10 Recipes That Defined the 2000s

This week we’ve been looking at the recipes and foods that defined the past decades, starting with the 60s. Today we’re tackling the 2000s. Although they wrapped up only a few years ago, it’s interesting to look back and already see a change in food trends. The 2000s were a decade of culinary contradictions: We loved fruit smoothies, organic salads, and raw diets, but we also were obsessed with cupcakes, cake pops, and the Atkins Diet. Depending on what you’re eating, you probably washed it all down with green tea, Pepsi Twist or some kind of energy drink.

What are your favorite recipes from the 2000s? Here are the ten we think really defined the decade.

Bacon managed to get itself it everything whether we wanted it or not. A bacon milkshake? It totally happened.

Mini desserts reigned supreme in the 2000s, and nothing was more popular than a simple, cute cupcake.

Not to be confused with the green/vegetable smoothie craze happening right now.

Sweet and salty goodness! This salad was everywhere.

Going along with miniature desserts, our burgers also shrank.

Brown butter was everywhere –– in our bread, our desserts, and especially pasta.

It was hard to go to a restaurant without seeing this on the menu.

These were popular towards the end of the 2000s, leading up to Starbucks introducing them in stores sometime in 2011.

The craze that took the decade.

Tossed with some walnuts this salad is still a favorite of mine.

Did we leave anything off?