We’ll discuss how much food trucks make and explain how we chose the top ideas in each category. Then we’ll provide you with a list of the best food truck ideas, unique food truck items, and desserts. Finally, we’ll answer some frequently asked questions.
Whether your food truck will serve a single item or a full menu, you’ll find plenty of ideas for your target audience. You can either keep reading or click on any of the links below to jump straight to the food trucks ideas that interest you:
How much do food trucks make?
The average food truck makes $47K per year, but that’s because many food truck ideas fail to reach their full potential. In fact, 60% of food truck business ideas fail, but the ones that don’t can become extremely successful.
One of the best ways to improve your likelihood of success is to open a food truck franchise. Some of those food truck ideas make up to $2 million per year.
How did we choose the best food truck menu items?
The suggestions on this list are ranked based on how often people search for them. Each of these suggestions can be highly profitable, but make sure to do a common-sense check. For instance, you might not want to start an ice cream truck in Alaska.
We used Ahrefs to do keyword research based on the term “food truck ideas.” Next, we filtered the results according to which keywords rank in the top 10. Then we sorted all the keywords by search volume.
Best Food Truck Ideas
The following list includes some of the best food truck ideas if you haven’t already settled on a food truck concept. Some of these, like ice cream or hot dogs, are really common in the food truck industry. Others sound like they might do best if your target market includes customers with eclectic tastes.
As we’ve already warned, use some common sense before you go and spend $100K on a unique food truck.
Idea #1. Ice Cream Truck
Selling popsicles, ice cream sandwiches, and other frozen treats was the original mobile food service. Harry Burt, the creator of Good Humor bars, started selling ice cream out of a truck back in 1920.
Idea #2. Fried Chicken
Another great food truck idea is serving fried chicken. It’s one of America’s favorite foods. You can even serve sides such as mashed potatoes and gravy, french fries, green beans, or biscuits.
Don’t forget to learn a killer sweet tea recipe if you decide to go on this particular food truck journey.
Idea #3. Grilled Cheese
As far as easy food truck ideas go, you can’t get much easier than a grilled cheese sandwich. This is one of the most common items sold at gatherings.
This can make a great family-owned business idea because kids can help cook these at a really young age. You can even do gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches to add your own unique twist to this classic favorite.
Idea #4. Hot Dog Truck
Hot dogs and corn dogs are another American favorite. The first hot dog cart was created by Oscar Mayer in 1936, but the idea really gained popularity in the 1960s at Coney Island.
People still love hot dogs today. It’s up to you whether you add ketchup and mustard, chili and cheese, or create your own unique concoctions.
Idea #5. Mobile Coffee Shop
Mobile coffee shops sell coffee, tea, and other drinks. Coffee trucks would probably do really well during breakfast hours or at carnivals and festivals where people are keeping busy for long hours.
Idea #6. French Fries
You could start a snack food truck serving fries. You can offer them with ketchup, cheese, chili, onions, thousand island sauce, or any other number of toppings to create a unique food truck menu from a single item.
Idea #7. Pizza
Food truck ideas can be focused around specific types of dough like deep dish or wood-fired pizza. These mobile eateries can serve hungry customers by the slice or offer whole pizzas.
Idea #8. Gourmet Burgers
Food trucks can’t go wrong serving hamburgers. You can focus on the classics or offer a unique concept that’s sure to stand out. You might even mix various ingredients into the meat to experiment with different flavors.
Idea #9. American Classics
While most of the food truck business ideas we’ve suggested are focused on a single type of food, food trucks can serve more than one item. This includes choosing menu items based on a theme. For instance, your food truck business could serve hamburgers, hot dogs, fries, and other American classics.
Idea #10. Taco Truck
Cooking Mexican street foods is one of the most successful food truck business ideas. Taco truck menu ideas include tacos, burritos, carne asada fries, or nachos.
Want to learn more about Mexican food truck ideas?
Check out our interview with Kyle Gourlie, the owner of The Vet Chef, to learn about Mexican food truck menu ideas:
Idea #11. Fast Food Trucks
Many fast food companies have started offering food truck franchises. Buying food truck franchises offers an excellent opportunity to become a business owner. They have a success rate that’s four times higher than starting a new business from scratch.
Idea #12. Lobster Rolls
Lobster is one of the vibrant flavors that brings potential customers to a food truck. Cousins Maine Lobster is one of the major food truck companies in this niche.
Unique Food Trucks
Some of the following food truck business ideas might seem a little odd for a business venture selling street food. However, local businesses can often stand out from their competitors by offering a unique take that isn’t already provided by catering services, traditional restaurants, and convenience store owners.
Idea #13. Cheese
Did you know that people search for cheese 259,000 times per month? There are so many ways you could go with this dairy delight. You could sell cream cheese dishes or maybe even charcuterie boards.
Idea #14. Fried Rice
Have you ever thought about creating a food truck menu centered around fried rice? Rice is a staple of many people’s diets, and it’s remarkably cheap.
Combine it with some veggies, egg, and different meats to create a lot of distinct meals. This is one of the simplest food truck menu ideas.
Idea #15. Chicken Wings
Americans eat 25 billion chicken wings each year. That means you could create a successful food truck business just by selling chicken wings. I bet this food truck menu would do really well at tailgating parties, especially if you also have a license to sell beer.
Idea #16. Cheese Curds
Consider selling cheese curds. You can serve these bite-size balls of cheese with a range of dipping sauces. They’re a fun, portable snack idea for food truck owners to sell.
Idea #17. Comfort Food
Your food truck could take on one of the most beloved traditions and sell comfort foods like fried okra, ribs, and meatloaf. Check out some of these recipes if you’re thinking about starting a comfort foods truck.
Idea #18. Steak Bites
For a higher-end food truck business, you could start selling steak bites at local events. Steak bites are great for people on the go because they don’t have to cut the steak. Consider this garlic steak bite recipe.
Idea #19. Mediterranean Cuisine
Serving Mediterranean cuisine is one of the best food truck ideas. Serving gyros and other unique Mediterranean meals can also be highly profitable.
Idea #20. Indian Street Food
Indian cuisine is a popular food truck item. Like Mexican and Mediterranean food, the bread served with many Indian dishes is ideal for eating on the go.
Idea #21. Fresh Fish
Serving fresh fish would be a unique business for food trucks. You’ll have to get creative with this because many people find fish smelly. But if you can do it successfully, it would offer people who prefer fish a nice alternative to the normal food truck offerings.
Idea #22. Waffle Truck
As far as breakfast food truck ideas go, a waffle truck could work. Use some culinary creativity to delight people with waffles or waffle breakfast sandwiches. Make sure to use quality ingredients like cinnamon sugar and syrup.
Dessert Food Truck Ideas
Food truck ideas that serve sweet treats can be some of the most profitable food trucks. Consider some of the ideas below.
Idea #23. Candy Apples
Apples coated in candy combine healthy foods with people’s craving for sugar. You can do the traditional candied apple, chocolate, or caramel.
You might also want to offer other fruits if you pursue this food truck business idea.
Idea #24. Custom Cakes
Food truck ideas don’t have to limit the number of menu options. Make your food truck business idea stand out from the pack by adding more variety than most food truck concepts. Adding customization by letting customers choose their toppings can help you appeal to a broader audience.
Idea #25. Funnel Cakes
Funnel cakes are a fan favorite at fairs, carnivals, and music festivals. These fried strings of dough covered in powdered sugar and other toppings are sure to make you a great living as long as you attend the right events.
You might want to combine this with other food truck ideas like the one below to increase your offerings and develop a loyal customer base.
Idea #26. Cotton Candy
A food truck business can serve spun sugar quickly and easily with little cooking equipment. If your food truck idea is looking to add a sweet treat, this delicious food is easy to serve and delights kids.
Idea #27. Candy Bars
Food trucks can serve candy bars quickly and easily. You might want to include other easy-to-serve items like drinks, chips, and other snack foods.
How to Start a Food Truck Business
Choosing from the different types of food trucks is just one part of starting a food truck. Here’s the full process:
- Learn about the food truck industry.
- Come up with food truck ideas.
- Figure out business operating costs.
- Write a food truck business plan.
- Determine financing options.
- Obtain licenses and permits.
- Buy your truck.
- Secure your suppliers.
- Streamline your processes.
- Build your food truck business and brand.
Check out our blog to learn more about how to start a food truck business.
Food Truck FAQ
What are the most profitable food truck items?
The most profitable items to sell in food trucks are typically drinks. They often have higher markups (up to 500% for alcoholic beverages) and require less labor and equipment than making and serving food.
Sides, salads, and other easy items also tend to have higher profit margins compared to more elaborate dishes.
How much does it cost to start a food truck?
You should expect to spend between $15K and $250K to start food truck operations. Your costs will depend on your location and whether you buy a new or used food truck.
Go Start Your Own Food Truck Business
At this point, you should understand how much a food truck makes and how to start a food truck business. We also provided you with some examples of successful food truck owners we’ve interviewed in the past.
Food can be highly rewarding from both a career and profitability standpoint. You’ll need a good business model, including a strategy for where to park your food truck to get the most customers.
What are your favorite food truck meals? Let us know in the comments below.
