Organically grow your Instagram following with these food-related hashtags and strategies. This guide is perfect for food bloggers and food photographers looking to increase reach and engagement.
Welcome—if you love good food and beautiful food photos, this post is for you. There are no recipes here today, just practical guidance and curated hashtag ideas to help you get discovered on Instagram. If you’re a content creator, photographer, or food blogger, pull up a chair: we’ll cover how hashtags work, where to find the best ones, how many to use, and which tags tend to perform well for food content.
Why Instagram hashtags matter
Instagram processes millions of posts every day, so it needs ways to surface content to relevant audiences. Hashtags are one of the primary discovery tools. They help categorize content so people who care about food, recipes, photography, or specific diets can find your posts.
Hashtags aren’t a magic fix, but used strategically they help Instagram show your posts to users who are most likely to engage. The right set of hashtags can increase reach, land your content in hashtag “top” sections, and attract followers who share your interests.
Which hashtags to use
High-volume hashtags may seem tempting, but they’re also very competitive. Instead of only using the most popular tags, target niche and moderately sized hashtags. A good sweet spot is tags with roughly 10,000–500,000 posts: competitive enough to have an audience, but not so crowded that your content disappears instantly.
Be specific. For example, rather than #foodie, use a regional or niche tag like #pnwfoodie. Instead of #cake, try #chocolatecheesecake. Specific tags increase your chance of appearing in the top posts for that hashtag and reaching people who are especially interested in your content.
Where to find effective hashtags
Study peers in your niche: Look at food bloggers, photographers, and creators whose work is similar to yours. Note which hashtags bring engagement on posts that perform well.
Use Instagram’s related tags: Search a tag in the app and browse the related hashtags shown on the tag page—these often reveal strong, relevant options.
Check the Explore page: The Explore tab surfaces trending and highly engaging posts. Find posts like yours and see which hashtags they use.
Hashtag tools to try (names only): All Hashtags, Keyword Tool (Instagram), Seek Metrics, Display Purposes. These tools can help generate ideas and evaluate tag popularity without manually searching every option.
How many hashtags to use
Instagram allows up to 30 hashtags per post and up to 10 in Stories. There’s no single correct number. Some creators use fewer tags to avoid a “spammy” look, while others report higher engagement with a fuller set. If you’re starting out, experiment: try using a wide mix of 20–30 hashtags and monitor performance in your analytics to refine your approach.
Where to place hashtags
Functionally, placing hashtags in the caption or the first comment doesn’t change discovery. Choose the workflow that works for you. If you schedule posts or prefer cleaner captions, include hashtags at the end of the caption or separate them with line breaks. If you prefer a minimal caption, adding them as the first comment is an alternative.
Track hashtag effectiveness
If you have an Instagram business profile, use Insights. Tap “View Insights” on a post, open the Discovery section, and check Impressions by source to see how many people found your post via hashtags. Track which tags consistently drive impressions and refine your sets based on that data.
Tips for Instagram success
Rotate tags: Change your hashtag sets to match each post. Using the same list every time limits reach and misses opportunities to connect with different audiences.
Avoid banned tags: Instagram occasionally restricts hashtags that violate policies or are widely abused. Check tags before using them—restricted tags can reduce discoverability.
Tag your location: Adding a location—city, venue, or event—can boost local discovery and attract followers nearby.
Hashtags to grow your audience organically
Below are curated hashtag ideas grouped by purpose. This is not exhaustive, but it’s a practical starting point for food bloggers and photographers.
Day-of-week hashtags
#MondayMood #TastyTuesday #WellnessWednesday #ThrowbackThursday #FoodieFriday #SaturdaySweets #SundayBrunch
Community and feature tags
#bhgfood #f52gram #foodgawker #feedfeed #thebakefeed #foodblogeats #FoodiesOfInstagram #BakeAndShare
By meal
#BreakfastIdeas #BrunchTime #LunchIdeas #DinnerInspo #DessertGram #DessertLovers
Food photography
#FoodPhotographer #FoodStyling #FoodPhotographyTips #IShootFood #FoodPhotoOfTheDay #FlatLayForever
Seasonal
#SeasonalFood #SpringEats #SummerRecipes #FallBaking #WinterComfortFood #HolidayBaking
Special diets
#VeganRecipes #PlantBased #OrganicFood #VegetarianRecipes #KetoDesserts #GlutenFreeRecipes #DairyFree #Whole30Recipes #PaleoEats
Popular dishes and baked goods
#CakePhotography #InstaCakes #CupcakeDecorating #DecoratedCookies #CookieArt #ChocolateCheesecake
Next steps
Experiment with different combinations of niche and broader tags, track performance, and adjust. Hashtag strategy evolves as your content and audience grow—stay flexible, monitor Insights, and keep testing. With consistent effort and the right tags, you’ll increase organic reach and attract an engaged audience of food lovers.
Related posts you might enjoy:
- 10 props for food photography you already own
- 5 food photography tips
- 6 tips for photographing foods that melt
Update Notes: This post was originally published in September 2015 and updated with fresh strategies in May 2019.