Cooking is a fun and necessary hobby to have. After all, we all need food to sustain ourselves and stay alive. Sometimes, it’s not as much fun as it should be, though. How do you decide what to cook next? What if you’re running low on inspiration?
Here are 10 apps to give you some great suggestions, as well as some helpful advice along the way.
1. BigOven (Free)
Offering users over 350,000 recipes, BigOven should have something for everyone. With a meal planner function, as well as a grocery list tool, you can stay on top of organizing your meals. There’s a social side to the app too, allowing you to see what others are making, hopefully garnering some inspiration from their creations.
2. Jamie Oliver’s Recipes (Free)
The official app of popular chef, Jamie Oliver, this app provides 15 new seasonal recipes every week, covering everything from quick meals to dinner party style occasions. In each case, videos and clear photos are provided, along with how-to guides to master the trickier parts of cooking. It’s stylishly attractive.
3. Food.com (Free)
With over 500,000 recipes, the Food.com app is expansive. You can easily build menus, while having a grocery list populated with options. Food can be divided up according to dietary requirements and food preferences, plus you can even check out deals from local grocery stores so you always get the best price. Recipes can also be imported from other sites.
4. Yummly (Free)
Yummly’s strength is that it pulls together recipes from various recipe sites, such as AllRecipes, and Epicurious, while also providing search results for major food blogs too. In each case, you can filter things according to your preferences and allergy needs. The more you use it, the more the app understands what you enjoy, providing personalized recommendations to ensure you’re guaranteed of a tasty meal.
5. Allrecipes Dinner Spinner (Free)
No idea what to cook tonight? Allrecipes Dinner Spinner offers a recommendation at the spin of the app. With a Tinder style interface, you can swipe away anything that doesn’t appeal, and the app remembers this for future reference. Step-by-step cooking videos make things easy, even if you’re new to cookery.
6. SideChef (Free)
With a focus on classy meal ideas, SideChef aims to help newbies as much as more experienced chefs. Over 2,500 recipes are available, with step-by-step instructions. Integrated timers and voice guidance means you can enjoy a hands-free experience, while learning how to cook up some impressive dishes. Social features make it simple to share your experiences with others, too.
7. Pepperplate (Free)
Pepper plate is a recipe management app, making it simple to create new recipes on your phone or import them from favorite sources. You can easily organize your meals for the week or month, before adding them to a shopping list feature for consultation later. Timers complete the set, saving you plenty of effort.
8. Paprika Recipe Manager ($4.99)
Another recipe management app, Paprika is one of simplest out there. It’ll work with hundreds of different websites ensuring millions of recipes are at your disposal. An integrated browser clipboard tool makes it even easier, with you able to cross off ingredients or steps as you go along. Multiple timers, nutritional information and an intelligent grocery list feature completes this package.
9. Kitchen Stories (Free)
Kitchen Stories divides things up according to theme. Pasta fans can look at a whole section devoted to them, while those short on time can do similar. In each case, HD videos are provided, along with step-by-step photo instructions to make things simple. New recipes and videos are added each week so there’s always something new to cook.
10. Forks Over Knives ($4.99)
An essential app for anyone pursuing a plant-based lifestyle, Forks Over Knives offers over 200 recipes with new ones added weekly. Step-by-step instructions are provided, along with some very stylish imagery. A shopping list feature, and tips on how to live a vegan lifestyle, make this particularly convenient.