25 Homemade Food Gift Ideas & Recipes

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From sweet to savory, this roundup of 25 Homemade Food Gift Ideas & Recipes will help give your gift giving a delicious, personal touch!

I’ve always liked giving homemade food gifts for the holidays–or anytime of the year! They are great for hostess gifts to when visiting friends and family. There’s just something special about that personal touch when you’ve made something yummy to share with others. We like to give them as neighbor or teacher gifts throughout the year, too.

Today, I’ve rounded up 25 Delicious Homemade Food Gifts Ideas and Recipes from some of my blogger friends. I’ve also included some of my own recipes!

Don’t be intimidated by the idea of adding one more thing to your holiday to-do list! Many of these recipes are made in less than 30 minutes or are make ahead recipes which helps reduce stress by planning.

I can’t wait to try a few of these myself.  My Holiday Baking Planner printable would help with planning for some of these recipes also. Even though it says “baking”, it can really work for most any recipe. Let me know which one of these Homemade Food Gift Recipes below you’ll try first!

Homemade Beverages

Candy Cane Hot Cocoa Pops

Candy Cane Hot Cocoa Pops melt into hot milk for a rich cup of hot chocolate. Fun to make, they are great for gifts and printable gift labels are included in the recipe!

Check out this recipe

Homemade Hot Chocolate

Hot Chocolate is soul-warming, like being wrapped in a cozy blanket by a roaring fire! It’s easy to make hot chocolate from scratch to have on hand at home or for a great gift idea!

Check out this recipe

Strawberry White Hot Chocolate Bombs

Strawberry White Hot Chocolate Bombs – Make your hot chocolate extra fun and delicious with these pretty homemade hot cocoa bombs.

They are easy to make, and kids of all ages will love watching the strawberry bombs explode in a cup of hot milk.

Check out this recipe

Homemade Cookies and Desserts

Chocolate Chip Biscotti

Chocolate Chip Biscotti combines the flavors of the classic cookie in the form of a tasty biscotti–perfect for dunking too. Be sure to save some for yourself! Also makes a great homemade gift!

Check out this recipe

Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti

Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti has that toasted crunchy texture that makes them perfect for snacking or breakfast. Salty pistachios, sweet dried craisins are baked in a vanilla dough and drizzled with white chocolate for the ultimate delicious treat!

Check out this recipe

Hazelnut Cookies

Hazelnut cookies made with ground hazelnuts, and drizzled with dark chocolate–the best holiday cookies there ever was! It’s closer to hazelnut shortbread, and their dense texture makes them perfect with a cup of coffee, any time of day.

Check out this recipe

Chocolate Mug Cake

Whether you’re looking for a gift in a jar idea or just need a simple single serve dessert, this chocolate mug cake is a delicious solution!

Check out this recipe

Easy Homemade Caramels

These homemade caramels are soft, chewy, sweet, and melt-in-your-mouth delicious! They’re a classic simple candy that can easily be made at home and perfect for gift giving any time of year.

Check out this recipe

Healthier Christmas Crack (And Still Insanely Addictive)

Putting a healthier spin on a not-so-healthy classic! This healthier Christmas crack recipe is made with almond flour crackers, coconut sugar and dark chocolate. It’s also gluten-free and can easily be made dairy-free if needed!

Check out this recipe

Hot Chocolate Fudge

This easy chocolate marshmallow fudge recipe, aka Hot Chocolate Fudge, captures the flavors of hot chocolate in one bite. Give as a gift for the holidays or serve alongside your cookie trays.

Check out this recipe

Peppermint Rice Krispies Pinwheels

These no bake Peppermint Rice Krispies Pinwheels are an easy and fun treat for the holidays. Red and white spirals with a white chocolate sugar coating will add a fun flair to your treat trays.

Check out this recipe

Jams And Spreads

Cranberry Holiday Jam

Packed with Christmas time flavors, this easy Cranberry Holiday Jam is great for gifting, and first time canners alike!

Check out this recipe

Pistachio Butter Recipe

This pistachio butter recipe only calls for pistachios and salt, but a little maple syrup or honey can be used as well. It makes for a great gift, and it’s also paleo and vegan.

Check out this recipe

Christmas Jam

This Christmas Jam Recipe is fabulous to have on hand for the holidays. It is made with strawberries, cranberries, oranges, and holiday spices. It is also made with Pomona’s Pectin, which requires way less sugar than many other jam recipes.

Check out this recipe

SWEET & SAVORY MIXES

Spicy Black Bean Soup In a Jar ~ Wholefully
DIY Chai Spice Mix ~ Frugal Foodie Mama
Hot Chocolate Mix ~ Like Mother Like Daughter
Homemade Spice Seasoning Blends ~ Luci’s Morsels
DIY Gingerbread Spice ~ The Tomato Tart
Toasted Pecan Pie Crust Gift Mix ~ Frugal Foodie Mama
Whole Wheat Cranbery Orange Muffin Mix ~ Wholefully

Sweet and Savory Nuts

Easy Gourmet Kahlua Sugared Pecans

This Kahlua Sugared Pecans Recipe is easy to make with only five ingredients and taste so much better than the store bought kind! They're perfect for a sweet snack or to give as holiday food gifts.

Check out this recipe

Easy Candied Nuts

These Easy Candied Nuts are just 6 ingredients and less than 30 minutes start to finish! They are sweet and salty with a hint of cinnamon — perfect for an edible holiday gift!

Check out this recipe

Maple Walnuts

These maple walnuts couldn’t be any easier! They only call for 3 ingredients and take just 5 minutes to prepare. They also make excellent homemade Christmas gifts!

These aren’t your average, overly sweet candied nuts. These are entirely maple-sweetened and have just the right amount of sweetness. Add a little vanilla and salt, and you’ve got an excellent healthier fall treat!

Check out this recipe

Homemade Seasoning Mixes

Dried Orange Slices (+10 Ways To Use Them)

Don’t buy expensive dehydrated citrus slices. They’re so easy to make at home. No dehydrator needed. Just slice thinly and dry in your oven at a low heat for several hours. Make a healthy snack out of them, or use in many other interesting ways. What a beautiful and very easy gift for friends, neighbors, teachers – anyone, really!

Check out this recipe

Fiesta Dip Mix

This Fiesta Dip Mix not only makes a thoughtful gift for those hard-to-buy people, stocking it in your pantry means making dips at the last minute for unexpected house guests (or when the urge to snack strikes).

Check out this recipe

Flavored Salts for Cooking (+ 5 More Homemade Gift Ideas)

This tutorial on how to make flavored salts is perfect for holiday gift giving, or just for spicing up your everyday cooking!

Check out this recipe

Garlic Confit and Garlic Oil

Make this easy garlic confit recipe and transform your everyday meals with the delicious, subtle, savory taste of garlic oil, and it’s made with only two ingredients. If you want to know how to make garlic oil recipes, and how to use garlic that’s been slowly roasted in garlic, this is the recipe for you!

Check out this recipe

Homemade Sweet and Savory Snack Mix Recipes

Blizzard Bites Snack Mix

This Blizzard Bites recipe is perfect for the holiday season. Make a batch to share with family, friends, teachers, etc. as an easy edible Christmas gift.

Check out this recipe

Grandma’s Candy Popcorn Recipe

My Grandma’s Candy Popcorn is a must-make every Christmas! It’s fun and colorful and the kids love it! Choose any colors to switch things up for game day, a birthday party or any other holiday. SO easy! Includes a step by step recipe video.

Check out this recipe

Snow Day Snack Mix

This wonderfully festive Snow Day Snack Mix is the perfect easy treat all winter long!
Both sweet and salty, this holiday snack mix is great for Christmas, movie nights, parties, gifts and so much more!

Check out this recipe

Sweet and Salty Pretzels In a Jar

These sweet and salty pretzels are all packaged up to give as a gift. These pretzels in a jar are perfect for co-workers, friends, neighbors, teachers, etc.

Check out this recipe

Be sure to check out my Peppermint Treats Roundup, Simple Crockpot Side Dishes Roundup and Healthy Road Trip Snacks Roundup for even more recipe ideas!

This post was originally published in November 2016 and updated in November 2021 with new photos, content and video.

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