PinkGlow Pink Pineapple Gift Box. (It also makes a great gift for the person in your life who is obsessed with pineapple.)
Detroit's family-owned Shatila Bakery was named one of the 100 Best Bakeries in America by Food & Wine. Its elegant pastry gift box contains 60 pieces of assorted baklava, including bird nests baklava and mini roses baklava.
Best food gifts under $75
This gift tray is a healthy — and gluten-free — alternative to a box of chocolates. It features approximately 3 pounds of gluten-free goodies, including dried strawberries, cranberries, pineapple and apricots; roasted almonds, golden chickpeas and cashews; and half-popped popcorn.
If you're shopping for a person who loves ice cream and chocolate in equal measure, you won't find a better gift idea than the Jeni's Gimme Chocolate Collection. The gift set features six chocolatey ice cream flavors, including Boston Cream Pie, Cookies in Cream, Darkest Chocolate, Green Mint Chip, Milkiest Chocolate and Salted Peanut Butter With Chocolate Flecks.
Chocolate and caramel is a classic combo, and we love this set of beautifully designed artisan treats that elevates the form and makes a gorgeous gift.
Gifts of cheese are always super popular, and there are so many good cheese-forward gift sets to choose from that we could dedicate an entire guide to just delicious dairy treats. But we love this gift set from Rogue Creamery because it's a little different — it has all the makings for its famous grilled cheese sandwiches, including a recipe card.
You know what's better than jamón? Three kinds of jamón. Mercado's gift sampler includes one box each of serrania, jamón de cebo and 100% Ibérico jamón.
Going big is one way to up the wow factor of a food gift — but you can also go big name with a gift box of Rev Run's "Rev" velvet cookies.
Bonilla a la Vista's giant tin of patatas fritas is another entry in the "go big" food gift category, and it's the perfect thing for the potato chip lover in your life.
Foodies who love the latest thing will love Omsom's bestseller set — which includes 15 of the brand's meal starters in flavors like Vietnamese lemongrass BBQ and Japanese yuzu miso glaze — that's all over everybody's Instagram's feed.
Meat lovers will always welcome a steak gift set, but if you want to deliver a real surprise, send a package of pork butt burnt ends smothered in a Kansas City-style BBQ sauce.
Magnolia Bakery is a classic for a reason, and it doesn't get more classic than its Classic Banana Pudding.
When you need to send a birthday cake, send Milk Bar's grown-up version of the childhood classic, made of three tiers of rainbow-flecked vanilla cake.
Need to bring a gift to a friend's home for the big game? Look no further than Eastern Standard Provisions' gift box, which is filled with three different types of soft pretzels and five flavored salts for seasoning.
Best food gifts under $120
Sometimes life calls for cake! When the occasion calls for a cake with a major wow factor, Brooklyn Blackout Company's blackout cake is a stunner.
Panettone is a staple of Italian holiday celebrations, and this Nutella-stuffed version takes it to another level.
Healthy gifts can still feel decadent, as evidenced by this incredible smoked salmon party in a box that serves 8 to 10 people and comes with everything you need to set out a gorgeous spread.
This trio of Brightland's cult-favorite products includes a bottle of its Awake cold-pressed extra-virgin olive oil, Parasol raw champagne vinegar and California orange blossom honey along with a brushed gold, stainless steel spout that fits Brightland's bottles for easy pouring.
Killer Brownie’s massive multilayered brownies — each weighs almost 1/3 pound! — are gooey and rich, and eminently giftable.
A pickle lover's dream, Mouth's Peck of Pickles gift box includes five full-size jars of pickles, Mouth's Electric Za'atar Pickle Chips, Gordy's Pickle Jar Sweet Chip Pickles, Pacific Pickle Works Mother's Puckers Garlic Dills, Kansas City Canning Hoppy Pickles and Garlic Dills by Epic Pickles.
Sometimes you want to send someone you love a gift just because. When those times happen, Spoonful of Comfort's "Just Because" gift basket is what you want.
No roundup of great food gifts would be complete without a great steak gift. Omaha Steaks' filet mignon gift pack delivers decadence at an under-$100 price point.
Talk about a crowd pleaser! Don't sleep on sending someone you love a classic Honey Baked Ham.