The 24 best gift baskets for your favorite foodie in 2021

Connie Chen and Maliah West 

Updated 

Jul 21, 2021, 10:32 PM
Original article by the Business insider team: https://www.businessinsider.com/best-gift-baskets-ideas?r=US&IR=T#a-snack-box-that-travels-to-a-different-country-every-month-24

A gift basket is a common and easy gift to give to a client, host, or in-laws, but all too often, they're filled with uninspiring, bland items. 

A great gift basket includes a large quantity of high-quality items that have been curated around your giftee's interests and tastes. Whether you're planning to gift food, coffee, or seasoning-filled baskets, you'll want to make sure they'll use every item. We've gathered 24 unique gift baskets, including a salami bouquet, a bucket of candy, and even ice cream. Many of our picks contain perishable items, which means they ship quickly.

However, we recommend checking the estimated delivery date closely before purchasing to ensure they'll arrive in time for your purposes. Check out our other gift guides here if you're looking for more ideas.

Here are 24 gift baskets to treat your loved ones:

A box of lemon-flavored items 

Spoonful of Sunshine Box, available at Spoonful of Comfort, $59.99

Perfect for a hot summer day, the Spoonful of Sunshine box will light up the recipient. This lemon-filled basket comes with sparkling lemonade, lemon cookies, two mason jars with straws, and a serving tray shaped like a lemon. 

Maple bitters collection for cocktails or baking 

Maple Bitters Collection, available at Runamok Maple, $29.95

A truly unique gift for someone in your life who enjoys trying wild flavor concoctions, these bitters can be used in cooking, baking, or cocktail creations. The set of three comes in floral maple, aromatic maple, and orange maple flavors.

A box of spicy pickles 

Spicy Pickles Box, from Mouth, $80

This box of spicy pickles is perfect for someone who likes a good amount of spice added to their food. There are five jars of hot pickles included in this gift set, including chile, jalapeño, and spicy dill.

Crunchy, flavorful popcorn 

Popcornopolis Gourmet Popcorn 5-Cone Gift Basket, available at Amazon, $39.99

We love snacking on the savory and sweet popcorn from Popcornopolis. The delicious popcorn comes in five flavors (zebra, caramel, cheddar cheese, cinnamon toast, and kettle) and is wrapped up in distinctive striped cones. 

Four pints of ice cream (toppings included) 

Ice Cream Jubilee Ice Cream & Sundae Toppings - 4 Pints, available at Goldbelly, $89

It's usually hard to gift ice cream without it showing up at the door as a melted mess. Thankfully, Goldbelly packs all its gift kits with dry ice. Your recipient can enjoy this sundae kit of four ice cream pints and four toppings including, chocolate candies, rainbow and chocolate sprinkles, and gummy bears. You can choose four flavors from the 21 types of ice cream available.

A bouquet of gourmet salami 

Olympia Provisions Salami Bouquet, available at Food52, from $50 + $11 shipping surcharge

This salami arrangement will likely be one of the most unique gifts they've ever received. The pork salami comes from Oregon and will help them craft extravagant charcuterie boards. Your bouquet can include three or six salamis.

A coffee sampler of best-sellers and customer favorites 

Medium Light Roast Workshop Sampler Gift Box, Available at La Colombe, $30

East Coast coffee shop favorite La Colombe offers coffee enthusiasts unique blends of coffee in multiple grind options. If they don't live in one of the six states with La Colombe locations or if you just want to treat them to a coffee shop experience right at home, gifting them this sampler will help them easily choose their new favorites.

A flight of wild wine flavors 

Wild Child Flight, available at In Good Taste, $65

If they choose wines based on what they're eating and love to try new flavors, In Good Taste's Wild Child Flight will be the perfect gift as it offers non-traditional wine flavors such as black currant, pineapple, fig, and black cherry. Each flight includes eight tasting bottles and every purchase comes with a complimentary interactive virtual wine tasting.

A variety bucket filled with sour flavored candies 

Sour Lovers Gift Bucket, available at Dylan's Candy Bar, $45

This giant bucket is the perfect gift for those that never grew out of their sweet tooth and includes sour belts, sour gummy bears and worms, and more. The retailer also offers other fun options such as its movie night-themed gift basket.

A basket fit for your favorite home cook 

Best of Italy Gift Basket, available at Williams Sonoma, $99.95

With three pasta varieties, Parmesan cheese, wine-infused salami, and other ingredients, this massive basket will be an appreciated addition to any kitchen.

A gift box for the cocktail expert in your life 

Cocktail Connoisseur Gift Box, available at City Bird, $79

This gift box contains everything they'll need to craft the perfect cocktail. The set includes two engraved glasses, premium cocktail cherries, metal straws, and most importantly a pair of round ice molds so your recipient can avoid watered-down, bland drinks.

A tin full of rainbow chocolate chip cookies 

Rainbow Colors Chocolate Chip Cookie Tins, available at Baked In Color, from $30

Whether you choose the rainbow colors or your own custom colors, these cookies and brownies stand out. This tin basket contains colorful rainbow cookies in quantities up to 30.

A flavorful pack of seasonings and sauces 

Pantry Starter Pack, available at Momofuku, $55

If they're always looking for ways to add new flavors to their meals, this seasoning starter pack is a great place to start. This set includes unique blends of savory, tingly, and spicy seasoned salts as well as chili crunch, and restaurant-grade tamari and soy sauces. 

A box of Japanese snacks they can't get in the US 

Classic Box, available at Bokksu, from $44.95

Bokksu works directly with snack makers in Japan, so your recipient won't be able to find these unique and delicious treats here. Every month's box has a different theme and contains 20 to 25 snacks, as well as a tea pairing. The first box is called, "Seasons of Japan" and will feature snacks from every season of the year. 

Treats for the ultimate sweet tooth 

The Sweet Spot, available at Milk Bar, $92

It'll be hard to decide what to eat first from this trio of Milk Bar favorites — will it be the moist birthday cake truffles, buttery Milk Bar pie, or the chewy cookies in creative flavors like Blueberry & Cream? 

Unique infused olive oils 

Giusto Sapore Olive Oil Gift Set, available at Amazon, $59.99

The five-bottle set of flavored olive oil will transform their dinners — from spicy chili to make their pizza more exciting to blood orange to freshen up seafood dishes. 

A unique charcuterie assortment you can't find at a regular grocery store 

Delicious Duck Cure Bundle, available at D'Artagnan, $87.95

Expand their charcuterie horizons with this box of dried and cured duck meats, including duck rillettes, duck prosciutto, smoked duck breast, and duck saucisson sec. There's also a rich black truffle foie gras, which goes well with some bread. 

Read our review.

The gift basket that's perfect for a picnic 

Bella Cucina Italian Antipasti Basket Gift Set, available at Food52, $239

They'll definitely want to reuse this spacious woven tote, which contains savory and sweet spreads (like artichoke lemon pesto), crackers and flatbread, and an olive wood knife. It's a gourmet splurge, but a beautifully packaged one at that. 

A healthy variety of nuts and fruits 

Oh! Nuts Holiday Nut & Dried Fruit Gift Basket, available at Amazon, $29.95

There are a few out-of-the-ordinary fruits in this box: dried summer plums, papaya, and pear. Pair them with crunchy nuts, meat, and cheese, or enjoy them on their own. 

A carb-heavy box of pastries and breads 

Signature Bakery Tray, available at Harry & David, $79.99

The tray of cookies, cakes, and other pastries will be a big hit for anyone who loves lingering in bakeries. Reviewers love the lemon poppyseed cake and raspberry galettes. 

A cheesy collection from a New York City institution 

Greatest Hits, available at Murray's Cheese, $76

If they crave a mild cheese, there's a manchego. For a sharper edge, try the cheddar. There's also an aged gruyere and creamy mini brie. To go along with this sampler of Murray's Cheese's popular varieties, there are cherry preserves, crackers, and almonds in the box as well. 

Eight servings of 'tea drops' 

Classic Assortment set of 8, available at Tea Drops, $15

Tea Drops are tea leaves that come in fun shapes such as hearts, flowers, and stars. As the name suggests, simply drop the packed tea leaves into boiling water to create a cup of tea. The tea kit contains both caffeinated and non-caffeinated varieties. 

Nostalgia-inducing Mrs. Fields cookies 

Mrs. Fields Large Sunshine Basket, available at FTD, $80

Your favorite food stand from the mall offers a box of 48 bite-sized cookies, 30 brownie bites, and eight regular cookies that arrives right at their door. It wouldn't be a "Sunshine" box without four frosted sun cookies. 

A snack box that travels to a different country every month 

Yum Yum Box, available at Universal Yums, $31

If you know that they're open to treats from all over the world, gift a box from Universal Yums. They can travel the world and sample sweet and savory snacks from countries such as Greece, Indonesia, Colombia, and Italy. 

Connie Chen

Connie Chen is a senior reporter on the Insider Reviews team, where she leads coverage of home textiles, home entertaining, and food and drink. She specializes in all the things that enhance life at home, from the most comfortable bed sheets and fluffy pillows to cool online wine clubs and bartender-approved cocktail shakers. She combines rigorous testing methods, conversations with professionals, and active knowledge of the home and kitchen space to help readers get the most out of their money. When she's not changing duvet covers or washing towels twice a day for articles, she loves talking about and trying the newest snacks, drinks, and food gifts. You can see more of her testing process and other behind-the-scenes of being a product journalist on her Instagram @connayreviews.  Connie joined Insider Reviews as an early member in 2017 and has also reported on products and services in the style, tech, fitness, travel, and e-learning spaces, with a particular interest and expertise in emerging startups. She has represented the team at CES and moderated panels on media business and the future of retail. Connie graduated from UC Berkeley with degrees in media studies and business administration, which help inform her perspective on and coverage of industry trends, as well as the competitive e-commerce landscape at large. Read some of her work: The 4 best cocktail shakers in 2021 The 7 best women's bathrobes in 2021 The 5 best wine openers and corkscrews we tested in 2021 The 5 best bed sheets we tested in 2021 The 5 best cordless vacuums we tested in 2021 12 direct-to-consumer kitchen startups that are changing the way we shop for cookware and knives 8 tableware startups changing the way we shop for dishes Even chefs experience cooking burnout — here's how they get re-inspired in the kitchen How businesses create successful virtual experiences 50 cookbooks from famous restaurants across the US that will help you recreate their best dishes at home Learn more about how our team of experts tests and reviews products at Insider here. Learn more about how we test kitchen products.Read more

Maliah West

Home & Kitchen Fellow

Maliah West is a Home and Kitchen fellow at Insider, where she covers product reviews, gift guides, and deals in the home and kitchen space, specifically in the home organization, home office, and decor categories. Maliah graduated from Stony Brook University with a degree in Psychology and a minor in Writing and Rhetoric. Before transitioning to digital media, Maliah worked in various administrative positions which started her obsession with all things organization. In her free time, you can find her reading any and everything she can get her hands on, learning new skills through online classes, and thinking of new ways to organize her space. You can reach Maliah at [email protected]. See below for some of her work. The 9 best places to shop for sofas and couches in 2021 The 4 best bath mats we tested in 2021 The 5 best hangers we tested in 2021 20 conversation-starting coffee table books by Black authors, photographers, and artists The 8 best places to buy floor lamps in 2021 Learn more about how our team of experts tests and reviews products at Insider here.Read more