Cottage food quick guide · Last reviewed October 2026
Selling homemade food in Nebraska
- Sales cap
- No cap
- Permit or registration
- NDA registration; food safety course
- Online & shipping
- Non-TCS foods by mail; TCS delivered in person
- Sell through stores
- Direct to consumers only
- Refrigerated foods
- Yes, kept cold and delivered in person within two hours
Allowed from a home kitchen
Sourdough bread · Cookies & brownies · Fruit pie · Pumpkin pie · Cheesecake · Cake with buttercream · Cake with cream cheese frosting · Macarons · Fruit tamales · Strawberry jam · Low-sugar or freezer jam · Fresh salsa (refrigerated) · Granola · Spice rubs & seasoning blends · Roasted coffee · Loose-leaf tea blends · Dried fruit & fruit leather · Freeze-dried candy · Chocolates & truffles · Toffee, fudge & caramels · Marshmallows · Nut butter · Pure honey · Fruit-infused vinegar · Cheese & yogurt
Needs a commercial kitchen or other license
Meat tamales · Pepper jelly · Shelf-stable salsa · Hot sauce · Canned pickles · Sauerkraut & kimchi · Canned tomato sauce · Infused honey · Garlic or herb-infused oil · Beef jerky‡ · Cold-pressed juice · Kombucha
Ask the agency first
Vanilla extract · Mustard (no egg) · Home-cooked meals
Every product has conditions, such as registration, training, labeling, and sales limits. See the full guide for each one. ‡ General rule; not specifically addressed in this state's guidance.
How to start
- Make sure the product isn't excluded: meat or animal parts, raw eggs, unpasteurized juice, infused oils or honey, sealed acidified or low-acid canned foods, or kimchi and kombucha.
- Complete a food safety and handling course, then register with NDA (include well water test results if applicable).
- Sell directly to consumers at markets and events, or by home pickup or delivery. Non-TCS foods can be mailed; TCS foods must be delivered by you within two hours.
- Post the required notice where you sell and in your ads, and label each package.
Key label items
Use the exact required wording shown in the full guide and on the agency's site.
- “This food was prepared in a kitchen that is not subject to regulation and inspection by the regulatory authority and may contain allergens.”
- Producer name and a full mailing address
- TCS foods: ingredients in descending order by weight