🎁 One Potato’s Favorite Gifts: 2025 Holiday Edition

For last-minute shoppers, food lovers, and anyone hoping to cook with more joy in 2025.

Dec 09, 2025

At One Potato, we believe the best gifts aren’t fancy or fussy—they’re the ones that make everyday life tastier, easier, and more joyful.

This year’s gift guide gathers recommendations straight from the chefs, cookbook authors, nutritionists, food-brand founders, and food-loving parents we’ve featured in Order Up! interview series, plus the staples our own families rely on all year long.

And because we’re… a little late in the shipping game (solidarity), this guide leans heavy on instant, no-stress gifts: digital classes, subscriptions, kitchen activities, and edible favorites that deliver even when you order at the last minute.

These are the gifts that keep giving and even foster connectivity and kitchen memories: confidence-builders, spark-starters, and everyday helpers your favorite food people will actually use.

Don’t forget — you can gift One Potato!
We’re extending our holiday promo: 50% off the annual subscription → only $2.50/month for every Order Up! interview, bonus recipe, activity, and full archive access.

Give a gift subscription

A thoughtful, zero-shipping, always-welcome last-minute gift.

Eating from Our Roots: 80+ Healthy Home-Cooked Favorites from Cultures Around the World: A Cookbook (Goop Press)

Cookbooks by Our Order Up! Interview Guests

These interviews are one of our greatest joys. We ask chefs and cookbook authors the questions they rarely get to answer about the kids in their kitchens, how they handle feeding and raising their own kids, and their own food memories growing up.

Food people who are parents rarely get to talk about the little people part of their food.
That’s where we come in.

These cookbooks come from the chefs and creators you’ve met in our Order Up! interviews, and each one is a deeper dive into the flavors and traditions of who they are on the food side, and what they are passing down to their little people.

They’re not “parenting cookbooks”—they’re for anyone who loves great food: sheet-pan devotees, weeknight warriors, adventurous home cooks, beginners ready for more, or anyone resolving to cook with more joy in 2025.

👉 Browse cookbooks from our Order Up! guests

[A note: We link to Bookshop.org because your purchases support independent bookstores, not big online retailers. Each sale helps keep local shops thriving, and we love knowing that our cookbook & book recommendations put money back into real community bookstores.]

The Juneteenth Cookbook: Recipes and Activities for Kids and Families to Celebrate (Holiday Celebration)

Children’s Books Written by Our Guests

A surprising number of our interviewees have also published children’s books!
These books celebrate food, culture, family, and curiosity—perfect for young readers, budding cooks, or classroom gifts.

We love that our guests bring their food stories to life for children, too.

👉 Browse children’s books by our Order Up! guests

The cookbook A Taste of Country Cooking by Edna Lewis

Favorite Cookbooks (Recommended by Them)

When we ask our featured chefs, bakers, and food creators which books they turn to again and again, these titles top the list.

These are the books that shaped how they cook and that they cook from on a daily basis.

👉 Explore the list of guest-recommended cookbooks

Kosterina Olive Oil & Balsamic Vinegar Signature Set

Pantry Gifts That Feel Like Treats

Some gifts disappear fast—and that’s the magic of them.
These edible favorites don’t just taste incredible; they’re created by founders who are parents, creators, and friends of One Potato. They make everyday meals feel special and introduce big flavor without big effort.

Kosterina Olive Oil – Bright, peppery, and a total joy drizzled over… well, everything. They offer a beautiful Happy Holidays Extra Virgin Duo Gift Set or the Olive Oil & Balsamic Vinegar Tasting Set.
Diaspora Co. Spices – Ethically sourced, wildly flavorful spices that instantly level up home cooking; gorgeous for gifting. We love their Masala Spice Trio and the Cozy Beverages gift bundle.
Kombucha Kamp – A fun, hands-on starter kit for the ferment-curious (especially older kids and teens).

Perfect for teachers, hosts, food lovers, or anyone who appreciates a small but mighty kitchen upgrade. Also great stocking stuffers!

Katie Kimball from Kids Cook Real Food giving a cooking lesson to two kids

Kid-Friendly Kitchen Activities (Instant Gifts!)

No shipping. No wrapping. Just confidence, independence, and joyful messes.

Kids Cook Real Food eCourse – Our favorite beginner-to-advanced skills program teaches real kitchen skills—safe knife use, measuring, mixing, recipe reading—through kid-friendly lessons that work for toddlers through teens.
#LifeSkillsNow by KCRF - The self-paced course from the Kids Cook Real Food team that teaches kids independence beyond the kitchen: time management, household responsibilities, and real-world readiness. A thoughtful option for tweens and teens stepping into more responsibility at home. Get 50% off #LifeSkillsNow Mini-Series Ultimate Holiday Skills Bundle through the end of the year!

Perfect for winter break energy, homeschool routines, or grandparents gifting an experience instead of a toy.

Cooking Support (for Real Life)

When someone says, “I just want help deciding what to cook,” this gift is a game-changer.

Peas and Hoppiness Meal Planning App – Our friend Ann Kent teaches families how to plan an entire week of meals in two minutes—yes, really. Her customizable boards and smart templates help you streamline shopping, reduce decision fatigue, and make dinnertime smoother.

Give a gift subscription… or get one for yourself and call it a New Year’s act of kindness.

Subscription Gifts & Boxes to Simplify Mealtime

Because nothing says “I care” like helping someone skip a grocery run.
These subscriptions are practical, flexible, and truly helpful for tired cooks, new parents, college kids, or anyone who wants better meals with less fuss.

Zingerman’s Food Clubs - For the person who has everything… except a monthly delivery of handcrafted cheeses, small-batch pantry gems, cured meats, breads, or chocolate. These artisan subscriptions are pure joy-in-a-box and make an unforgettable “gift that keeps giving.”
Goldbelly Top 100 Food Gifts - From iconic regional specialties to chef-made treats you can’t get anywhere else, Goldbelly’s Top 100 list makes it easy to send a “wow”-worthy food gift to anyone on your list.
ButcherBox – Ethically sourced meats and seafood delivered monthly or give a gift box.
Territory Foods – Chef-made meals you heat and eat—lifesaving during busy weeks. Gift a box of meals, or gift one or two meals added on from your own subscription.
Hungryroot – Half groceries, half meal kit; shockingly convenient.
Wildgrain – Bake-at-home pastries, breads, and pastas (the one people always text “WAIT THIS IS AMAZING”).

What We’d Gift Ourselves

These are the things we’d happily snag last minute because they make life taste better, feel easier, or bring a spark of joy into the kitchen.

Whether you’re shopping for a dedicated home cook, a tired parent, or a snack-loving kid, we hope this guide helps you find something meaningful (and delicious).

And remember:
It’s never too late for a great gift, especially when it’s digital, edible, or instantly useful.

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