9 Yummy DIY Foodie Gifts That You Can Make For Under $20

Last Updated on November 8, 2020 by Katherine

I’m sure we all have that one person on our shopping list who is a bit of a food snob (or called a “foodie”). There is absolutely nothing wrong with being a food snob; however, they can be tricky to shop for! This week on the blog, I will share with you 17 affordable DIY foodie gifts that you can easily create for that special someone on your list.

Most of these inspiring ideas can be made for less than $20, and most of them are beginner-friendly in terms of skill level to pull off. Even better, you can easily double and triple up on these ideas if you have a few friends who would appreciate these thoughtful DIY gifts.

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Gourmet Salts

Last year, I shared some other DIY gift ideas, and one brilliant idea was to make some gourmet salts. These are relatively easy to toss together, combining different spices with salt and even going a bit further to combine things like merlot wine (though you may find your cost rise slightly if you have to buy a bottle of red).

If you are using a liquid or paste to give flavor to your salt, you will want to microwave the ingredients in 1-minute increments for a total of 5 minutes. You’ll want to stir that plate of salt between each cycle and then allow the mixture to dry overnight.

You can add these salts into mason jars or even clear ornaments for gifting.

Indoor Herb Garden

A terrarium is a perfect herb garden medium. In this case, you’ll be creating an open terrarium versus a closed one. To complete a terrarium, you will want a glass bowl, some charcoal (it helps drain any excess water), soil, and some herbs.

You can find further details on how to make one of these pretty centerpieces from Brit + Co!

Hot Sauce For That Spicy Friend

I’m sure if you googled it, you could find numerous DIY hot sauce recipes floating about. I am not a huge spicey food type of gal, but I have several people that I shop for that love to feel that burn. Generally, what determines the heat of the sauce is the type of pepper you use. For a helpful guide to peppers, I recommend checking out PepperScale!

You can check out six simple recipes that should put some zing into your spicy friend’s dishes at Cheatsheet!

For The Friend Who Loves A Nightcap

Of course, alcohol should be enjoyed responsibly (no drinking and driving, please!) by an adult. Provided your friend is a responsible adult, a gift of some DIY alcohol is a great idea.

You do not need to go to the trouble of creating a still or anything complicated like that. My favorite idea is to add a bit of flavor to an alcoholic spirit. For example, check out some clever infused vodka recipes from My Baking Addiction. I love the idea of mixing plain vodka with a couple of candy canes for a minty twist!

You can also infuse other spirits too, perhaps make a whole set!

Recipes In A Bottle (Or Mason Jar or Whatever)

There are millions of ways you can throw together a gift like this. Ultimately you are gifting them with a recipe and the dry ingredients to make said recipe. Some quick and easy ideas:

• Special tea or coffee mixture (check out this Chai Tea mix from AllRecipes).
• Cookie recipe.
• Soup recipe.
• Cake recipe.
• Muffin recipe.
• Hot chocolate recipe, and so on!

I like to toss all the dry ingredients into a mason jar, wrap the lid with a festive bow and attach a recipe card in my neatest writing with instructions on how to turn those dry ingredients into something grand. 

If you hate your own handwriting, you can print recipe cards quickly enough with your inkjet printer. The best way is to use good quality paper to print the recipe and then glue that paper to some decorative cardstock before attaching to your container. In the space of an afternoon, you can have a table full of cleverly decorated mixes for all of your foodie friends!!

Jellies and Jams

If you know anything about making preserves, handing out jars of jelly and jams are lovely gift ideas. I had always pondered learning how from my mother, and this year due to injury, she needed me to can some beets for her, so I’ve gained an appreciation for the art of preserves.

If, due to the pandemic, you made yourself a garden and got into jam making as well, you may consider dressing up one or two jars and sending off to a friend that may appreciate them as well. I know there were loads of canning going on in my neck of the woods as canning jars were flying off the shelves as soon as they came into stores!

You can gift these DIY foodie gifts in the mason jar you processed them in, but add a seasonal twist with a holiday bow!

Cookies Are Always Appropriate

I am a huge cookie fan, and if someone gave me even a small sample platter of cookies, I’d be pretty darn happy. Outside of the more traditional selections of gingerbread, shortbread, and sugar cookies, some other brilliant ideas include:

• Chocolate bark – you melt two different shades of chocolate or candy melts separately and combine on a parchment-lined cookie sheet in a swirly pattern and freeze or refrigerate until firm. For an extra twist, add in some holiday sprinkles or some almonds!
• Chocolate dipped coffee meringues – Meringues are yummy, melt-in-your-mouth sweets that are a bit lighter in texture than cookies.
• Christmas Crack – I got this recipe from Crafty Morning, and it is incredibly addictive! I love the buttery toffee offset by the dark chocolate.

DIY Crackers

I honestly never would have thought about making my own crackers; however, if you have a dear friend on your shopping list who is more of a savory person than sweet, then definitely check out Country Living’s Savory Crackers Recipe!

Crackers are a great gift to send to that friend of yours who loves creating charcuterie boards or cheese plates. Honestly, they will love having homemade crackers that they might just call “artisan”!

I recommend putting these DIY foodie gifts into a decorative box, either cardboard or wooden. You can snag a wooden box at most dollar stores and decorate it with either a nice wood stain or craft paint.

Spicy Cocktail Nuts

Another more savory idea is to gift your foodie friend with some spicy nuts. Roasted nuts are incredibly delicious and make for a relatively healthy and savory snack. It largely depends on what nuts you choose, but some of my favorites are almonds and pecans.

You can even consider making candied nuts for someone who enjoys things a little sweeter. The Kitchn blog has a helpful article with tips on how to roast your nuts in the oven. I love mixing the nuts with some olive oil and a half teaspoon each of cumin, chili powder, and paprika (you can reduce the paprika to ¼ teaspoon if you like a little less kick).

I also like to experiment with different spices, so create a mixture of your favorites to roast up in the oven, and you’re sure to love it.

Final Thoughts on DIY Foodie Gifts

I love the idea of creating something unique for that friend that is a bit of a food snob. Most people would immediately aim for buying them that expensive cutting board or kitchen utensil, but a foodie might just appreciate that gift of food just that much more.

These ideas are by no means the only ideas out there, but they are some of my favorites, and I hope they’ve inspired you too. I would love to hear all about it in the comments below; tell me which of these are your favorite or which ones you’ve tried!!

Also, please do share this content on social media and pin to Pinterest. I would greatly appreciate it!

Next week, check back for my third DIY gifting post, DIY gifts for the coffee lover or tea drinker in your life! Until then, stay crafty, my friends!!