The Art of Girl Dinner

How a fridge full of leftovers became an internet sensation

By Clara Kye

Photo by Emma Almaraz

After a long day of classes, you come home starving—too tired to walk to the dining hall and too broke to order food from Uber Eats. You open your nearly empty fridge and see a bag of baby carrots, leftover guacamole from your Chipotle bowl from yesterday, and a few saltine crackers. You grab these scattered ingredients, carefully place them onto a paper plate and voila: you get yourself an exquisite girl dinner.

The term “girl dinner” was coined on TikTok and became trending in the year 2023. It resonated with thousands of TikTok users who shared similar experiences eating a meal that had random, yet comforting ingredients that required little to no preparation. Users began sharing their versions of a “girl dinner” on their TikTok videos that ranged from pickles and sardines to pieces of cheese and bread crusts.

At its core, girl dinner isn’t simply about the food, and it’s more about freedom. It rejects the idea that a meal has to be well-balanced or perfect. At times, some people want to enjoy a judgement-free meal that might be slightly questionable but still acceptable. Girl dinners are the embodiment of quirkiness and authenticity; this meal is still undeniably something that everyone can relate to.

I’ve found that girl dinners are especially relatable to college students and an easy ticket to suffice your hungry needs. Most students know the feeling of staring at an empty fridge after a long day of classes and deciding that a bag of Boom Chicka Pop and a Poppi would do the trick. It’s what we consider “doing what you can,” with a humorous touch.

So, the next time you’re assembling a plate of snacks, don’t apologize. Yes, your parents may not approve, but there’s something refreshing about a trend that allows you to be messy, free and imperfect from time to time.