For food lovers, nothing beats the joy of exploring a wide assortment of yummy recipes and tasting something out-of-the-box. Due largely to the sheer passion, while some take on cooking as a revered master chef, others like me never get tired of discovering receipes to learn how to master finger-licking dishes. Even though I still have a long way to go to become a trusted chef for home or a late-night party, cooking a dish with my own set of ingredients takes me to the kitchen every once in a while. And it’s this penchant that convinced me to line up my 10 best recipe apps for iPhone and Android the other day.
Best Recipe Apps for iOS and Android in 2021
As there is a variety of recipe apps, it’s better to jot down the things you want from them upfront:
What Sort of Recipe Apps are You Looking for?
Considering how choosy most food lovers are, I have picked out a variety of recipe apps. As most of them offer a mammoth library of dishes from around the world, you will always have something really yummy to try out. Just in case you are on a mission to shed a lot of pounds to get fitter, some of these apps also provide a super handy meal planner that can let you plan your meals wisely, saving you from falling prey to junk foods.
For those hunting for the recipe apps to discover pro cooking tips, I have made sure to choose apps that provide top-notch video tutorials and food blogs to help you cash-in-on some amazing cooking secrets. That all being said, it’s time to explore the top recipe apps for iOS and Android.
1. Kitchen Stories
Kitchen Stories is a complete package with plenty of smart cooking sidekicks. The app is backed by a solid community of food lovers and experts who publish their own recipes. As a result, you always have a wide assortment of recipes to take note of and even steal some hacks to bolster your cooking. So, it doesn’t matter whether you are a newbie who is still trying to learn the basics or an expert with years of experience, you will always have a lot of new tricks to learn.
Most tutorial videos are easy to follow. Thus, it won’t take much time for you to get a solid grip on some of your favorite recipes. Notably, there is a cooking mode to let you get started with cooking by watching the step-by-step instructions. Do you have an interesting cooking skill to share? Well, you can also put your cooking tricks on full display by uploading your own dishes. The app allows you to set up your cook profile and save your favorite recipes in a fully personalized cookbook.
One of my favorite features of this app is food blogs that often unravel a lot of cooking hacks. Not to mention, the measurement converter has also caught my attention in equal measure as it plays a vital role in adapting ingredient measurements as per the serving size. Though Kitchen Stories is free to use, you will need to spend $4.99/month if you wish to unlock all the cooking hacks. Overall, it deserves to be rated as one of the best recipe apps for iOS and Android
Why is Kitchen Stories Worth Giving a Try?
- A wide assortment of recipes
- Tutorial videos
- Cooking mode
- Food blogs
- Measurement converter
Install: iOS and Android (free, monthly plan starts at $4.99)
2. Food Network Kitchen
Whether you are a food lover or someone who is willing to master the art of cooking a variety of yummy recipes, Food Network Kitchen is a sort of one-stop platform for you. Probably the biggest highlight of this app is a suite of more than 50 pro-grade live classes taught by award-winning chefs, culinary experts, cookbook authors, and celebrity guests. So, you can follow the tailormade classes at your own pace to get a good hang of the basics or enhance your cooking skill.
Another front where Food Network Kitchen has a clear edge over many other counterparts is a massive library of more 80, 000 recipes. It doesn’t matter whether you relish eating Chinese or love to go after continental Recipes, the app has got you fully covered. While exploring the recipes library, you can also save your favorites to catch them later.
Moreover, if you wish to cook a delicious recipe, you can get all the ingredients delivered via Amazon Fresh. And then go through the step-by-step video tutorials to cool the dish to your heart’s liking. That’s not all, Food Network Kitchen also provides a lot of exclusive choking shows which you would love to watch (requires subscription).
Why is Food Network Kitchen Worth Giving a Try?
- 50 pro-grade live classes per week
- Massive library of more 80, 000 recipes
- Personalized feed
- Exclusive cooking shows
Install: iOS and Android (free, monthly plan starts at $4.99)
3. Yummly
When it comes to mastering cooking, what makes a major difference is personalized guidance that ensures you follow the right rules and never fail to experiment. With Yummly, you get tailormade guidance that can play a vital role in improving your cooking skill. Thanks to recipe recommendations and a number of helpful video tutorials with step-by-step explanations, you can learn how to cook delicious recipes with ease.
Another feature that makes Yummly a better asset is the built-in timer that keeps you on track to cook recipes with the desired pace. Featuring an ever-growing library of over 2 million recipes, the app has got a lot to explore. What’s more, it also provides interesting food blogs with pro tips so that you discover the secrets to cook finger-licking dishes and also avoid blunders that most chefs fail to get rid of.
If you love to create a special collection of dishes, you can save your favorites and keep them perfectly organized. While cooking your favorite dish, you can easily access your saved recipe to follow the guide. With the home screen and Today View widgets, the app makes it pretty easy to keep a tab on a variety of recipes. On top of all, you can also track the nutrition of what you eat thanks to the integration with the Apple Health App.
Why is Yummly Worth Giving a Try?
- Over 2 million recipes
- A lot of interesting food blogs to read
- Built-in timer
- Home screen/Today View widget
- Integration with Apple Health app
Install: iOS and Android (free, $4.99/month for unlocking premium features)
4. Tasty
Are you on the lookout for a cooking coach that can play a key role in helping you master some of the world’s most famous recipes? Tasty could be a serious contender for your choice. The app not only provides step-by-step instructions on how to cook specific recipes but also offers recommendations based on your goal or time of the day. So, it’s not just about learning how to cook but also about finding out what could serve your taste better depending on the time or the occasion.
Tasty has got a decent collection of more than 4000 delicious recipes that you can browse and save your top picks. There is a My Recipes tab that stores all of your favorites for quick access. If you are a vegetarian, you can customize the app to keep all the recipes with meat out of sight. And when you are ready to try your hands on some tasty recipes, you can also shop for the ingredients right from the app.
Why is Tasty Worth Giving a Try?
- Can work as a cooking coach
- Personalized meal recommendations
- More than 4000 delicious recipes
- Shop for the ingredients
Install: iOS and Android (free)
5. Epicurious
As someone who prefers to have the luxury of a mammoth collection of recipes to explore and even try out some delicious ones at times, Epicurious didn’t have to work too hard to catch my attention. The app is up to the mark in all three aspects: exploring the world’s best recipes, watch a ton of helpful food video tutorials, and learning how to cook yummy food.
Epicurious provides over 35, 000 famous recipes to explore. All the featured recipes are from well-known publishers like HarperCollins, Bon Appetit, and Gourmet. Additionally, it also provides recipe reviews and ratings from home cooks so that you can easily find the ones that can live up to the standard of your taste.
Not just that, the app also features a timer to let you easily find out how long it will take to cook a dish. And with the seasonal ingredients finder at the disposal, cooking something out-of-the-box should always be plain sailing for you. In a nutshell, Epicurious is fully equipped to be considered one of the top recipe apps for iOS.
Why is Epicurious Worth a Try?
- Over 35, 000 famous recipes
- Featured recipes from well-known publishers
- Seasonal ingredients finder
- Provides recipe reviews and ratings
Install: iOS (free)
6. Recipe Gallery
Did you ever stumbled upon a mouth-watering recipe and wished to save it to your personal gallery a bit faster than you normally do during your hectic schedule? If the answer is in the affirmative, Recipe Gallery is the one you should use to capture a recipe with ease using your smartphone’s camera. The app comes with a built-in web browser to let you explore a variety of recipes and capture them right away.
Furthermore, Recipe Gallery allows you to create custom categories to let you save all of your saved recipes in the right order. If you wish to go for a more personalized experience, you can also use the useful annotation tools to make your favorites look different. Additionally, it offers a secure backup of your data and even allows you to sync it with iCloud so that you can access your recipes across devices.
What Makes Recipe Gallery Worth Giving a Shot?
- Built-in web browser to let you save recipes faster
- Create custom categories
- Annotate recipes
- iCloud sync
Install: iOS ($2.99)
7. Paprika Recipe Manager
Rated as the number app in the food and drink category, Paprika Recipe Manager is what you should try to plan your meals smartly and keep your recipes organized for quick access. Besides, the app also lets you create grocery lists and track the ingredients you have. Courtesy of a handy meal planner, you can plan your daily or weekly meals with the help of the built-in calendars and follow the routines to avoid falling prey to unhealthy foods.
Paprika Recipe Manager also features a built-in timer to help you cook faster. One of my top picks of this app is the ability to export meal plans to the calendar and the grocery lists to reminders. As a result, it becomes pretty straightforward to keep a track of your grocery lists and meal plans. With the useful extensions, Paprika Recipe Manager also allows you to save your favorite recipes right from Safari.
What Makes Paprika Recipe Manager Worth Giving a Shot?
- Handy meal planner
- Integrated calendar
- Built-in timer
- Export meal plans to the calendar
Install: iOS and Android ($4.99)
8. BBC Good Food
It’s due largely to the sheer number of recipes from around the world that makes BBC Good Food stand out. Thus, if your craving never seems to get enough of a variety of recipes, this one could be a deserving addition to your collection. You can use this app to browse through a large selection of recipes. The app lets you search for recipes based on ingredients, dishes, and keywords. Hence, tracking down the recipes that can go down well with your taste isn’t a big deal.
Furthermore, BBC Good Food also allows you to create a special collection of dishes. My Good Food tab saves all of your favorites so that you can find them with ease. If you wish to help others easily find the right dishes, you can also rate recipes. As it’s completely free, you won’t have to spend any bucks to unlock special recipe ideas either.
Why is BBC Good Food Worth Giving a Try?
- Browse through a large selection of recipes
- Create an exclusive collection of recipes
- Rate recipes
- Completely free
Install: iOS and Android (free)
9. Allrecipes Dinner Spinner
Discovering super delicious recipes to cook at home doesn’t have to be a big deal when you have an Allrecipes Dinner Spinner at your disposal. It’s basically a food-focused social app where home cooks share their own stories and tips for home cooking. So, if you are fond of home-made food, chances are that you would love every bit of Allrecipes Dinner Spinner.
The app provides a fully personalized feed where you can find your favorite recipes and the sort of dishes you like to eat. Moreover, it also has got a decent library of recipe videos which you can watch to learn how to cook mouth-watering dishes. Notably, it shows the recipe ingredients that are near you and offers up helpful suggestions when you are in a store so that you can buy the right ingredients.
Everything considered; Allrecipes Dinner Spinner is one of the top recipe apps for iPhone and Android for those who are fond of home cooking.
Why is Allrecipes Dinner Spinner Worth Giving a Try?
- A community of over 30 Million Home Cooks
- Plenty of home cooking tips
- Recipe suggestions
- Recipe videos
Install: iOS and Android (free, offers in-app purchases)
10. Oh She Glows
If you think that it’s time to opt for nothing but healthy recipes, Oh She Glows could be a top choice. What makes this app a worthy addition is a library of more than 160 plant-based recipes. Another thing that deserves a mention is that New York Times bestselling cookbook author Angela Liddon shares her pro tips and plant-based recipes.
With this app, you can keep a track of the trending recipes that others are cooking. It makes a special list of recipes based on holiday and season. So, you can easily find tasty yet healthy food as per your mood or special occasion. Moreover, the app also lets you filter recipes based on dish type, season, allergy info, and dietary. For a more personalized experience, you can create your favorite lists and also add notes to the recipes.
Taking everything into account, Oh She Glows is what you should use to embrace healthy food to remain hale and hearty.
Why is Oh She Glows Worth Giving a Try?
- More than 160 plant-based recipes
- Keep a track of the trending recipes
- Filter recipes based on dish type
- Option to create your favorite lists
Install: iOS and Android ($1.99)
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. What is the app that gives you recipes based on ingredients?
There are many apps that give you recipes based on ingredients. My favorite of the bunch is the SuperCook app which is free to download on Android and iOS.
Q. Is there a website where I can put in ingredients?
Again, SuperCook has an awesome website that lets you put in ingredients to get recipes. You can also try out MyFrideFood which is another excellent website.
Q. How long does it take to learn cooking?
Well, it depends on the cuisines you want to master and the proficiency you want to reach. If you just want to cook daily meals, practice following the recipes mentioned in the apps listed above, and you will learn the basic dishes in no time.
Q. What is the best recipe keeper app?
We have mentioned the 10 best recipe keeper apps in this list so check them out and select the one that meets your needs.
Q. What is the best way to organize recipes?
The best way to organize recipes is by saving them inside an app that lets categorize them based on ingredients, cuisines, cook-time, and more. We have mentioned many such apps in this list, so go check them out.
Q. What is the best website for healthy recipes?
There are several good websites that you can use for finding healthy recipes. A Couple Cooks (link), Sprouted Kitchen (link), and Green Kitchen Stories (link) are all great picks.
Q. What is the best app for tracking carbs?
MyFitnessPal, MyNetDiary, Lose It!, and Lifesum are some of the best apps for tracking carbs. To get the full list, read our article on the best calorie counting apps. Also, use these apps in conjunction with the workout apps to get the best weight-loss results.
Q. Do you have to pay for Yummly?
Yummly is free to download and use on both Android and iPhones. However, there are premium features that are hidden behind a paywall. It costs $4.99/month to unlock the premium tier.
Q. What is the most popular recipe website?
Cookpad.com is the most popular recipe website on the internet. According to SimilarWeb, it registers almost 200 million visitors every month.
Top Recipe Apps for iOS and Android Listed for You
So, that ends our article on the best recipe apps. Hopefully, you have found the right app that can offer you the needed cooking inspiration and also help you master pro cooking skills. To me, cooking is the sort of art that you can enhance only after cooking your favorite dishes. So, if you are willing to bolster your skill, never fail to hit the kitchen and try something new.
By the way, which one of these recipe apps have you chosen for your device? Is it the one that lets you plan your meal wisely or the one that has got a massive library of recipes?
Abubakar Mohammed
