RecipeScan: Save Any Recipe

Photograph your fridge.
Get dinner ideas.

iPhone app that turns a fridge or pantry photo into dinner ideas and a grocery list for what’s missing — plus saves recipes from social video.

Download on the App Store iPhone & iPad  ·  Premium $4.99/month or $29.99/year
iPhoneiPadWidgetsSiri Shortcuts
1,300+
Curated Recipes
4.9★
App Store Rating
$29.99/yr
Premium, billed yearly
Discover New Recipes: RecipeScan's Discover tab with cuisine filters and Trending Now recipes
Features

The fastest way to cook from what you already have

Every feature designed around one question: what should I make tonight?

Never Forget the Milk Again: RecipeScan's Kitchen tab with a use-before-they-expire list and a shopping list with estimated prices

Pantry Scan & Grocery Lists

With Premium, photograph your fridge, pantry, or shelves and AI inventories every item in seconds. Pick recipes and the free grocery list shows exactly what you still need to buy, with duplicates merged and your pantry subtracted. Share the list and everyone who joins can add and check off items.

1,300+ Recipes Ready to Cook: RecipeScan's My Recipes library with 1,314 recipes, search, collections and cookbooks

Recipes from social video

Share a TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Pinterest, or Facebook link into RecipeScan, import from any recipe website, scan a cookbook page, paste plain text, or bring in a Paprika/JSON/CSV export. Website links and recipes you type are free (the free plan keeps 3 recipes of your own); social-video imports and scans are Premium.

Your Whole Week, Planned in One Tap: RecipeScan's weekly meal planner with breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack slots and one-tap Auto-Fill

Plan the Week, Get the List

Place recipes by hand, or let Premium auto-fill the week. Turn the plan into a grocery list in one tap; Premium adds the week's nutrition and cost at a glance.

Know What Fits Your Day: RecipeScan's calorie ring at 1,510 of 2,000 calories with protein, carbs and fat, and recipes that fit what's left

AI Calorie Tracker

Log by hand, or one-tap log a recipe you cooked using its real nutrition, free. With Premium, snap a meal for a per-item estimate with a range and a confidence level, scan a barcode, or describe a meal in a sentence. Sync to Apple Health is a switch inside the tracker.

Stop Throwing Food Away: RecipeScan turning leftovers into Chicken Fried Rice, Chicken and Broccoli Quesadillas and Cozy Chicken and Rice Soup

Transform Leftovers

Tell the Leftover Wizard what's left from last night. Premium writes up to three AI recipes that use it up (day-old rice becomes fried rice, roast chicken becomes quesadillas or soup); on the free plan you get matching recipes from the catalogue and your library.

Tired of What's for Dinner? RecipeScan's AI chat with prompts like What can I cook, Meal Prep Ideas, Budget Meal and Calorie Check

AI Cooking Assistant

Ask what you can make from your ingredients, find a substitute mid-recipe, get budget or kid-friendly ideas, or learn a technique, one tap from almost any screen. Part of Premium.

All features

Features marked Premium need a subscription; the rest are on the free plan.

  • Six ways to scan (Premium) A single ingredient, a pantry shelf, a barcode, a plated meal, a grocery receipt, or a handwritten recipe card.
  • Snap a meal, get the recipe (Premium) Save a recipe from a photo or screenshot of a plated dish. Photograph the plate, or pick an image from your camera roll, and AI writes the ingredients, steps and timing.
  • Receipt to pantry (Premium) Every line item on a grocery receipt, with quantities and prices, bulk-added to your pantry.
  • Cook three dishes at once Works back from when you want to eat and interleaves every step into one timeline.
  • Cooking mode Large-text steps with per-step ingredients, swipe navigation, and parallel timers on the Lock Screen. Hands-free voice control is Premium.
  • Cook Together Cook the same recipe with someone: share a 6-letter code, and each of you follows your own step while seeing the other's progress.
  • Out of an ingredient? (Premium) AI substitutions with the right ratio and a note on how the swap changes the dish.
  • Make it yours Scale any recipe ½× to 3×, switch between US and metric units (recipes open in your region's units), and keep private notes on single ingredients or steps.
  • Meal DNA A taste profile (spice, cuisines, textures, no-go ingredients) that shapes Discover picks and AI suggestions.
  • Personalized from day one A short setup asks your goals and dietary needs.
  • Apple Health sync Turn on Sync to Apple Health in the Calorie Tracker and logged calories and macros flow into Apple Health.
  • Trending Now A hand-picked set of popular creator recipes with the full ingredients and steps; YouTube videos play in the app.
  • Skill Tree XP, levels, badges and weekly challenges for every recipe you cook.
  • Achievements & streaks Badges for new cuisines and streaks for cooking at home.
  • Shared cookbooks Send a share code; everyone who joins gets every recipe in full.
  • Shared grocery lists Everyone who joins with the share code can add and check off items, and the list updates for all of you through iCloud.
  • iCloud recipe backup (Premium) Recipes, favorites, cookbooks and meal data back up automatically every day; restoring on another iPhone or iPad adds what's missing instead of replacing what's there.
  • Never lose a recipe Recently Deleted (My Recipes → •••) keeps recipes for 30 days.
  • iPad-optimized Multi-column layouts, two windows side by side, and drag recipes onto cookbooks.
  • Home Screen widget Your streak, XP and tonight's planned meal on the Home Screen.
How It Works

From "what's for dinner?" to cooking in 30 seconds

1

Photograph your pantry

Open the app, tap Scan Pantry, and snap a photo of your fridge or shelves. AI identifies every item — no typing required. (Scans are Premium.)

2

Get instant recipe ideas

See recipes you can cook right now with what you already have. Pick what you want for tonight, this week, or the month.

3

Cook with guidance

Tap Start Cooking for big-text, step-by-step instructions, with hands-free voice control on Premium. Built-in timers keep multiple dishes on track.

Screenshots

See RecipeScan in action

Eleven real screens from the latest build — swipe through.

Discover New Recipes: RecipeScan's Discover tab with cuisine filters and Trending Now recipes
The Discover tab
Personalized picks with your calorie ring up top
1,300+ Recipes Ready to Cook: RecipeScan's My Recipes library with 1,314 recipes, search, collections and cookbooks
The My Recipes tab
Smart collections, cookbooks & AI search
Your Whole Week, Planned in One Tap: RecipeScan's weekly meal planner with breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack slots and one-tap Auto-Fill
The Plan tab
Auto-Fill a whole week — grocery list included
Never Forget the Milk Again: RecipeScan's Kitchen tab with a use-before-they-expire list and a shopping list with estimated prices
The Kitchen tab
Use-soon list, price estimates & shared lists
Stop Buying What You Already Have: RecipeScan's Pantry with fridge, freezer and pantry items, use-by dates and an expiring-soon card
Pantry
Fridge, freezer & pantry, with what's expiring soon
Know What Fits Your Day: RecipeScan's calorie ring at 1,510 of 2,000 calories with protein, carbs and fat, and recipes that fit what's left
AI Calorie Calculator
Photo estimates, macros & recipes that fit your day
Cook Without Touching Your Phone: RecipeScan's step-by-step cooking view with big text, ingredient chips, timers and voice control
Cook Mode
Hands-free steps with big text, timers & voice
Cooking for 2 or 12? No Math Needed: a RecipeScan recipe page for a Classic Cheeseburger with prep and cook times and adjustable servings
Recipe page
Change servings and every amount updates
Tired of What's for Dinner? RecipeScan's AI chat with prompts like What can I cook, Meal Prep Ideas, Budget Meal and Calorie Check
AI Assistant
Substitutes, budget meals, techniques — just ask
Get Better Every Time You Cook: RecipeScan's Skill Tree with your chef level, badges and daily challenges
Skill Tree
Earn XP, badges & challenges as you cook
Stop Throwing Food Away: RecipeScan turning leftovers into Chicken Fried Rice, Chicken and Broccoli Quesadillas and Cozy Chicken and Rice Soup
Transform Leftovers
Up to three AI recipes from last night's dinner
Compare

RecipeScan or SideChef?

We make RecipeScan, so here is where each one is stronger. RecipeScan starts from what is already in your kitchen. SideChef has the bigger library, video lessons and grocery checkout.

FeatureRecipeScanSideChef
Premium, per year$29.99$49.99
Premium, per month$4.99$4.99
Free trial7 daysEligible new subscribers7 days
Photo of your fridge or pantry to recipe ideasYesNot listedYou type the ingredients you have
Photo of a finished dish to a recipeYesYesRecipeGen AI
Save recipes from any websiteYesYesRecipe Clipper
Import TikTok, Instagram and YouTube linksYesPremium; from the caption or video titleNot listed
Grocery list from your recipesYesSkips what your pantry already hasYes
Buy the list from online grocersCopies the list and opens a storeWalmart, Target, Amazon FreshYesMatched to products with live prices
Calorie estimate from a meal photoYesNot listed
Hands-free cooking with voice controlYesVoice control with PremiumYes
AI cooking assistant chatYesNot listed
Recipe library1,300+ recipes18,000 recipes
Video at every step and cooking classesNoYes800+ classes with Premium
Controls smart ovensNoYesLG, GE, Bosch Home Connect
AndroidNoiPhone and iPad onlyYes

Checked 22 September 2026 from each app’s US App Store listing, plus sidechef.com for Premium classes, Recipe Clipper, RecipeGen AI and voice commands. “Not listed” means we could not find it on those pages, not proof it is missing. Mealime is no longer in this table: it shuts down on 21 October 2026 and has stopped charging for Pro. The longer decision guide is RecipeScan vs Mealime vs SideChef.

Pricing

RecipeScan Premium

Cancel anytime. The free plan never expires: the recipe catalogue, Cooking Mode, grocery and pantry lists, manual calorie logging and up to 3 recipes of your own. Prices are shown in USD — the App Store charges in your local currency.

Monthly

$4.99/month
7-day free trial for eligible new subscribers
  • Unlimited saved recipes (free keeps 3)
  • All six scans, including Pantry Scan
  • TikTok, Instagram & YouTube imports
  • AI recipes, remixes & the AI Assistant
  • Calorie photos & AI meal-plan Auto-Fill
  • Voice control in Cooking Mode
  • iCloud recipe backup
Get RecipeScan
FAQ

Questions, answered

How does Pantry Scan work?

Open RecipeScan, tap Scan Pantry, and photograph your fridge, pantry, or cabinet shelves. AI identifies every item with quantities and storage locations, then loads them all to your inventory in one tap. You can immediately get recipe ideas from what you have and a grocery list for what's missing.

Can RecipeScan help me cook several dishes so they finish at the same time?

Yes. Pick the dishes and the time you want to eat, and RecipeScan works backwards to interleave every step across every recipe into a single timeline. It tells you what to start when, so the sides aren't sitting cold while the main finishes.

What can I use instead of an ingredient I don't have?

With Premium, tap any ingredient in a recipe and RecipeScan's AI suggests substitutions with the correct ratio and a note on how the swap changes the dish — so one missing item doesn't cost you the whole recipe.

Can RecipeScan help me cook on a budget?

Not as a spending tracker. Grocery lists show an estimated price for each item and a running total (US average prices, shown when your iPhone's region uses US dollars). With Premium, the Budget Saver template has AI meal-plan Auto-Fill build your week around cheap staples, and the AI Assistant suggests budget meals.

Is RecipeScan free?

Only in part. A limited free plan lets you browse, favorite, plan and cook all 1,300+ recipes in the catalogue, use Cooking Mode, grocery and pantry lists and manual calorie logging, and keep up to 3 recipes of your own (from a website link or typed in). Scans, social-video imports, AI recipes and remixes, the AI Assistant, calorie photos, AI meal-plan Auto-Fill, voice control, adding restock predictions to your grocery list and iCloud backup are Premium: $29.99/year or $4.99/month, with a 7-day free trial for eligible new subscribers.

Does RecipeScan work on iPad?

Yes. RecipeScan is optimized for iPhone and iPad. The iPad version uses multi-column layouts to take advantage of the larger screen, supports multiple windows side by side, and lets you drag a recipe straight onto a cookbook to organize your collection.

Can I import recipes from TikTok, Instagram, or YouTube?

Yes, with Premium. Paste a TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Pinterest, or Facebook link into Add Recipe and RecipeScan imports it as a full, structured recipe. You can also scan a cookbook page with the camera (Premium), import from any recipe website, paste plain text, bring in a Paprika/JSON/CSV export, or share a link or screenshot straight into the app from anywhere with the share sheet. On the free plan, website links and typed recipes are free up to 3 recipes of your own.

Can I watch trending viral recipes in the app?

Yes. Trending Now on the Discover tab is a hand-picked set of popular recipes from TikTok, Instagram and YouTube creators, each with the full ingredient list and steps written out — so you can cook it without pausing and scrubbing a video twenty times. YouTube videos play inside RecipeScan; TikTok and Instagram ones open the original post.

What is the Skill Tree?

The Skill Tree turns learning to cook into a game. Every recipe you cook earns XP toward your chef rank, and you collect badges and complete challenges like "cook a recipe featuring vegetables" or "cook 5 different recipes this week." It's a fun way to build real kitchen skills — and it pairs with your cooking streak on the widget.

I deleted a recipe by mistake — can I get it back?

Yes. Deleted recipes move to Recently Deleted (My Recipes → the ••• menu → Recently Deleted) and are kept for 30 days, so you can restore them any time within that window. You can also adjust servings with quick ½×–3× multipliers and attach private notes to individual ingredients or steps.

How is RecipeScan different from Mealime or SideChef?

We make RecipeScan, so weigh this accordingly. RecipeScan starts from what is already in your kitchen: photograph your fridge or pantry for recipe ideas, get a grocery list of only what is missing, and save recipes from TikTok, Instagram, YouTube or any website. It is not the only app that turns a fridge photo into recipes (Fridge Guru and ChefApp on the App Store do too). SideChef is the better pick if you want a much bigger library (about 18,000 recipes), a video at every step and cooking classes, checkout at online grocers, smart-oven control or an Android app. RecipeScan Premium is $29.99/year or $4.99/month; SideChef Premium is $49.99/year or $4.99/month. Mealime shuts down on 21 October 2026 and has stopped charging for Pro.

Will RecipeScan help reduce food waste?

Yes. The Kitchen tab's use-before-they-expire list highlights items about to spoil, and the Leftover Wizard turns what you already have into dinner (AI recipes with Premium, matching recipes on the free plan). Pantry Scan (Premium) keeps your inventory current. The app tracks how many dollars of food waste you've avoided over time.

How does the AI calorie tracker work?

With Premium, snap a photo of your meal and AI estimates the calories, protein, carbs, and fat — with a per-item breakdown, an estimate range, and a confidence level so you know how sure it is. Premium also scans barcodes and estimates a meal you describe in a sentence. On any plan you can log by hand or log a recipe you cooked in one tap using its real calculated nutrition, and track it all against your daily goal with a calorie ring, macros and a streak. Because RecipeScan is a full cooking app, it also gives you "fits your remaining calories" recipe suggestions — not just a number.

Can I edit the AI's calorie estimate?

Yes. AI photo estimates (Premium) are approximate, so before you save you can edit the identified items, adjust portions, and refine the estimate in plain language — for example, "add a tablespoon of olive oil" or "this was a large serving." The most accurate option of all is logging a recipe you actually cooked in RecipeScan, which uses its real calculated nutrition instead of guessing from a photo.

Does the calorie tracker work with Apple Health?

Yes. Turn on Sync to Apple Health at the bottom of the Calorie Tracker and RecipeScan sends your logged calories and macros to Apple Health, so your nutrition stays consistent with the rest of your health and fitness apps. You can also set a daily calorie goal and get "fits your remaining calories" recipe suggestions; with Premium, the AI can plan a whole week around your target.

Are my recipes backed up if I get a new phone?

Yes. With Premium, Recipe Backup saves your recipes, favorites, cookbooks, and meal data to your private iCloud automatically once a day, and you can restore them on any iPhone or iPad signed in to the same Apple Account. Restoring merges: it adds the recipes that device doesn't have instead of replacing the ones it does.

Does it work offline?

Your saved recipes, meal plan, pantry and grocery list open without a connection. Anything that uses AI (scans, AI recipes, the AI Assistant, calorie photos, social-video imports) needs the internet, as do recipe photos and videos.

Can two people cook the same recipe together?

Yes, with Cook Together. In Cooking Mode, tap ••• → Cook together, start a session and send the 6-letter code. The other person opens the same recipe in Cooking Mode, taps Cook together and enters the code. Each of you follows your own step and can see the other's progress. Both of you need to be signed in to iCloud.

Can my family edit the same grocery list?

Yes. Open your grocery list, tap the share icon and send the share code. Everyone who joins can add items and check them off, and the list updates for all of you through iCloud.

Which notifications does RecipeScan send?

Only alerts for cooking you started: when a cooking timer finishes, or when a step in a Multi-Dish session is due, so you hear it with your phone locked. RecipeScan sends no reminders, recaps or promotional notifications.

How do I cancel my subscription?

Open iPhone Settings, tap your name (Apple ID), then Subscriptions. Find RecipeScan and tap Cancel. You'll keep Premium access until the end of the current billing period.

Guides

More guides

Weeknights fail in the schedule. The back-to-school meal plan is built around activity nights and a 30-minute ceiling. Cooking for one is the half-used tin left from a recipe written for four. If a chili has to cook while you are out, converting a recipe to a slow cooker is a time and liquid chart. RecipeScan does not rewrite those times for you.

A grocery list still misses what you just bought. Turn a grocery receipt into a pantry list so the next shop skips it. Food that has to stay at or below 40°F for a drive is the road trip cooler plan: pack it full, keep drinks in a second cooler, and follow the two-hour rule.

Trending TikTok recipes in 2026 is how to cook the viral ones from a written card. If you are timing when you eat, the intermittent fasting beginner guide covers 16:8, 5:2, and OMAD. It is a schedule guide, separate from a calorie tracker.

Ready to cook smarter?

On iPhone & iPad. Premium is $4.99/month or $29.99/year.

Download on the App Store