I Tried & Rated TikTok’s Most Viral Recipes Of 2023
Burger tacos, cottage cheese ice cream, and feta eggs — oh my!
TikTok may be where you go to scroll Taylor Swift Easter eggs and relationship theories, but it’s always been a go-to for discovering viral recipes. The FYP is the birthplace of the viral baked feta pasta and cloud bread, and 2023 introduced us to new faves like Alix Earle’s blended chicken noodle soup and crunchy Fruit Roll-Ups with ice cream. As a foodie, I’m always down to try whatever recipe TikTok is talking about, so before 2024 arrives, I taste-tested the five most viral recipes on TikTok to see what’s worth taking into the new year.
This was the year of embracing girl dinner, the amalgamation of whatever you can find in your fridge, so it makes sense that recipes like fried cheese pickles (aka a pickle in a blanket) graced the “For You” page. TikTok also loves a surprising kitchen hack that can help you save on groceries, or a recipe that combines two different ingredients to make a new delicious dish. From cottage cheese ice cream to smash burger tacos, I spent a weekend making the most viral TikTok recipes of the year and ranking them on taste, ingenuity, and ease.
After all, if it’s not unique enough or simple to make, there’s no point in dirtying up your dishes. Below, here are the best dishes from 2023 that deserve to be remembered.
5. Cottage Cheese Ice Cream Is A Surprising Way To Treat Yourself
I was most excited to try cottage cheese ice cream (over 44.3M views) after seeing it on TikTok. I love ice cream and cottage cheese, so blending the latter to create my own homemade ice cream sounded like a dream come true. According to TikToker @feelgoodfoodie, all you need is cottage cheese and a sweetener like honey or maple syrup to make the ice cream.
The real fun comes from creating your own flavor by adding in extra ingredients like frozen fruit or chocolate. I decided to make a chocolate banana ice cream with ingredients in my kitchen, and blended everything together in my Magic Bullet.
After you’ve combined everything, add it to a container to put into your freezer for about an hour. When I pulled out my ice cream, it was pretty icy, which is one of the complaints I saw in @feelgoodfoodie’s comments and from other TikTokers who tried making cottage cheese ice cream. Because of the water that’s found in cottage cheese, your ice cream can can be more slushy-like than creamy.
It wasn’t too bad, but if you’re opposed to icy ice cream, other TikTokers in @feelgoodfoodie’s comments shared that you can use Greek yogurt instead. While it was fun to make my own ice cream, I wasn’t able to nail down a perfect flavor the first time around. It also wasn’t as sweet as I would like. I added in about a cup of cottage cheese and about two tablespoons of maple syrup, so if I were to do it again, I would add more syrup or go with a thicker honey instead.
Ultimately, though, I think it’s easier just getting my favorite ice cream from the store instead of trying to experiment. This TikTok recipe was surprising and inventive, which is why I liked it. However, the taste ultimately took away major points.
Rating: 2.5/5
4. Feta Fried Eggs Enhance Your Avocado Toast
The feta fried egg (over 13M views) is very similar to another TikTok recipe that went viral in 2021, pesto eggs. That recipe, which became one of my TikTok favorites, involved adding pesto to your frying pan before cooking an egg instead of just butter or oil. The end result is a pesto-flavored fried egg that you can enjoy on its own or on top of some toast.
The 2023 feta fried egg trend, which went viral in the summer, replaces the pesto with feta. However, you still need some cooking oil to prevent your cheese and egg from sticking to the pan. Also, most TikTok recipes then put the feta egg on top of avocado toast and season everything with red pepper flakes and black pepper — so there are a few extra steps required.
As much as I enjoyed the feta fried egg, I didn’t feel like the flavors were unique or this technique made cooking it any easier. In fact, I had a lot of trouble cooking my feta and egg just right so I could easily add it to some avocado toast, and keep it picture-perfect. It was delicious, but ugly. I’m sure with practice, I’ll get better, but I wish I could have nailed it on the first try.
Rating: 3/5
3. McDonald’s Hash Brown Ice Cream Sandwich Is A Tasty Fast Food Hack
This one isn’t necessary a recipe, but more of a TikTok food hack. In 2023, TikTokers discovered that if you add your McDonald’s McFlurry ice cream to the center of two hash browns, you get a sweet and savory ice cream sandwich. There’s no denying this is delicious, but it just reminded me of my favorite fast food snack — Wendy’s fries in a Frosty. Since I’ve had that, this wasn’t a new flavor for me and wasn’t as surprising.
It’s also a bit hard to enjoy a McDonald’s ice cream sandwich (over 2.6M views) since hash browns are only served in the morning, and McDonald’s fans know it’s always a gamble whether the ice cream machine is working or not. TikToker @bechardgrave had to drive to three different locations to secure both the hash browns and Oreo McFlurry to make her sandwich. My sandwich also got pretty messy right away with the ice cream melting as soon as it touched the warm hash browns. Still, I thought this was tasty and would definitely try it again.
Rating: 3.5/5
2. Pickle In A Blanket Is The Perfect Girl Dinner Pick
You really can’t go wrong with pickles and cheese. This pickle in a blanket TikTok recipe (over 25M views) perfectly sums up 2023’s girl dinner vibes, and was delicious as well. What more could you want? To make a cheese-wrapped pickle, just place your choice of cheese into an oiled pan. Make sure to cook until it’s brown and crunchy to be able to get the ideal sturdiness. Then, place your pickle in the center and fold the cheese around it.
If you don’t wait long enough for your cheese to cook, you could just end up with a soggy, cheesy pickle. The goal is to get a crunchy shell on the outside. While this probably isn’t the most genius recipe that TikTok has served us, it is tasty and perfect for when you need a quick snack.
Rating: 4.5/5
1. Smash Burger Tacos Combine Two Faves In One
This is the ultimate recipe for anyone who is indecisive and can’t choose between a burger or a taco. The smash burger taco (over 17M views) is exactly what it sounds like — a burger served in a taco shell.
To make your own, take some ground beef and smash it down on one side of a tortilla with salt and pepper. Then, cook the tortilla with the beef side down. While that’s cooking, mix together some McDonald’s Big Mac sauce to make a Big Mac Taco. I used the recipe from TikToker @moribyan, which is a mix of mayo, mustard, sweet pickle relish, white vinegar, paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, and white pepper.
Of course, you can add whatever you like to your own smash burger taco. I wanted a cheese burger, so once my patty was done cooking, I flipped my tortilla over and added some cheddar cheese. After it was nice and melted, I topped off my burger with some homemade sauce, sliced tomatoes, and shredded lettuce. To get the perfect taco shape, I folded my burger — which was probably the messiest part.
My smash burger taco was delicious. It was essentially just burger ingredients added to a taco shell, but I liked how crispy the tortilla got and it added a nice crunch. It was also quick and easy to assemble in one pan, which is something I look for in TikTok recipes. So, with the creativity of combining tacos and burgers with the ease of making this, I have to give it my top spot.
