Your recipe box starts empty, and that's by design. Recipes Worth Keeping doesn't come with a ready-made collection. It's a private home for your recipes: the ones you find online, the cards handed down in your family, the pages you've marked in cookbooks. The pictures on the App Store show a collection that has already been filled in. Yours will look like that once you've added a few of your own.
1Add your first recipe
On the Recipes tab, tap the + button at the top right. There are four ways to add a recipe:
Import from URL
Found a recipe online? Copy the page's link, choose Import from URL, paste it and tap Import. The ingredients, steps and photo are brought in for you.
Scan from Photo
Take a photo of a handwritten recipe card or a cookbook page, or pick one from your photo library. The app reads the text and turns it into a recipe.
Import from PDF
Have recipes saved as PDF files? Choose one from your Files and the app pulls out the recipe.
Add Manually
Prefer to type it yourself? Add a title, ingredients and steps, plus a photo if you like.
Tip: the quickest way to get going is to import three or four favourite recipes from websites you already use.
2Check it and save
Before anything is saved, you'll see a review screen. Check the title and ingredients, choose a Category (Dinner, Baking, Desserts and so on) and, if you like, a Cuisine such as Italian or Indian. Recipes imported from websites often have the cuisine filled in already. Then tap Save.
3Find recipes again
- Categories, Favourites and Recent along the top of the Recipes tab. Tap the heart on any recipe to add it to Favourites.
- Search by title or ingredient.
- Filter (top left) to show only certain cuisines, for those "let's have Chinese tonight" evenings.
4Decide what to eat
The What to Eat tab helps when you're short of ideas. Pick what you fancy (Quick, Under 30 min, One Pot, Air Fryer, Favourites), choose a cuisine, or type what's in your fridge, then tap Show me recipes to see matches from your own collection.
5Cook
Open a recipe and tap Start Cooking for a step-by-step view made for the kitchen. You can also change the number of servings, and the ingredient amounts adjust to match.
6Plan the week and shop
- In the Planner, choose a day and tap Add a meal to place a recipe on it.
- From any recipe, tap Add to Shopping List. The Shopping tab groups the items so you can tick them off as you go, and you can add your own items too.
7Share a cookbook with family
Tap the cookbook name at the top of the Recipes tab (for example My Recipes) to switch cookbooks, create a New Cookbook, or Join a Cookbook someone has shared with you. Everyone in a shared cookbook can add and edit its recipes. Each person needs the app and their own iCloud account.
Good to know
- iCloud sync: if you're signed into iCloud, your recipes appear on all your iPhones and iPads automatically.
- Works offline: your saved recipes are always available in the kitchen, signal or not.
- Optional AI import: for the rare website that won't import normally, you can turn on an AI option in Settings using your own API key. It's off by default, and the app always asks your permission before sending anything. See the Privacy Policy for details.
Questions?
If you get stuck or have a suggestion, we'd love to hear from you through the Contact page.