Microwaves, markets & the ‘death’ of the kitchen table? Australia’s cooking habits buck the global trend

11 February 2026: IKEA today releases a State of the Nation snapshot of how Australians are cooking and eating at home compared the rest of the world. The report that interviewed more than 30,000 people from over 31 countries, reveals a uniquely Aussie blend of from scratch cooking alongside clever shortcuts and a shift away from dinners at the kitchen table, with Australians ranking among the most likely to eat dinner on the sofa.  

Compiled by IKEA, the cooking & eating report reveals that while Australians feel more confident cooking (42.3% vs 34.1%), they are also much more likely than our friends overseas to embrace timesaving tools like the microwave (50.2% vs 34.6%) and air fryer (41.0% vs 31.2%).   

As well as time saving, we have one of the earliest dinner times worldwide, but while we are earlier to eat, we don’t want to spend a long time doing it, with 23% spending less than 19 minutes enjoying their evening meals.

Confident cooks, from scratch pride and smart short-cuts

The results show just how unique Australians are in their cooking habits in the kitchen. More than one in two cook from scratch, which is 10% more than the global average (56.2% vs 45.9%), but at the same time, aren’t afraid to lean on appliances to support meal prep and admit to having less than 10 dinners on rotation (27%). We’re also not afraid to opt for a microwave meal (23.6% vs 15.0% globally and 4.9% in China) and order takeaway more often (1.4 vs 0.9 times per week).   

The report reveals:  

• Aussies feel confident cooking: 42.3% AU vs 34.1% global
• Aussies cook at home 5.6 times/week
• Older Aussies (45+) are more likely to embrace fast appliances like microwaves (58.1% vs 40.3%) and air fryers (48.3% vs 37.3%), over Gen Z.  
• While we are leading the global average on air fryer usage, our friends in the UK are even bigger fans with almost one in two (48.7%) owning the appliance, compared to 41% in Australia  
• When it comes to what we’re cooking, 57% prefer simple recipes and 29% batch cook   

Phygital food shopping

Shopping habits also reflect Australia’s desire to combine convenience with local, fresh ingredients. We are 8% more likely to order our groceries online than the global average (17.0% AU vs 8.9% globally and just 6.3% in Sweden), but at the same time, prioritise local markets 23.2% vs 16.4% globally and just 9.3% in the UK. Younger generations (30.9% of millennials and 29.6% of Gen Z’s) prefer shopping at local markets compared to just 16.5% of older Australians.  

The sofa shift

The report shows that while the rest of the world is 17% more likely to enjoy dinner time at the kitchen table (26.6% vs 44.4% globally and a huge 75% in China), Australians are much more likely to;

• Eat alone in front of the TV (64.4% vs 53.7%)
• Eat sitting on the sofa (30% vs 18%)  
• Eat on a table in the bedroom (7% vs 3%)
• Eat even in bed (4%)!  

In Australia, women are more likely than men to favour eating on the sofa (women 34.8% vs men 25.6%), and Gen Zs are more likely to embrace dining in bed (7.4%). However, while Aussies are big fans of comfortable eating locations, our Kiwi friends across are even bigger fans of dinner time on the sofa (34%), and our American friends, in bed (8.6%).   

We’re also more likely to utilise our dining tables for tasks that have nothing to do with eating with 70% using the dining table for non-meal tasks including work (8.7%), homework (9.2%), creative hobbies (20%) and games/entertainment (19.8%).  

Dinner time?  

Australians are one of the countries with the earliest eating times in the world with 40% of Australians opting for a 6pm start time – just 28% of global respondents chose the same. And while 10% of respondents globally admitted to having dinner times after 9pm, just 3% of Australians claim to eat this late in the evening. This contrasts sharply with our Spanish counterparts, where 48.5% eat dinner after 9pm and a further 22.7% dine after 10pm.  

However, while we are early, we are also very efficient with 23% eating in less than 19 minutes and our average duration just 28 minutes, compared to India with a slightly more leisurely average of 30 minutes.  

Josh Cooling, Range Manager Dining & Outdoor at IKEA;

“Australians are rewriting the dinner rulebook, especially when we compare the habits from around the world. While we are confident in our ability in the kitchen and cooking from scratch, the report shows that convenience is a big factor in Aussie’s lives, from our use of appliances, through to eating on the sofa while watching TV.  

“As leaders in life at home we understand that while our range remains the same around the world, how our customers want and need to use our range at home is different. That’s why we have the biggest range of cooking and eating solutions to help all customers, from Aussies and Kiwis to the French and Brits, to create their very own, better life at home.”