The 20 best cooking competition shows

Baking It (2021–present)

The first season of this Peacock series, in which bakers face off in seasonal culinary challenges, felt like hosts Maya Rudolph and Andy Samberg were attending a court-ordered improv mixer. With season 2, however, all the awkwardness goes out the window and Baking It rises into its own. Amy Poehler replaces Samberg in hosting duties, and the comedic chemistry with Rudolph is effortless. The contestants, too, seem more at ease, as the show figures out how to be irreverent without the cringe factor. There’s also a fair bit of tension during eliminations, while the catchy tunes that our leading ladies compose on the cuff will ensure this is your mom’s favorite baking show forevermore.

Where to watch Baking It: Peacock

Barbecue Showdown (2020–present)

Netflix’s Barbecue Showdown follows eight contestants as they try to outsmoke each other with the most ingenious BBQ creations on the way to a $50,000 prize. It’s the best kind of competition show, where the tasks are varied and exciting but the rivalry is completely good-natured. The chosen participants all seem like people you’d like to grab a beer with, or in this case, a pound of brisket.

Where to watch Barbeque Showdown: Netflix

Beat Bobby Flay (2013–present)

This long-running Food Network show sees two contestants duke it out with a recipe chosen by celebrity chef Bobby Flay, who will battle the winner in an even higher-stakes cooking competition. The simple structure belies a tremendously satisfying series, which encompasses 35 seasons so far. Flay is a welcome presence, and the succession of talented chefs who test their mettle may inspire your next weeknight meal. 

Where to watch Beat Bobby Flay: Max

Chopped (2009–present)

Four chefs trying to create the ultimate three-course dinner (appetizer, entrée, dessert) must incorporate surprise ingredients with plenty of perplexing wildcards (like the dreaded, sulfur-scented durian fruit). Of course, this includes some questionable culinary choices, like combining garlic ice cream with a classic condiment to create a baste.

Something of a precursor to Nailed It, Chopped is family-friendly, nauseating, and inspiring in equal measure. If you can fight through the more grotesque segments, you’ll find a few not-so-bad ideas you never would have considered.

Where to watch Chopped: Hulu

Cooks vs. Cons (2016–present)

Food Network’s spirited blind-competition program pits professional chefs against home cooks, disguising their identities until the ultimate reveal. Cooks vs. Cons gets a surprising amount of mileage from the same gimmick; the amateur meals often look much better than you’d expect them to, while the “professional” dishes can be a bit staid and, dare we say, flavorless. The double-challenge format also keeps the pace chugging along admirably.

Where to watch Cooks vs. Cons: The Roku Channel

The Great British Baking Show (2010–present)

Let’s all bow to The Great British Baking Show, the most purely jovial cooking competition of them all. Its influence is felt in several shows on this list, and rightfully so. It’s just a nice group of people gathering in a picaresque garden to bake some treats, while the good-naturedly saucy hosts (Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins originally; later, a variety of famous Brits) poke your grandma’s type of fun at their creations. What could be more relaxing?

Where to watch The Great British Baking Show: Netflix

Cutthroat Kitchen (2013–2017)

This series sees four contestants start with $25,000 each, which they must strategically spend at an auction each round to buy either advantages for themselves (like the privilege to taste their own cooking) or challenges for their opponents (like tying two chefs together and placing their prep stations on opposite sides of the kitchen). But since the winner only walks home with their leftover cash, the instinct to be stingy is stong. Meanwhile, the judges are oblivious to what these cooks may have endured; all they care about is the quality of the dishes after the fact.

Taking a premise that could hedge mean-spirited, Cutthroat Kitchen instead makes its central game a jolly, jovial celebration of food, cooking, and, yes, betrayal. The entire series has the good-natured feeling of a family board game night, and host Alton Brown is a devious puppet master to the shenanigans that ensue.

Where to watch Cutthroat Kitchen: Hulu

The Great Food Truck Race (2010–present)

Tyler Florence hosts this pleasantly variable Food Network series in which a group of food truck owners endures various challenges as they drive cross-country to try new recipes and court fresh customers. The rambling travelogue style pairs perfectly with this snappy, colorful series. It’s a sly tour of American cultures and cuisines that will enhance your appreciation of restaurants on wheels.

Where to watch The Great Food Truck Race: Max

Guy’s Grocery Games (2013–present)

This (where else?) Food Network series is currently in its 36th season. The titular host asks contestants to cook a themed meal with only a measly budget and a grocery store (Flavortown Market, natch) full of supplies at their disposal. It’s harder than you’d think. Tasked with, say, constructing a “steakhouse feast” on a measly budget, or a “sweet and savory feast” using only what can fit in a frying basket, many contestants inevitably crumble. The true joy, though, is watching the ones who craft something Michelin-worthy from scraps.

Where to watch Guy’s Grocery Games: Max

Hell’s Kitchen (2005–present)

Gordon Ramsay hosts this tetchy cooking competition show in which American chefs battle one another for the chance to serve as head chef at one of Ramsay’s restaurants. Unlike some of the more relaxing selections on this list, you’d be hard-pressed to call Hell’s Kitchen comfort viewing. It’s often an edge-of-your-seat experience, with Ramsay’s signature timbre and the contestants scrambling evoking The Bear more than Bake Off. 

Where to watch Hell’s Kitchen: Peacock

Iron Chef (1993–2002)

Perhaps the most well-known cooking show of all time (sorry, Top Chef), this Japanese competition program sees cooks with specific specialties choose an “Iron Chef” opponent to go head-to-head against in a chaotic battle of culinary wits. Overseen by the high-spirited Chairman Kaga, the series is as lively and funny as it is hypnotic, with the flurry of slicing knives and shuffling pots as a sort of erratic ballet.

Where to watch Iron Chef: Peacock

Is It Cake? (2022–present)

Another gently irreverent Netflix baking program, this series hosted by Mikey Day sees contestants attempt to bake cakes that look like everyday objects (per the internet trend). Some challenges include items one might find in a gym, while others look like they came from a college dorm. Day is a nice fit for the material, and the players are a bit zanier than typical for this format. A cadré of memorable celebrity judges, including Bobby Moynihan and Loni Love, also enliven each episode.

Where to watch Is It Cake?: Netflix

MasterChef (2010–present)

MasterChef excels at a simple format: Throughout an entire season, amateur cooks compete in several challenges judged by professional chefs, including Gordon Ramsay. It’s one of the more ingeniously crafted shows on this list, with a straightforward concept belying tricky tasks and interesting contestants who often subvert what you expect a cooking competitor to be.

Where to watch MasterChef: Tubi

MasterChef Junior (2013–present)

Even more satisfying is MasterChef Junior, which transplants the same stakes onto a group of pint-sized cooks trying their hand at the MasterChef title. This charming spin-off has seven seasons, the last of which aired in 2022.

Where to watch MasterChef Junior: Tubi

Nailed It (2018–present)

With her whiplash-inducing wit, host Nicole Byer anchors this jolly series in which amateur bakers with a negligible track record attempt to recreate intricate desserts. The humor (and, we admit, satisfaction) comes in how little their efforts resemble what they’re emulating, but the show also has its share of winning underdog moments.

Byer is truly the best at what she does, an old-school showman with tireless energy and a face of rubber that would give Jim Carrey a run for his money. She’s joined here by celebrity baker Jacques Torres, who dutifully serves the role of Byer’s straight-man while effortlessly, selflessly setting her up for the laughs. They manage to make the fun not feel mean-spirited in any way, but rather inclusive and warm.

Where to watch Nailed It: Netflix

Next Level Chef (2022–present)

A fairly new cooking competition show, this Gordon Ramsay-led Fox series also features Nyesha Arrington and Richard Blais leading a gang of culinary hopefuls on some fascinatingly specific tasks before crowning the world’s next superstar chef. You’ll learn an uncommon amount from the various games and gauntlets contestants must go through, including how to salvage a good cut of beef and how to elevate a simple pizza.

Where to watch Next Level Chef: Tubi

Secret Chef (2023–present)

This fun twist on the well-worn cooking show formula follows chefs “trapped” in an underground kitchen and led on their journey by a rather snide talking hat. There are no judges in this underground lair, leaving the participants to (sometimes brutally) judge one another’s creations. There’s only been a single season so far, but the Hulu series has the irreverent promise of something like Baking It.

Where to watch Secret Chef: Hulu 

Supermarket Stakeout (2019–present)

Alex Guarnaschelli hosts this propulsive Food Network series in which contestants are given 45 minutes to shop for ingredients and compete to make the best version of a specific meal. Guarnaschelli is a warm and inviting anchor for a show that goes best with a hot drink at around three in the afternoon.

Where to watch Supermarket Stakeout: Max

Top Chef (2006–present)

The cooking show to end all cooking shows features 15 American chefs duking it out to see who’s the, well, Top Chef. 21 seasons later, this Bravo series is still fresh and exciting while delivering exactly what fans crave. Tuning in can be a white-knuckle experience at times; not quite at Gordon Ramsay’s level, but close. It’s also consistently enthralling and even a bit emotional, truly everything you could ask for in a culinary program.

Where to watch Top Chef: Netflix

Worst Cooks in America (2010–present)

Home cooks, many of them without a lick of skill, are put through a culinary boot camp by mentors who hope to meld them into, if not professional-grade, at least acceptable chefs. The final task is to cook a three-course meal for critics and family.

This probably won’t do much for you if you’re used to quicker-paced, technique-based competition shows, but there’s something refreshing about its unhurried pace and the granular nature of some tasks. It works nicely for folks just getting into their cooking show journey and those well-acquainted with the genre who want to slow everything down a bit. (To stop and smell the ribs, if you will.)

Where to watch Worst Cooks in America: Max