Cooking · channel analysis

SAM THE COOKING GUY - what's actually working, and what isn't

Cooking · 13-min uploads · 3.9M subscribers · started 2011 · ~5.3/week
Est. ad revenue$7K–$28K/morough estimate from recent upload pace at $1.5-6 RPM

Most stats sites hand you a subscriber count and an earnings guess. Neither answers the question that matters: which titles win on this channel, which flop, and what a creator should copy. Here is the honest read, from 87 public uploads. One of the recipe youtube channels we track. Visit SAM THE COOKING GUY on YouTube →

In SAM THE COOKING GUY's own words
Hey all, we're here for one reason - to make your food life better. And to entertain you - ok, so I guess that's two reasons. In any case, if you love food that's big in taste but small in effort, and served with a side of irreverence, you've come to the right place. Watch my videos for easy-to-make recipes, kitchen baBased in US

What are SAM THE COOKING GUY's average views?

This channel runs on hits: its top 10% of videos pull 50% of all views, so the median upload (200K views) is the floor and the big numbers are the exception.

200K
median views
28.8×
top vs median
37%
hit rate (2×+)
50%
views from top 10%

What is SAM THE COOKING GUY's most popular video?

Its biggest hit is "The Best Carne Asada | SAM THE COOKING GUY" at 5.8M views - 28.8× the channel median. The other top performers:

Video titleViews
The Best Carne Asada | SAM THE COOKING GUY5.8M
Salmon with Garlic Butter Sauce | SAM THE COOKING GUY3.1M
THE ULTIMATE PARTY APPETIZERS | SAM THE COOKING GUY3.0M

Which titles work best for SAM THE COOKING GUY - and which flop?

Same channel, same audience. The gap between these two lists is the title doing the work. Its strongest titles:

Video titleViews
The Best Carne Asada | SAM THE COOKING GUY5.8M
Salmon with Garlic Butter Sauce | SAM THE COOKING GUY3.1M
THE ULTIMATE PARTY APPETIZERS | SAM THE COOKING GUY3.0M
5 INSANELY DELICIOUS YET INSANELY EASY INSTANT POT DINNER RECIPES | SAM THE COOKING GUY2.6M
15 MUST-MAKE GRILLING RECIPES FOR THE SUMMER (WE GOT A LITTLE CRAZY...) | SAM THE COOKING GUY2.5M
The Best Grilled Chicken - 3 Easy Recipes! | SAM THE COOKING GUY 4K2.2M
The Best Cuban Sandwich (Cubano Recipe) | SAM THE COOKING GUY 4K1.9M
The Best Grilled Chicken I've Ever Made - Jamaican Jerk Chicken | SAM THE COOKING GUY 4K1.6M
Easy Game Day Appetizers | SAM THE COOKING GUY 4K1.5M
THESE AIR FRYER CHICKEN RECIPES WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE! | SAM THE COOKING GUY1.4M

And the uploads that underperformed for this channel:

Video titleViews
MUNCHIES: WORLD CUP EDITION67K
I Put Peanut Butter On Steak... And It Won61K
I Turned Rice Paper Into 3 Insane Sandwiches53K
I Put Meatballs In A Bánh Mì... And It Changed Everything52K
3 Fried Chicken Recipes You'll Want to Make Immediately50K
Japan Does Food Better Than Anyone31K
Delicious and Easy Pork Breakfast Sandwich | SAM THE COOKING GUY24K
This Cheesy Steak Torta Is Absolutely Ridiculous13K
I Turned the World Cup Into a Burrito Competition12K
I Put a Steak ON a Burger... and It Changed Everything11K

The title patterns that win here

  • Words that show up in winners, not flops: guy sam grilled.
  • Numbers pull the click here: 50% of its winners use one ("3-ingredient", "in 10 minutes") vs 17% of its flops.
  • Its winning titles run about 14 words; the ones that flop run 9. It gets away with longer, more descriptive titles.

What keywords does SAM THE COOKING GUY rank on?

Weighted by views, the topics this channel actually pulls traffic on are: sam, guy, chicken, grilled, carne, asada, appetizers, dinner. These are the lanes it owns - and the ones a similar channel competes against.

How often does SAM THE COOKING GUY post, and when?

SAM THE COOKING GUY publishes about 5.3 videos a week. Its views concentrate on Tue, Fri, Sat, and thin out on Wed. The single best-performing slot is Tue around 21:00.

Views by day of week
Sun
0
Mon
0
Tue
603K
Wed
31K
Thu
0
Fri
429K
Sat
52K

How long are SAM THE COOKING GUY's videos?

Typical uploads run about 13 minutes. Broken down by length, its 20 min+ videos perform best (569K median views) - the format worth leaning into on this channel.

Median views by video length
under 5m
384K
5-10m
230K
10-20m
179K
20m+
569K

How does SAM THE COOKING GUY compare to other cooking channels?

At 200K median views, SAM THE COOKING GUY runs above the typical cooking channel we track (22K). It is outperforming its niche.

How much money does SAM THE COOKING GUY make on YouTube?

Nobody outside the channel sees the real figure, and ad revenue is only part of it - sponsorships and merch often dwarf it. But from public view counts, SAM THE COOKING GUY pulls roughly 4.6M long-form views a month, which at a typical $1-4 RPM works out to an estimated $5K-$18K a month in ad revenue (about $55K-$219K a year). Treat it as a ballpark, not a payslip - real creator income varies wildly.

What should a channel like SAM THE COOKING GUY make next?

Copy what already works here, not generic advice: lean on the 20 min+ format, ship on Tue, and build titles around its proven words (guy, sam, grilled). The median is the bar - the goal of every upload is to clear 200K views.

SAM THE COOKING GUY stats at a glance

Subscribers3.9M
Total views719M
Videos published2K
Average views / video337K
Engagement rate3.6%
Uploads per week5.3
Typical length13 min
On YouTube since2011 (15 yrs)

Want this read on your own channel?

See which of your titles win, which topics are rising in your niche, and whether an idea will beat your own median - free.

Analyze your channel - free →

Public YouTube data for SAM THE COOKING GUY, analyzed by TubeHunter. We show the read, not a guarantee - titles are one lever, not magic.

↓ Keep scrolling - more channels load automatically