The most searched for recipes online are pancakes, fish and chips - and banana bread

Statistics from Google search figures show that people in the UK searched for a simple pancake recipe up to 368,000 times a month in the past four years, with that number rising to 522,000 times a month on average in 2021.

Other popular recipes people are keen to learn via the internet are chicken curry, fajitas and carbonara – with 49,500 searches each on average each month since 2017.

And research of 2,000 adults found 62 per cent regularly turn to the internet when they're trying to find a recipe - as only eight per cent have NEVER used the world wide web for cookery help.

The research, commissioned by Birds Eye [https://www.birdseye.co.uk/recipes/food-inspiration/recipe-searches-survey], also found despite the average household owning seven cookery books, half of those polled find it easier to use an online recipe.

While one in twenty (six per cent) even admitted to using cookery books for display purposes only.

But 43 per cent have been inspired by social media to try out a new recipe, with Facebook and Instagram being the most popular.

A spokesperson from Birds Eye said: “After the challenges and changes to our daily habits we’ve all encountered over the last 18 months, it’s incredibly interesting to understand what meals the nation is now searching for and how they’re searching for them.

“Chicken breast recipes have been a midweek staple for many years, being a great option for a meal-for-one to catering for a dinner party, but the huge increase in searches for these following lockdown suggests how we are now more eager than ever to experiment with new recipes.”

There have also been shifts in recipe searches during the pandemic, with ‘simple chicken breast recipes for dinner’ seeing a 4,900 per cent increase in searches when comparing data from August 2019 to July 2020, with August 2020 to July 2021 - while searches for ‘chicken pasta recipes for dinner’ have also risen by 1,106 per cent.

The average adult estimates they search for seven recipes online each month, and that they would be ‘lost’ without the Internet when it comes to cooking.

A quarter were also guilty of using the internet to search for really simple instructions, such as how to boil an egg.

And 38 per cent of those polled via OnePoll said they have discovered their favourite recipes on the internet.

The spokesperson added:  “Social media has been a great way for us to reach a new audience with exciting and delicious chicken grills recipes.”

50 most searched for recipes and average monthly searches:

1. Recipe for pancakes   368000

2. Fish and chips              201000

3. Recipe for banana bread         135000

4. Recipe for scones       135000

5. Recipe for Yorkshire pudding 135000

6. Recipe pizza dough    90500

7. Fish pie           74000

8. Chicken breast recipes             60500

9. Chicken curry 49500

10. Chicken thigh recipes             49500

11. Fajitas           49500

12. Thai green curry       49500

13. Recipe American pancakes   49500

14. Recipe carbonara     49500

15. Recipe for chilli con carne     49500

16. Recipe hummus       49500

17. Recipe paella             49500

18. Chicken casserole     40500

19. Chicken tikka masala             40500

20. Katsu curry  40500

21. Roast chicken            40500

22. Recipe apple crumble            40500

23. Recipe guacamole    40500

24. Recipe lasagna          40500

25. Recipe macaroni cheese        40500

26. Recipe quiche           40500

27. Recipe toad in the hole         40500

28. Recipe victoria sponge           40500

29. Recipe with courgette            40500

30. Recipe with minced beef       40500

31. Butter chicken           33100

32. Coq au vin   33100

33. Hunter chicken         33100

34. Chickpea curry          33100

35. Fish tacos     33100

36. Sea bass recipe         33100

37. Recipe cottage pie    33100

38. Veg soups    33100

39. Vegetable curry        33100

40. Vegetarian roast       33100

41. Chicken pie  27100

42. Coronation chicken  27100

43. Jerk chicken 27100

44. Kung pao chicken     27100

45. Sweet and sour chicken         27100

46. Tandoori chicken      27100

47. Onion bhaji 27100

48. Thai red curry            27100

49. Chicken and leek pie              22200

50. Chicken biryani         22200