Find recipes from what you have

Add what you have in the fridge and cupboard. Your saved recipes re-sort as you go, with the ones you can cook right now at the top and the ones that need a shop below.

Open What can I cook?#

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   Choose What can I cook? from the menu

   On a phoneOn a computer

   Tap More at the right of the bottom bar, then What can I cook?.

   Click Tools in the top bar, then What can I cook?.

   

   You'll see: The page opens with an empty Your kitchen box.

Add what you have#

Use any of these. They all end up as the same row of ingredient pills, and you can mix them. If you have saved items in your pantry, they are waiting under From your pantry.

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   Type in Add an ingredient, or paste a list

   Suggestions come from the ingredients in your own recipes, so tapping one uses the same wording your recipes use. That matters, because an ingredient only counts when it matches.

   

   You'll see: Suggestions appear as you type. Press Enter or tap a suggestion to add it.

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   Or paste a whole list

   Put one ingredient on each line, or separate them with commas or semicolons. Paste from your Notes app, a message or a shopping list.

   

   You'll see: Each line becomes its own pill straight away, with no extra tap.

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   Or open Browse ingredients by category

   Your pantry comes first, then Dairy & eggs, Vegetables & greens, Meat & fish, and more.

   

   You'll see: Tap any ingredient to add it. Tap it again to take it off.

To take an ingredient off, tap the × on its pill. Clear all empties the box. On a phone, the box folds into one row when you are done typing. Tap the row to open it again.

Read the results#

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   Start at the top group

   Every group is a promise about how much shopping is left.

   

   You'll see: The recipes you can make with what you listed sit under Cook this now.

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   Look at the groups when you are missing something

   Here the list has pancetta and no pita. The carbonara is in Cook this now, the Shakshuka is One shop away and its card names the missing pita, and the pesto pasta lacks two things, so it sits under Two ingredients short.

   

   You'll see: Each recipe sits under the group that matches how many ingredients you lack.

• Cook this now: you have everything. When several recipes are ready, the first is a large card and the rest are listed under it with a green Ready tag.
• One shop away: one ingredient is missing, and the card names it.
• Two ingredients short: two are missing.
• Worth a trip: three or more are missing. The number on the right says how many.

Tap a recipe to open it. The missing ingredients on a card have a dotted underline. Tap one if you do have it, and it joins your kitchen and the recipe moves up a group.

Add the gap to your grocery list#

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   Tap Add 3 to list on a recipe

   The number is how many ingredients you are missing for that recipe, so it changes from recipe to recipe.

   

   You'll see: A message says the items were added to your grocery list.

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   Look for On your list

   Open Grocery to see the items, grouped by aisle. See Make a grocery list.

   

   You'll see: The link turns into a green On your list label, so you cannot add the same recipe twice by accident.

Narrow the list#

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   Use Missing and Ready in

   Missing can be Any, None, ≤ 1 or ≤ 2. Ready in offers time limits built from your own recipes, so the choices differ from person to person. On a phone, tap Filters first, then the button at the bottom of the sheet, which reads Show 14 recipes or similar, when you are done.

   

   You'll see: The list shows only the recipes that fit, and the count at the top changes.

If nothing fits, the page says so. The number it quotes is how many recipes match your ingredients before any filter, not how many one loosened filter would add back.

Let RecipeClip pick dinner#

If you would rather not choose, the Cook tonight card on the Recipes page does it for you. It uses AI. On Free, each time you ask counts as one of your 20 AI imports per 30-day period, shared with every other AI feature. On Pro and Family, Cook tonight has its own allowance of 100 a day, separate from imports.

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   Scroll to the bottom of Recipes and press Pick 3 dinners

   The card is under Tools, below your recipes.

   

   You'll see: The button says Thinking… for a few seconds, then three recipes appear.

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   Read the three picks

   RecipeClip looks at your pantry, your saved recipes and what you cooked recently. A pick that says You have everything needs no shopping. Tap one to open it, or Pick again for new ideas.

   

   You'll see: Each pick has a photo, the reason it was chosen, its cooking time (not counting prep) and what you would still need to buy.

Common questions#

A recipe I expected is not in Cook this now.#

Words like fire-roasted or kosher in front of an ingredient do not block a match, so crushed tomatoes covers a recipe that asks for fire-roasted crushed tomatoes. Salt, pepper and water are assumed, and sea salt counts as salt. Tap a suggestion from your recipes, or tap the missing ingredient on the recipe card.

A specific item on your list covers a general one in a recipe: olive oil covers oil, cheddar covers cheese and chicken broth covers broth. It does not work the other way round. Canned tomato forms stay apart from fresh ones, so crushed tomatoes or diced tomatoes do not cover a recipe that needs tomatoes.

The page says my library is empty.#

This tool searches the recipes you have saved. Save a few first. See Save a recipe from a link or video.

Pick 3 dinners shows an upgrade message.#

You have reached the AI allowance for your plan. On Free that is 20 per 30-day period, shared across AI features. On Pro and Family, Cook tonight stops after 100 requests in a day and the count resets each day at midnight UTC. Free, Pro and Family lists the limits. The ingredient search on this page does not use AI and always works.

Related: Keep track of your pantry, Make a grocery list.