It's the best time ever to have a home food business in Texas.

SB 541 has changed almost everything for the better! Learn more. 

It’s as easy as 1, 2, 3.

1. Read the rules so you know what you can sell and where you can sell it.

2. Take your required food handler’s training.

3. Create your required food labels.

Full Checklist

Stand out from the crowd and show your customers that you’re committed to running a professional cottage food business. 

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Texas makes it easy

There are no permits, licenses, or inspections required to start a cottage food business.

Pickling, Canning, and Fermenting

Everything you need to know about selling homemade pickled, canned, or fermented foods in Texas.

F.A.Q.

You've got questions about the cottage food law - lots and lots of questions. We've got answers! Our F.A.Q. answers just about every question that has ever been asked.

We've come a long way

The first Texas cottage food law only allowed baked goods, jams, jellies, and dried herb mixes, to be sold only from your home.
Click to see how the law has changed since 2011.

Cream Cheese Frosting

Many cottage food producers wonder whether cream cheese frosting requires Temperature Control for Safety (ie: refrigeration).

The short answer is that it depends on the recipe. The problem is, it’s practically impossible to know if a recipe is TCS without expensive testing.  

In our inexpensive e-books we’ve tested over 50 recipes and made the results available to you for a tiny fraction of the cost of testing each recipe.  You’ll find recipes for cream cheese frosting, lemon curd, Swiss meringue buttercream, American buttercream, German chocolate cake filling, and more. You can bake and sell with confidence knowing your recipes have been tested by an accredited lab.

Recipe Book

What cottage food producers say about their home businesses

I love being a Texas cottage food baker. Actually, I do a lot more than just bake. This law has given me the opportunity to help provide our household with income by not only custom baking but by being a part of our local farmers market where I'm able to provide our community with a variety of foods allowed by this law. My husband and I have also recently built a farm stand at our home that I fill with my home baked, home cooked products. I am so grateful for the Texas Cottage Food Law and for all who have made this endeavor possible.
Sheila Rodriguez The Farmhouse, Dallardsville
Being a military family, we move every few years. 5 years ago, I started baking and making cakes and it is a skill that I can take and use wherever we move. Being able to start up a cottage food business from home, has helped ease the anxiety of transitioning to a new location and trying to find work, which is a major issue among military spouses like myself. It gives me a sense of freedom and pride that I can continue my work relatively easily and do what I love, while still being able to be home with my family. Texas has been a wonderful place to operate my cottage food business and I have gained many happy clients in the past 2 years we have been here.
Stacy Martin Bonkers for Baking, Fort Hood
I'm just a single Mom trying to raise her kid the best I can. Being a cottage food baker allows me to work from home where I can bring in income and be prevalent in my child's life!! I love what I do!! I love that I have been able to find a way to work and not miss out on so much with my kid.
Safire Norris Safire's Rose Cottage Bakery, Palestine

Benefits of Cottage Food Production

A 2013 study by the Harvard Food Law and Policy Clinic found that:

  • increasing the number of locally made products available for purchase at farmers markets and similar locations has the direct economic benefit of increasing the amount of money that stays in the local economy;
  • home food production can serve as a business incubator by reducing some of the start-up barriers for fledgling entrepreneurs;
  • communities benefit from cottage food production because it provides residents greater access to locally produced foods, and;
  • cottage food laws encourage more people to grow food because the growers know they have an outlet to create value-added products from any excess fresh fruits and vegetables they produce.

Questions about the Texas Cottage Food Law? Homemade Texas provides support, advocacy, and trainings for cottage food businesses in Texas. Visit us at https://homemadetexas.org. 

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