How to choose a recipe app for iPhone: what actually matters

Search the App Store for "recipe app" and you'll get dozens of results that look almost identical: a nice photo of pasta, a promise to organise everything, a five-star rating. They're not the same, and the differences only show up after you've saved fifty recipes into one.

Before the checklist, a disclosure: I make one of these apps, DinnerSorted. I've tried to keep this guide useful whichever app you pick, and where I mention other apps I've stuck to what their own websites say.

The seven things that matter

1. Where can it import from?

Think about where your recipes actually come from, then check the app handles each:

• Recipe websites. Nearly every app does this well, because most sites publish recipes in a standard format.
• TikTok, Instagram and YouTube. Much harder. Many creators say the recipe out loud and never type it, so an app that only reads the caption will miss those. Test with a video that has no recipe in its caption.
• Photos and screenshots. Useful for cookbooks, magazine clippings and family recipe cards.

2. Can you edit what it imports?

Automatic import gets most recipes right, not every one. You want to fix a quantity or a step in seconds, not fight the app.

3. Does it plan the week?

A recipe collection on its own doesn't get dinner on the table. Check whether you can put recipes on specific nights and move them around when plans change.

4. Does it build a shopping list from the plan?

This is the feature that saves the most time each week. The good versions combine matching ingredients across recipes, scale quantities to the number of people you're feeding, and group items by section of the shop. Our guide to making a shopping list from a meal plan explains what that should look like.

5. Is it usable while you cook?

Look for a cooking view with big text that keeps the screen awake. Hands-free or voice controls are a bonus when your hands are covered in flour.

6. Which devices does it run on?

If you only cook from an iPhone, any iPhone app is fine. If your partner uses Android, or you want recipes on a Windows laptop, check before you commit.

7. How is it priced, and can you leave?

Apps are either a one-off purchase, a subscription, or free with paid extras. Look at what the free version actually lets you do every week. And check you can share or export your recipes, so a collection you've built over years isn't stuck if you switch.

How a few popular apps differ

These are facts from each app's own website, checked in October 2026. Features change, so check the current App Store listing before you buy.

• Paprika runs on iOS, Android, Mac and Windows, with each version sold separately. It saves recipes from websites through a built-in browser, and has meal plans and grocery lists that combine similar ingredients and sort them by aisle.
• Mela is for iPhone, iPad and Mac. It imports from websites through an in-app browser, plans meals in a calendar stored in Apple's Calendar app, and keeps the shopping list in Reminders.
• Crouton runs across Apple devices, including Apple Watch and Vision Pro. It imports recipes from website links, lets you schedule recipes across the week, and can generate a meal plan from your saved recipes.
• DinnerSorted (mine) is iPhone only. It imports from TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Pinterest and X through the share sheet, reading the caption and transcribing the audio when the recipe is only spoken, as well as from websites and photos. It plans the week, builds a combined grocery list grouped by section of the shop, and has a voice-controlled Cook Mode.

So which should you choose?

• Most of your recipes come from websites, and you use several kinds of device: an app that runs everywhere you cook will suit you.
• You live in Apple's apps: an app that ties into Calendar and Reminders may feel natural.
• Most of your recipes come from TikTok, Instagram and YouTube, and the hard part is turning them into dinners: look for strong social import plus planning and a grocery list in the same app. That's the gap DinnerSorted was built for.

Whichever you pick, the habits matter more than the app. Our guide to organising your recipes covers how to set up a collection that stays useful.

Trying DinnerSorted

DinnerSorted is free to download on iPhone. The free plan lets you add up to 50 recipes, plan your week, use the grocery list and Cook Mode, and import three recipes a month automatically. DinnerSorted Pro adds unlimited imports and unlimited recipes, with a free trial, billed through your Apple ID and cancellable any time in Settings.