5 Cooking Shows Worth Watching On Tubi (For Free)

In the year 2026, there's an incredible amount of streaming platforms for consuming the best food shows. There's the heavy hitters, like Netflix, HBO Max, and Disney+, but what about those of us who don't want to pay a subscription to a streaming service? The answer lies in a simple two syllable streamer: Tubi. To become a Tubi subscriber, your only payment is an email address to login, and the occasional ad breaks during whatever show or movie you happen to be watching. Tubi has a vast collection of TV shows, movies, and live television to choose from, and it's nice to know there's a streaming platform that can provide entertainment for viewers without a monthly subscription fee.

Tubi's collection of cooking shows is primarily of the cooking competition variety, but you'll find a few traditional cooking shows as well for the viewer who simply wants to learn about the latest kitchen gadgets or watch a professional make hearty soup recipes and Super Bowl party appetizers from scratch. Of the various options available on Tubi, below is a list of five favorite options that'll hook you from the first episode. Whether you're a weekly episodic viewer or more of the binge watching type, these cooking shows are great to throw on when you're in the mood for some top notch culinary content for free. Forget Netflix and chill — it's time to Tubi and grill!

Cooking against the clock, against other chefs, and on a reality TV show is pressure enough, but throw in the element of actual, physical moving levels in the kitchen, and you've got one of the most adrenaline-fueled, high-stakes reality cooking shows out there: "Next Level Chef." This show combines two things that people love: sports and cooking. Players are drafted, and teams are formed, pitting social media chefs, home chefs, and professional chefs against each other as they vie for a spot on either Gordon Ramsay's, Richard Blais', or Nyesha Arrington's teams.

After what feels like an eternity of seeing Gordon Ramsay on television screens, he still manages to bring an incredible energy into "Next Level Chef," fueling the fire behind the chefs on his team as well as his competitors' teams. This show also introduces something viewers don't often think about when watching reality cooking shows: skill level. With shows like Top Chef, Chopped, and the like, we're accustomed to seeing professional chefs battle one another for bragging rights. But "Next Level Chef" taps into the power of the home chef — many of whom think they can outcook the professionals.  

While every "Next Level Chef" competitor may not be classically trained, they have honed their craft to such a point that they're more than worthy of going through the high-octane challenges presented on this show every week. It's exciting, it's hardcore, and it's competition at every level. Literally.

For those of us who grew up watching Julia Child, you know, tuning in to a cooking show can be a therapeutic experience. You don't always need fast-paced, Formula 1-style events going on in the kitchen. Sometimes, you just want to learn a new technique, be fascinated by a new ingredient, or watch a chef construct a beautiful meal. It's on "America's Test Kitchen" where all of these things and so much more can be consumed. After a total of 22 seasons, 16 of which are available on Tubi, "America's Test Kitchen" has cracked the code on what makes cooking TV so enjoyable.

"America's Test Kitchen" has a variety of faces, each bringing a different energy and light to the kitchen. Co-hosts Bridget Lancaster and Julia Collin Davison became the faces of the show after the Christopher Kimball controversy and his departure in 2015, but they're rarely alone. Other chefs and experts pop in to talk about testing kitchen gadgets, tasting techniques and the science behind them, tips and tricks from Cook's Illustrated magazine (the parent publication of "America's Test Kitchen"), as well as respond to emails and letters from viewers. 

Recipes and ingredients go through countless tests before even getting on the show, and viewers get to see all of the behind-the-scenes rigamarole of that, which, for a lot of home chefs, is like getting a peek behind the curtain. "America's Test Kitchen" is a great example of how a dish doesn't have to be complicated to be delicious. It's a show for the home chef who wants to not just understand the what, but the why. Julia would be proud.

From the moment the chef contestants walk inside the Hell's Kitchen restaurant at the beginning of every season, you know that things are going to get heated — pun absolutely intended. There's no gentle entry into the competition, and for those who like to watch a reality cooking TV show that comes in hot with the drama and excitement, "Hell's Kitchen" is undoubtedly worth watching. The endgame? Win the show, join the Ramsay empire, and become the head chef at one of his premier restaurants. 

To get there, chefs are thrown directly into the fire — with Gordon Ramsay lighting the torch. If you've only heard of Ramsay's anger and rage in the kitchen but never watched it for yourself, "Hell's Kitchen" is the show to get acquainted with it. After 22 seasons, "Hell's Kitchen" has found its footing as one of the most intense, rage-fueled reality TV cooking shows out there. Chefs are split into two teams and given various challenges throughout the season in the kitchen of an actual Hell's Kitchen restaurant. 

Under the pressure of Ramsay, the pressure of time, and the pressure of working with a team that may or may not come together like a perfect bearnaise sauce, the "Hell's Kitchen" chefs really are pushed to their culinary breaking point, which makes for some seriously entertaining television.

Gordon Ramsay has several different reality cooking shows where chefs are pinned head to head or team against team, striving for victory as the winner. However, Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares is essentially the inverse of that — Ramsay goes into the kitchen of an already established yet flailing restaurant, and with his culinary know-how and no quit attitude, does his best to help that restaurant succeed. In the six seasons of Kitchen Nightmares available to watch on Tubi, Ramsay visits various restaurants around the United Kingdom, doing his best to help turn things around and become successful. 

The most entertaining part of Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares is seeing the difference between Ramsay — an established, successful, world-renowned chef and restaurateur — and the various owners, operators, and chefs that he encounters. From the dedicated, passionate employees who are simply struggling to figure out their groove, to the owners who seem like they ultimately couldn't care less, Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares pulls Ramsay out of his comfort zone and into these uncomfortable kitchens. While the survival rate of the restaurants is worse than you might think, he does his best to help — and when he does, it's a really special moment to watch.

Mystery, true crime, clues, and... baking? Somehow, all of these elements come together on "Crime Scene Kitchen," and it really works. With comedian Joel McHale as the host, there's also a sprinkle of humor that comes into play, which, for a baking competition show, is a nice respite from what can often be an intense viewing experience. With three seasons of the show available on Tubi so far, "Crime Scene Kitchen" is definitely a unique celebration of a lot of elements that TV and cooking show enthusiasts love: solving a mystery based on the clues, head-to-head competition, and delicious desserts.

Each episode kicks off with the teams of two using the clues in the kitchen crime scene — think cream cheese frosting on a spoon, cake pans on a drying rack, or a cheese shredder with remnants of carrot peel — to recreate the mystery dessert. Celebrity guest judges Curtis Stone and cake artist Yolanda Gampp then evaluate each team based on whether or not their baking instincts were correct and they recreated the mystery dessert accurately. Out of the teams that did so correctly, a winner is chosen based on taste and execution. Then comes the main event challenge: the teams have to once again go through the clues and recreate a dessert based entirely on their sleuthing skills. 

With one team going home at the end of each episode, the "Crime Scene Kitchen" endgame is to survive each episode, get to the finale, and win $100,000. With only three seasons available on Tubi so far, there's no mystery here: this is a show worth watching.