There's one thing people will always pay for, and that's great recipes. Food is everything to us humans, so treating yourself to a great recipe and learning something new and impressing yourself, your friends or family always feels great.
For exactly that reason, when Substack launched as one of the early platforms to grow a paid subscriber based for your content, Food was a category that was always going to take off. There are quite a few success stories.
If you're looking to start a food newsletter or subscription platform, you should also check out Clubb. Unlike Substack, it's specifically built for delivering recipes - great recipe pages, shopping lists, meal plans and your own customised search (rather than the attempts at Index pages people have to create on Substack).
If you're just interested in finding out who the top Substacks are, then lets jump straight into the top 10 to kick things off. The largest food substack in terms of free subscribers is 'A Newsletter' by Alison Roman, which has over 300k free subscribers. According to Substack, a good Substack will have 5-10% of subscribers moving onto the paid plan, mean she's likely to have somewhere between 15-30k paid subscribers. At $5/month, that's between $75,000 and $150,000 per month in subscriber revenue. Not bad, ey?
The opportunities to own and grow your audience and build a steady revenue stream are clear to see so if you want to start the ultimate subscription service for you recipes and thoughts - be sure to check out Clubb!
In the mean time, lets first dive into the top 10 Substacks before we move onto the rest of the list.
Caroline Chambers
"One ridiculously impressive complete-meal recipe delivered to your inbox every Saturday morning that dirties minimal dishes and requires under an hour of time."
What to Cook includes Carolines weekly paid recipe newsletter, her Podcast and her free 'So Into That' newsletter that covers what she's currently vibing in products, life and pop culture.
Tens of thousands of paid subscribers
$5/month
Visit What to Cook
Alison Roman
"Recipes, stories, and unsolicited advice from Alison Roman." Alison is a NYT best selling authoer, sharing regular recipes as well as her musings on life.
Tens of thousands of paid subscribers
$5/month
Visit A Newsletter
Violet Witchel
"Recipes, meal plans, shopping lists, and more for your food inspiration and organization."
Violet has a real focus on delivering great recipes and meal plans, with a focus on a variety of foods and lots of fresh produce.
Tens of thousands of paid subscribers
$5/month
Visit Violet's Substack
David Lebovitz
A tasty mix of recipes, Paris food tips, personal stories, and more...
Thousands of paid subscribers
$5/month
Visit David Lebovitz Newsletter
Vittles
An online magazine based in the UK and India, publishing new food and culture writing.
£5/month
Visit Vittles
Zoe Barrie
Your go-to guide for cooking weekday dinners like a line cook in a restaurant - efficiently and promptly, while never compromising quality.
Thousands of paid subscribers
$6/month
Visit Restaurant Dropout
Jenny Rosenstrach
A newsletter devoted to reading, eating, and family dinner, however you define "family" and "dinner."
Thousands of paid subscribers
$7/month
Visit Dinner: A Love Story
Emily Nunn
Step into our salad laboratory. We’ve got your leafy greens, grains, veg, and protein.
Thousands of paid subscribers
$7/month
Visit The Department of Salad
Nicola Lamb
Taking the recipe development process from behind the scenes directly to you.
Thousands of paid subscribers
£6/month
Visit Kitchen Projects
Jenn Lueke
Easy, healthy recipes, grocery lists, meal plans, meal prep ideas, & more.
Thousands of paid subscribers
$8/month
Visit The Eat Goood Newsletter
Now lets' see who the next 15 in the top Substack charts are.
Meredith Hayden
Exploring the wonderful world of Wishbone Kitchen.
Thousands of paid subscribers
$8/month
Visit The Group Chat
Carla Lalli Music
We love fat in this house.
Thousands of paid subscribers
$5/month
Visit Food Processing
Snaxshot
A product oracle, we see for you.
$20/month
Visit Snaxshot
José Andrés
Every meal has the power to change the world.
Thousands of paid subscribers
$6/month
Visit Longer Tables
Matt Hranek
The stuff we care about...
Thousands of paid subscribers
$8/month
Visit The Wm Brown Weekly
Annie Fenn, MD
A food lover's guide for taking care of your brain.
Thousands of paid subscribers
$7/month
Visit Brain Health Kitchen
Katie
All the food I'm cooking, techniques I’m finding, and tasty things I’m trying.
Thousands of paid subscribers
$8/month
Visit The Sunday Stack
Claire
Your weekly condiment deep dive, history lesson, recipes, and city guides.
Thousands of paid subscribers
$8/month
Visit CondimentClaire
Kristen Faith Eats
Good food, fun cocktails, and a whole lot of kitchen talk.
Thousands of paid subscribers
$5/month
Visit Kristen Faith Eats
Nara Aziza
Welcome to all the inner workings of my brain and all things food!
Thousands of paid subscribers
$5/month
Visit Paper Pantry
Ella Risbridger
Sometimes I write things for no reason! Sometimes I write things I don’t want to sell to a stranger!
Thousands of paid subscribers
£5/month
Visit You Get In Love And Then
Andrew Zimmern
Andrew goes in-depth each week on food, his world travels, and stories you're never going to believe.
$6/month
Visit Andrew Zimmern's Spilled Milk
Dorie Greenspan
A newsletter for all of us who are crazy about food + curious about the world.
Thousands of paid subscribers
$5/month
Visit xoxoDorie Newsletter
Ben Lippett
A chef's guide to really good home cooking.
Thousands of paid subscribers
£4.99/month
Visit How I Cook
Peter Suderman
The home bartender's guide. Tips, tricks, techniques, and recipes.
Thousands of paid subscribers
$5/month
Visit Cocktails With Suderman
