TikTok Cooking Hacks That Are So Useless They're Funny
There's a fine line between madness and genius and nowhere is that more real than in TikTok's culinary landscape. It's a weird place where the enthusiasm of self-made chefs and their obtuse cooking hacks bring about bad recipes that ultimately make you question your reality. These food hacks, while more chuckle-inducing than Michelin-star worthy, acquire a life of their own, forging their own path cut with laughter and perplexed eyebrow raises. Whether these tactics are a result of ingenuity gone awry, or simply a thirst for viral stardom, one thing is certain — they never fail to be absolutely useless while also making us laugh.
TikTok's oddest "cheftestants" have unwittingly forged a unique language of culinary comedy. And much like an unexpected dash of spice that tingles your palate, they serve a delightful twist of humor, ensuring that the art of cooking, as seen through their peculiarly inventive lenses, invariably keeps us enthralled – even while it offers no actual value. Here, the end goal isn't always a satiated stomach. Sometimes, it's a hearty laugh or an angry furrow of the brow that truly satiates. Here are TikTok cooking hacks that are so useless they're funny.
Boil Flamin' hot cheetos for mac and cheese
TikToker @gettishow was incredibly nonchalant as she unveiled her bizarre creation to the world – two bags of Flamin' Hot Cheetos boiled to oblivion, with a sprinkle of Kraft mac 'n cheese seasoning as the pièce de résistance. This thick, Cheeto-laden concoction was then mixed with cooked Kraft macaroni, giving birth to an unlikely cheesy pairing that could send even the most adventurous tastebuds spiraling into an existential crisis. The thing is, Getti's not too far off the mark. It shouldn't be a surprise that Flamin' Hot Mac 'N Cheese is an actual thing.
Where Getti's Flamin' Hot Cheetos hack outshines its confusing and bizarre store-bought cousin lies in its "secret sauce." The way she uses both original Flamin' Hot Cheetos and the Flamin' Hot with Lime variety just enhances the overall flavor and wildness. It couples thrilling heat with creamy goodness, where the luminous, tangy, cheesy red noodles bring both excitement and challenge to the culinary landscape. If anything at all, this is truly a dish for the bold.
Using a soap dispenser to froth your milk
Everyone loves a steaming hot cup of cappuccino, especially when there's a bit of frothed milk involved! Frothing enhances milk flavors, lending an unforgettable creamy texture to your coffee. But let's face the facts — getting that perfect froth for a homemade cappuccino can be a seemingly insurmountable challenge. How many times have you set out to create a perfect, Instagram-worthy cup of joe with that alluring layer of froth on top, only to be left with a jug of warm, flat milk, and bam — dreams destroyed. Also, not everyone owns a milk frother.
Cue @chefnancyg's "ingenious" cooking hack of using a soap dispenser to froth your milk. First, you completely clean out the dispenser, scrubbing away any trace of its soap-filled past because no one wants their cappuccino featuring notes of lavender or eucalyptus. Then, with the newly-disinfected dispenser dried and ready, fill up the soap dispenser with whatever kind of dairy or non-dairy milk you'd prefer and start pumping. As strange as it is, when Chef Nancy starts pumping the soap dispenser, the milk is actually frothed. Whether it's actually sinfully creamy or flat-out soapy is something we can only guess. But at this point, just head to your nearest kitchen store and get a milk frother. No one wants soapy milk.
A dishwasher is just another sous-vide
An unassuming raw steak and a dishwasher holds the spotlight as the guinea pig in @seanandreww's weird cooking hack video. Inspired by an episode of the popular show MythBusters, which revealed that dishwashers can reach temperatures close to 150 degrees Fahrenheit, he decided to put his dishwasher (and steak) to the test. This hack, while amusing on TikTok, isn't really practical for day-to-day cooking. Think about it. First, the time it takes for a dishwasher cycle is way longer than a sous-vide typically takes to cook a steak. Second, it's wasteful. Why run an entire dishwasher cycle for a single piece of steak?
Despite the chuckles and amused comments @seanandreww's dishwasher sous-vide steak has drawn, it remains a fascinating, yet impractical approach to steak cooking in a real-world kitchen scenario. Sure, sous-vide in a dishwasher might not get a Michelin nod, but it indeed stirred a buzz, prompting discussions about the innovative and, dare we say, extreme ways people can cleverly repurpose everyday appliances.
Who needs bowls for nachos when you have countertops
Defying convention, @jordanflon opted to forego the use of a bowl or plate, instead choosing to assemble her nachos directly on the kitchen countertop. While her assembling it all on her kitchen countertops is unappealing, it's even grosser when you consider she used her hands to smear the nacho cheese all over the counter. Afterward, @jordanflon expertly layers every ingredient—including ground beef, shredded lettuce, beans, sour cream, avocado, salsa, jalapenos, and taco seasoning straight upon the countertop surface. After she piles it all on, she takes her hands and mashes chips into the "nacho pile."
As a result, viewers are treated to an unconventional spectacle that is equal parts ridiculous and entertaining. In doing so, she unabashedly redefines what it means to prepare a casual snack, embracing a whimsical approach that pushes the boundaries of traditional food preparation. What makes the video even more intriguing is the sheer audacity on display. @jordanflon's decision to completely disregard common kitchen practices surely baffles some viewers, while others might see it as a lighthearted protest against the often serious and rule-driven realm of cooking.
Boil a Lays chips bag to make an omelette
A Lay's bag omelette is neither a time-saver nor a culinary marvel but @mistieknight made it work somehow. You already know things are going to get weird when you watch her crack a raw egg into the family-sized Lay's bag. Then, as she gathers the chopped bell peppers and cheese, she throws it all into the bag before plopping that into boiling water. Though the ingredients themselves are conventional, their combination within the confines of the bag is what lends this unique creation its air of novelty.
The culmination of this weird recipe lies in the rather unorthodox method of cooking — submerging the bag, with its contents, into a pot of boiling water to "make" an omelette. The resulting spectacle that is the Lay's bag omelette doesn't merely break the mold; it completely smashes it. As the bag bobs in the water, you find yourself intrigued by the final result. It might be crazy, it might be bizarre, but it's @mistieknight's version of culinary greatness, and you simply know that this journey, as odd as it is, ends with a feast of a Lay's bag omelette.
Use a period pad instead of paper towels to clean bacon
At first glance, @614lyfe's TikTok hack might have an underpinning of reason – period pads are designed to soak up fluids and, technically, when cooking bacon you're bound to have a lot of grease. Once you factor in cost, accessibility, and flat-out appropriateness, his technique's viability and credibility fails. For one, pads are more expensive than paper towels. Two, they are not as readily available in every household. Lastly, when considering the purpose pads have been created for – personal hygiene – using them to clean up bacon grease seems off-putting to most.
While it's not the best solution out there since basically everyone has paper towels, it's hard not to admit that the period pad did mop up the grease; so at the end of the day, his "hack" seemed to work. The clever use of an unassuming absorbent material, we have to appreciate @614lyfe's outside-the-box thinking. Certainly, it compels the audience to rethink everyday objects and their potential uses; even if this hack isn't the one to use in your everyday life.
Use a syringe in a McDonald's apple pie
We all wish calories could just disappear without a trace. Let's face it, calorie counting is hard, but putting syringes in McDonald's apple pies isn't. A recent TikTok trend started by @serks_media seemed to offer a quirky solution for this universal wish, racking up views and sparking a debate on its authenticity and scientific grounding. It's pretty simple. Just stick a syringe into an apple pie, then pull out the air to remove calories.
Ultimately, the hack is too good to be true. Simply put, calories come from different parts of what we eat, like carbs, fats, and proteins. If you want to take out calories, you would need to change the basic makeup of the food. So before you go out and buy a bunch of syringes and start using them at the dinner table, realize this, that's something that just pulling out air with a syringe can't do.
Make soup on a charcuterie board
We all know charcuterie boards for their eye-catching and mouth-watering arrangements of meats, cheeses, and more. But have you ever heard of a "Soup Board"? TikTok user @darapollack has showed us all what the mess entails. Dara's tryst with the Soup Board was not just about the experience; it was a journey into new territories of taste and aesthetics, even as the soup drips off the board. If anything, this video is a good reminder of why we have things called bowls.
While the idea is interesting, it's not that practical. Much like a typical charcuterie board, a Soup Board is a tantalizing array of diverse flavors but with the heartiness and warmth that only a bowl of soup can offer. Although challenging and messy in the execution, the end result is an appealing explosion of various soups, garnished with crispy croutons, fresh herbs, and rich spices.
Dig a hole in your pancakes to make a dipping area
Why use bowls when you have pancakes? As TikToker @malikvallar shows us, a pancake is basically a bowl as long as you have the spoon and the syrup to make a well. In the video, Vallar depicts this method by carving out a small hole in the center of the three pancakes. After making the "hole," he pours maple syrup into the crater, portraying it as an innovative approach to keeping your syrup in place. However, not all viewers found this hack useful.
Whether it defeats the purpose of a pancake, which is supposed to be soft and fluffy, or compromises the pancake's texture, is up for debate. One thing's for sure: the sweetness of the pancake isn't going to be even. The syrup in one concentrated spot, instead of evenly spread across the pancake, could lead to an overpowering sweetness that distracts from the overall balanced flavor of a perfectly cooked pancake. Is it unique? Yes! Is it smart? Probably not.
Instead of cracking an egg, use scissors
There are a lot of mistakes you can make when it comes to cracking an egg and unfortunately, @614lyfe made another one. In the video, @614lyfe demonstrates the process, holding a chicken egg in one hand and a pair of regular scissors in the other. One thing's clear — using a tool like scissors for something as simple as cracking an egg is pretty unnecessary for a relatively straightforward process.
When @614lyfe cut the egg, you can already expect what happened. Instead of displaying a clean, shell-free break, the egg shattered, leading to an all-too-familiar scenario for anyone who has spent time cooking. Also, the questionable hygiene implications of using a pair of scissors that's cut who knows what probably isn't smart either. Overall, the risks, inconveniences, and potential hygiene issues associated with @614lyfe's egg-cracking approach make it more of a cautionary tale than a viable cooking hack.
Make meatloaf the wasteful way
Let's get one thing straight — meatloaf doesn't need to be complicated. However, @lifehack9424 thinks otherwise. The audacious recipe included all the typical meatloaf elements but came with an unexpected twist. The TikTokker stuffed the heart of the meatloaf with lunch meat, cream cheese, bacon, and uncooked eggs. The outcome, viewed more as an impractical gimmick than a revolutionary technique, seemed to be a pool of unnecessary complications instead of an ingenious culinary shortcut.
From a practical standpoint, the addition of uncooked eggs presents a clear issue – as they're likely to still be runny after the meatloaf is otherwise appropriately cooked. Also, the lunch meat and bacon, already processed forms of meat, along with a big glob of cream cheese, just feels random. Instead of creating a more exciting recipe, the result seems to blur the line between culinary innovation and the piling-on of random ingredients.
Make whipped coffee that'll take you at least an hour
The process of making the frothy delight known as "whipped coffee" seems fun, but it's not as easy as @plantyou makes it look. Through her lens, it appears to be effortless. Viewers might be fooled by the deceptively straightforward process: Mix instant coffee, sugar, and hot water in equal proportions and then whip them to perfection. While this TikTok video paints a vibrant picture of the intricate process of making whipped coffee, when you check the comments it's not all that simple.
Multiple people commented that they'd whipped their coffees for fifteen minutes, some even hours, and they hadn't reached the consistency shown in the video. The deceptive TikTok trend effectively turns an ordinary coffee-making experience into an extraordinary at-home coffee ceremony. An hour that unfolds this mesmerizing transformation in a coffee cup is undoubtedly an hour well spent.
Tropical flavored noodles with Monster and ramen
As @gabesco will make you wonder, why use water when you could just use Monster? The unique recipe starts with the host parading a decorative lineup of ingredients. The twist in this cookery experiment is the Monster Energy drink – a bold swap for the water typically used in ramen dishes. The energy drink infuses the ramen with an invigorating tropical essence that broadens the dish's flavor profile.
Instead of opting for the traditional ingredient of water, the video showcases the use of Monster Energy drink, a popular beverage known for its powerful blend of caffeine, sugar, and unique flavor. This captivating recipe explores the unexpected culinary potential of energy drinks, inspiring curiosity among food enthusiasts and casual viewers alike. Though undoubtedly unorthodox, this inventive take on ramen piques the interest of adventurous gourmets and encourages the exploration of out-of-the-box cooking ideas that even @gabesco says are actually pretty good.
Make spaghetti like Getti with Nerds candy
@gettishow's spaghetti seems conventional at first, until you see the Nerds candy. Her avant-garde culinary mind has given birth to a new TikTok sensation, the "Getti Spaghetti," that beautifully and bizarrely melds together Nerds candy, spaghetti, and hamburger meat. As the video unfolds, viewers witness a peculiar series of steps: shaping hamburger meat around uncooked spaghetti to form a cylinder, pouring a layer of sauce, Bulgarian spice, and ultimately sprinkling Nerds candy over the dish before baking it in the oven.
What started off as a routine spaghetti-making process quickly escalates into a bona fide culinary oddity that we're sure not even Nerds candy would want to sponsor. The mashup of flavors — from the savory hamburger meat to the sweet and tangy Nerds candies, and the spicy touch of Bulgarian spice — is bewildering. And yet, it's this perplexing blend that makes the "Getti Spaghetti" such a captivating and useless TikTok creation.