Best recipe apps for iPhone
By the rule below, the best recipe app for iPhone is Pestle (24 of 24 points), if you want a design-led recipe manager with an Apple Watch app and a Chrome extension, and you are fine paying for Pro. Next are Saucepan (our app) (23 of 24 points), if you want to save from Instagram, TikTok and websites, fill a Pantry by scanning your receipt, and cook with timers that ring, on iPhone; and Crouton (22 of 24 points), if you use a Mac or an Apple Watch in the kitchen, or you want SharePlay cooking, and you keep everything on iCloud. 22 apps qualify.
The ranking
Saucepan our app
You want to save from Instagram, TikTok and websites, fill a Pantry by scanning your receipt, and cook with timers that ring, on iPhone. It is new: it launches November 13, 2026.
Short of full marks: Apple Watch (partly).
Price. Free to use, with no ads. Saucepan+ is $4.99 a month or $34.99 a year, with a 7-day free trial. Saucepan
Crouton
You use a Mac or an Apple Watch in the kitchen, or you want SharePlay cooking, and you keep everything on iCloud.
Short of full marks: Save from Instagram, TikTok, YouTube (not found).
Price. Free with limits. The App Store lists Crouton Plus at $24.99 and Crouton Discover at $1.99 a month or $14.99 a year. App Store
AnyList
The grocery list is what you really need, you share it with a partner, and recipes are a nice extra.
Short of full marks: Save from Instagram, TikTok, YouTube (not found), Scan cookbook pages and cards (not found).
Price. Free. AnyList Complete is $9.99 a year for one person or $14.99 a year for a household. App Store
Samsung Food
You want free meal planning with shared lists on Android and the web as well as iPhone.
Short of full marks: Live Activities (not found), Apple Watch (no), Siri and Shortcuts (not found).
Price. Free for saving recipes, planning and shared lists. Samsung Food+ is $6.99 a month or $59.99 a year, with a 7-day trial. App Store
Deglaze
You want free household sharing, a web app and Android, and a connector for ChatGPT and Claude with a paid plan.
Short of full marks: Widgets (not found), Live Activities (not found), Apple Watch (no).
Price. Free: 20 imports, then 5 a week, with household sharing. Pro is $49.99 a year, with a 7-day trial. App Store
CookNest
You want a free plan with sharing, Android and the web, or a printed cookbook of your recipes.
Short of full marks: Timers (not found), Widgets (not found), Live Activities (not found).
Price. Free with 3 automatic imports a week and no card. The App Store lists PRO purchases from $3.99 to $29.99, with periods not shown. cooknest.app
Paprika
You want to pay once, you cook with an Apple Watch or on Windows, or your library already lives in Paprika. Paprika 4 is in beta and says premium features will need a subscription afterwards.
Short of full marks: Save from Instagram, TikTok, YouTube (partly), Scan cookbook pages and cards (partly), Shared with a household (partly), Widgets (partly), Live Activities (not found), Siri and Shortcuts (partly).
Price. iPhone and iPad $4.99, once. Mac $29.99. Each version is sold separately. paprikaapp.com
Plan to Eat
You plan the whole week on a calendar from your own recipe box, and you want the web and Android too. It has no free plan.
Short of full marks: Widgets (not found), Live Activities (not found), Apple Watch (no), Siri and Shortcuts (partly).
Price. No free plan. $5.95 a month or $49 a year, with a 14-day trial and no card. The App Store lists a one-year membership at $54.99. plantoeat.com
Recipe Keeper
You want to pay once, you have family on Android or Windows, or you have a big backlog of paper recipes.
Short of full marks: Cook mode (partly), Timers (not found), Live Activities (not found), Apple Watch (no), Siri and Shortcuts (not found).
Price. Free download. Pro Upgrade is $19.99, once, on iPhone and iPad. The Mac version is $29.99. Each platform is a separate purchase. App Store
Foodie
You want a new iPhone app that also shares a household list. It is young and has too few ratings on the App Store to show a score.
Short of full marks: Scan cookbook pages and cards (partly), Widgets (not found), Live Activities (not found), Apple Watch (no), Siri and Shortcuts (not found).
Price. Free: 3 AI imports and 5 chef messages every 7 days. Premium is $6.49 a month or $44.99 a year. foodie.chewable.fit
ReciMe
You want the most widely used social-video saver, you are on Android too, and you do not need a pantry.
Short of full marks: Shared with a household (partly), Timers (not found), Widgets (not found), Live Activities (not found), Apple Watch (no), Siri and Shortcuts (not found).
Price. Free with 5 imports a week. In the US the yearly plan is $39.99, with a 7-day trial. recime.app
Umami
You want a low-priced manager that works on iPhone, Android and the web, and gives your recipes back in open formats.
Short of full marks: Save from Instagram, TikTok, YouTube (partly), Timers (not found), Widgets (not found), Live Activities (not found), Apple Watch (no), Siri and Shortcuts (not found).
Price. 30-day trial, then a subscription or lifetime purchase to add recipes. You can still view and export. The App Store lists $0.99 or $3.99 a month, $9.99 or $19.99 a year, $19.99 or $59.99 lifetime. App Store
BigOven
You want a long-running recipe and meal planning app with an Apple Watch app and a shared grocery list.
Short of full marks: Save from Instagram, TikTok, YouTube (not found), Cook mode (not found), Timers (not found), Widgets (not found), Live Activities (not found), Siri and Shortcuts (not found).
Price. Free download. The App Store lists BigOven Pro at $2.99, $19.99 and $24.99, with periods not shown, and credit packs. App Store
SideChef
You want a big catalog of guided recipes with a photo or video at every step, and you order groceries from Walmart, Instacart or Amazon Fresh.
Short of full marks: Save from Instagram, TikTok, YouTube (not found), Scan cookbook pages and cards (not found), Shared with a household (no), Live Activities (not found), Apple Watch (no), Siri and Shortcuts (not found).
Price. Free to download and use. Recipes, meal plans and grocery ordering do not need a subscription. SideChef Premium adds 800+ cooking classes and premium recipes for $4.99 a month or $49.99 a year, after a 7-day free trial. sidechef.com
Eat This Much
You want a planner that picks your meals to hit exact calorie and macro targets, on iPhone, Android or the web.
Short of full marks: Save from Instagram, TikTok, YouTube (not found), Scan cookbook pages and cards (not found), Grocery list (partly), Timers (not found), Live Activities (not found), Apple Watch (no), Siri and Shortcuts (not found).
Price. Free for planning one day at a time. Premium is $59.99 a year ($5 a month) or $14.99 month to month, with a 14-day trial. help.eatthismuch.com
Cookpad
You want a large community of home-cook recipes with photos from people who cooked them, on iPhone, Android and the web.
Short of full marks: Shared with a household (not found), Cook mode (not found), Timers (not found), Widgets (not found), Live Activities (not found), Apple Watch (no), Siri and Shortcuts (not found).
Price. Free, with no ads. The App Store lists Premium Service at $4.99 and $1.99. Premium puts the most popular recipes first in search, allows unlimited imports and adds advanced filters. App Store
Copy Me That
You mostly clip recipes from websites, want the lowest price, and like to use a browser as much as the phone.
Short of full marks: Scan cookbook pages and cards (not found), Shared with a household (partly), Cook mode (partly), Timers (not found), Widgets (not found), Live Activities (not found), Apple Watch (no), Siri and Shortcuts (not found).
Price. Free up to 40 recipes. $0.99 a month for unlimited recipes, or $65 for lifetime. App Store
Cooklist
You shop at a US retailer it connects to and you want the pantry to fill from your loyalty account.
Short of full marks: Save from Instagram, TikTok, YouTube (partly), Scan cookbook pages and cards (not found), Cook mode (not found), Timers (not found), Widgets (not found), Live Activities (not found), Apple Watch (no), Siri and Shortcuts (not found).
Price. Free with ads. The App Store lists Pro at $7.99 a month and $49.99 a year. App Store
Mela
You want a quiet Apple-only library on iCloud with a one-time price and a Mac app. Its last App Store update was June 2025.
Short of full marks: Apple Watch (no), Siri and Shortcuts (not found).
Price. Free to download. Mela+ is a one-time unlock: $6.99 on iPhone and iPad, $14.99 on Mac, bought separately. App Store
Pepperplate
You already use it and it still works for you. The iPhone app was last updated in April 2023, and it has 54 ratings on the US App Store.
Short of full marks: Save from Instagram, TikTok, YouTube (not found), Scan cookbook pages and cards (not found), Shared with a household (not found), Cook mode (not found), Widgets (not found), Live Activities (not found), Apple Watch (not found), Siri and Shortcuts (not found).
Price. Free download. The App Store lists an auto-renewing monthly membership at $2.99. App Store
Partly qualify, so not ranked: Kitchen Stories (Import from any website or blog via the share sheet, with Kitchen Stories Plus only, on iOS only for now. Free users can save Kitchen Stories recipes to cookbooks).
Feature by feature
- Yes
- Partly
- No
- Not found
- Coming
| App | Social video | Websites | Scan | Meal plan | Grocery list | Household | Cook mode | Timers | Widgets | Live Activities | Watch | Siri |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pestle | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Saucepan (ours) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partly | Yes |
| Crouton | Not found | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| AnyList | Not found | Yes | Not found | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Samsung Food | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Not found | No | Not found |
| Deglaze | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Not found | Not found | No | Yes |
| Honeydew | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Not found | No | Not found |
| CookNest | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Not found | Not found | Not found | Yes | Yes |
| Paprika | Partly | Yes | Partly | Yes | Yes | Partly | Yes | Yes | Partly | Not found | Yes | Partly |
| Plan to Eat | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Not found | Not found | No | Partly |
| Recipe Keeper | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partly | Not found | Yes | Not found | No | Not found |
| Foodie | Yes | Yes | Partly | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Not found | Not found | No | Not found |
| ReciMe | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partly | Yes | Not found | Not found | Not found | No | Not found |
| Umami | Partly | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Not found | Not found | Not found | No | Not found |
| BigOven | Not found | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Not found | Not found | Not found | Not found | Yes | Not found |
| SideChef | Not found | Yes | Not found | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Not found | No | Not found |
| Eat This Much | Not found | Yes | Not found | Yes | Partly | Yes | Yes | Not found | Yes | Not found | No | Not found |
| Cookpad | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Not found | Not found | Not found | Not found | Not found | No | Not found |
| Copy Me That | Yes | Yes | Not found | Yes | Yes | Partly | Partly | Not found | Not found | Not found | No | Not found |
| Cooklist | Partly | Yes | Not found | Yes | Yes | Yes | Not found | Not found | Not found | Not found | No | Not found |
| Mela | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Not found |
| Pepperplate | Not found | Yes | Not found | Yes | Yes | Not found | Not found | Yes | Not found | Not found | Not found | Not found |
Tap a mark for the note and its source. Each app’s name opens a page with every row.
How we ranked
Saving, planning and cooking, plus the iPhone extras that show outside the app: widgets, Live Activities, Apple Watch and Siri.
- To qualify, an app must have “Save from websites” (Yes, not Partly). Closed apps and general tools like Apple Notes and Notion are left out.
- Score: 2 points for Yes, 1 for Partly, 0 for No, Not found or Coming, over 12 features: Save from Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Save from websites, Scan cookbook pages and cards, Meal plan, Grocery list, Shared with a household, Cook mode, Timers, Widgets, Live Activities, Apple Watch and Siri and Shortcuts. Most is 24.
- Apps with no App Store update since November 2025 go below the ones that are kept up.
- Ties go to the app with more US App Store ratings. Saucepan has none yet, so it goes below any app it ties with.
- “Not found” scores zero: we credit only what an app’s own pages show. That can undercount an app that does more than its pages say.
Saucepan is our app. It is scored from its own feature list by the same rule.
Questions
What is the best recipe app for iPhone?
By the rule below, the best recipe app for iPhone is Pestle (24 of 24 points), if you want a design-led recipe manager with an Apple Watch app and a Chrome extension, and you are fine paying for Pro. Next are Saucepan (our app) (23 of 24 points), if you want to save from Instagram, TikTok and websites, fill a Pantry by scanning your receipt, and cook with timers that ring, on iPhone; and Crouton (22 of 24 points), if you use a Mac or an Apple Watch in the kitchen, or you want SharePlay cooking, and you keep everything on iCloud. 22 apps qualify.
How did you rank these apps?
To qualify, an app must have “Save from websites” (Yes, not Partly). Closed apps and general tools like Apple Notes and Notion are left out. Score: 2 points for Yes, 1 for Partly, 0 for No, Not found or Coming, over 12 features: Save from Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Save from websites, Scan cookbook pages and cards, Meal plan, Grocery list, Shared with a household, Cook mode, Timers, Widgets, Live Activities, Apple Watch and Siri and Shortcuts. Most is 24. Apps with no App Store update since November 2025 go below the ones that are kept up. Ties go to the app with more US App Store ratings. Saucepan has none yet, so it goes below any app it ties with. “Not found” scores zero: we credit only what an app’s own pages show. That can undercount an app that does more than its pages say.
Which of these have a free plan?
Pestle, Saucepan, Crouton, AnyList, Samsung Food, Deglaze, Honeydew, CookNest, Recipe Keeper, Foodie, ReciMe, BigOven, SideChef, Eat This Much, Cookpad, Copy Me That, Cooklist and Mela. Free plans have limits; each app’s line above says what it is.
Which of these work on Android?
AnyList, Samsung Food, Deglaze, Honeydew, CookNest, Paprika, Plan to Eat, Recipe Keeper, ReciMe, Umami, SideChef, Eat This Much, Cookpad, Copy Me That and Cooklist, as their own pages say.
Is Saucepan on this list because you make it?
Saucepan is our app, so we score it by the same rule from its own feature list, and say so on the list. It ranks #2 of 22 here. It launches on November 13, 2026 and has no ratings yet.
When was this checked?
Feature marks were read from each app’s App Store listing, website and help pages on November 1, 2026, and prices, platforms and update dates on November 4, 2026. Apps change often.