With the rise of apps, our ways of cooking have developed from traditional doorstop recipe books to handy programs stored on our iPhones and Android devices. We’re now living in a world where apps have taken over the kitchen – and we couldn't be happier! From recipe management, organising and storing those tried-and-tested meals to meal planning, lists, and even doing your food shopping, there's plenty to get excited about.
In this article, we’ve reviewed the best free recipe apps in the UK for healthy vegan cooking, simple everyday meals and everything in between. We’ve compared their skill levels, range of recipes, themes and cuisines to bring you this detailed guide on how to choose the right one for you. Let's get stuck in!
Quick List - Top Free Recipe Apps
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In this section, we’ll discuss how to choose an app that fits with your lifestyle and the best features to look out for when choosing the right one for you. Let’s get stuck in!
First things first – you want to pick an app which suits your style and level of cooking. The aim of the game here is to encourage more cooking, not scare you off, so it’s important to download the one which works for you.
If you’re already a dab hand in the kitchen, you probably have a good selection of basic recipes stashed already, and may even know a few by heart. In that case, look for an app with a wide selection of recipes so that you won’t get tired of what’s on offer.
Apps vary from being uber specific – like only containing healthy, vegan recipes – to being a one-stop-shop for all your cooking needs. More advanced cooks will probably prefer a larger selection to choose from so that you still have room for experimentation and broadening your skills!
On the other hand, if you’re pretty new to cooking, variety might not be your main concern as you might still need to nail the basics. Instead, look to the cooking instructions as your main focus for the app. Instructions are generally split into three categories, with written instructions being the most minimal guidance you'll get.
This can pose a problem for new cooks, as they don’t tend to be too detailed, so you can go one step further by choosing an app which displays photos of each step of the process. These are excellent if you’re a visual learner, and it’s a great way to check that your meal looks as it should as you work through each step.
Finally, there are videos. These are often presented in real-time, with the chef explaining as you follow along. This is the most interactive way to learn how to cook, but if your phone screen isn’t that large, it might be difficult to see all the intricacies involved close-up.
Most of the apps that we’ve recommended store recipes not in the hundreds, but in the thousands. That’s a lot of recipes to sift through! So, make sure your app has a good selection of filters that you can use to narrow down your search.
If you follow a specific diet, such as vegetarian or vegan, you’ll want to make sure that there is enough choice, and the library isn’t too focused on meat-based dishes.
There are, of course, apps completely dedicated to vegetarian and vegan eating, so if you follow a strict plant-based diet, that might be the best option.
Perhaps you’re partial to the fresh flavours of the Mediterranean? Or have you always got a hankering to bring the spicy aromas of India into your kitchen on a Friday night?
If so, look for recipe apps which categorise their meals by cuisine. This is great if you have any strong preferences, but it’s also perfect if you're into experimenting with different flavours from around the world.
When recipe apps are geared towards healthy eating, you’ll find that most of them will detail all the nutritional information alongside the recipe so that you can keep track of your salt, fat and sugar intakes – this is especially important if you’re following a strict diet.
If you have any intolerances or allergies, you’ll also want to make sure that this information is included alongside each recipe. Of course, you will get a list of ingredients, in which case you can substitute a few items if you’re clever about it, but it’s definitely something to be aware of.
If you thought that recipe apps contained just recipes, you are sorely mistaken! The additional features that some apps contain might just be the deciding factor in making it the perfect recipe app for you.
Food shopping is often viewed as a bothersome task. It can take a long time working your way through each recipe, noting down the ingredients you need and adding up the amounts for each one.
Recipe apps which have shopping list features make everything run that bit faster. Each one works a little differently, but they all do roughly the same thing.
Simply save the recipes that you want to cook that week, and it will create a shopping list for you! This also means that if you're a person who's usually stuck to their phone, there’s no chance of reaching the shop to discover that you’ve left the list at home!
Apps which also include ratings for each recipe are an excellent indication of just how well your meal will turn out. All too often when we pick a recipe out of a cookbook that looks delicious, but it ends up not being quite up to scratch.
Having users comment on their attempts and rate the recipes out of 5 or 10 gives you a real sense of whether it's a good choice or not. If an app has this feature, you can usually even filter recipes by rating so that you’re only being served the tried-and-tested, popular dishes which are bound to fill a hole in that hungry tummy!
Have you ever tried to adapt a recipe to fit the correct amount to serve your guests? It’s easier said than done, especially when you’re working with measurements like 1 ½ teaspoons of paprika or ¼ of a tablespoon of salt.
If you’re changing the amounts, it’s always best to write them all down beforehand, rather than doing it as you go along, as you could easily forget and revert back to the original figure halfway through, completely messing up the balance.
Recipe apps that automatically adjust the ingredients based on the number of servings you need reduce all of that stress, worry and maths, so you can focus on what’s important – the food!
Products | Image | Click to purchase | Key features | |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Buzzfeed Tasty | ![]() | The Favourite Recipe App Created by Buzzfeed | |
2 | AJNS New Media Kitchen Stories Recipes | ![]() | The High-End, Designer-Style Recipe App | |
3 | Yummly Yummly | ![]() | The Recipe Search Engine App | |
4 | Condé Nast Digital Epicurious | ![]() | Reams of Filters From Keto to Vegan to Find Your Perfect Meal | |
5 | IPC Mobile LLC Project Foodie: Guided Cooking | ![]() | Real-Time Cooking Alongside a Head Chef | |
6 | SideChef Group Limited SideChef Recipes+Meal Planner | ![]() | A Quick Swipe of the Screen to Find Your Newest Food-spiration | |
7 | Immediate Media Company Limited BBC Good Food | ![]() | The Famous Good Food Magazine Goes Digital | |
8 | BigOven.com Big Oven | ![]() | Give Your Leftover Ingredients Something to Do With Big Oven | |
9 | Public Health England Changes4Life Smart Recipes | ![]() | Healthy Cooking by NHS Standards | |
10 | Public Health England One You Easy Meals | ![]() | The Recipe App Geared Towards First-Time Cooks |
With over 4 billion views on their Youtube channel, Tasty is one of the most favoured recipe apps in the world. Made by Buzzfeed, this app has a user-friendly interface, which makes finding exactly what you need amongst the sea of recipes relatively easy.
All meals are rated by their users, who can also provide additional cooking advice in case you want to make any adjustments. There’s also a substantial selection of how-to videos where you can gain cooking tips from famous chefs, blog-style lists of some of the best recipes to try. And to top it all off, most of these recipes are quick, easy and won’t cost you a fortune in ingredients.
This is definitely one of the most aesthetically-pleasing recipe apps out there, so if appearances are your bag, then this is the one for you. Looking more like a designer magazine than a food app, the home screen reels alone will have you salivating in seconds!
All recipes are created by the in-house chefs and can easily be followed by the step-by-step photos or with the real-time video walkthroughs. Even though the app looks super fancy, the meals are geared towards new cooks but are still adventurous enough for seasoned hobby-chefs to enjoy.
If you’re looking for a huge library of recipes to expand your repertoire, Yummly is for you. Rather than only showcasing recipes from an in-house team, Yummly works more like a search engine, scouring the internet for incredible recipes to add to their roster.
It might sound like hell trying to sift through 2 million recipes, but they have excellent filters which allow you to find exactly what you’re looking for. Search by diet, cuisine, cooking time, or type of dish. They also have a great shopping list feature and a feed which is personalised to your tastes.
Epicurious has over 35,000 recipes, but more importantly, it has reams of filters to help you find exactly what you’re craving. Search by meal, dish type, dietary concerns (even nut allergies, paleo, keto and kosher filters!), ingredients, cuisine, holiday or technique. It's also well-regarded for its excellent veggie and vegan content.
Another bonus feature of Epicurious is their smart timers, meaning that there is now no excuse for overcooking your steak, or under-boiling your eggs – even if you’re doing them at the same time! Each recipe is reviewed by the community and given a percentage of how likely they are to make it again.
Project Foodie is another app with a stunning design! Created by a team of brothers (a chef and an award-winning TV producer), their recipe app is geared towards beginner cooks as it contains cooking classes, tips and valuable instructions for a new chef to become successful in the kitchen.
Each recipe contains a short preview so that you can see what you’re in for, as well as a way to adjust the serving amount and a shopping list function. You can choose between reading the cooking method, going at your own speed or switching to the video option where you cook alongside the chef in real-time.
The interactive recipe app from Sidechef displays daily inspiration on the home screen, for you to swipe or save in true Tinder fashion. You can search their large recipe repertoire by ingredient, mealtime, theme, or cooking duration as well as many other categories like microwave cooking or quick and healthy. The only filter that they don't have is cuisines.
Following the recipes is simple with their step-by-step method, which includes images as well as detailed written instructions. With a motto of "save time, save money and eat better" (and by that they mean healthier) this is one of those apps that has become a staple tool in many houses.
As well as being one of the leading TV channels for food programmes in the UK, and the owner of a successful British cooking magazine, BBC has now rolled out a recipe app that contains over 13,000 recipes. Each recipe has a user rating with comments so that you can get a real insight into how the meals will pan-out.
Not only are you able to save recipes for future meals, but this app also enables you to add them to collections. Categorise your meal-lust into breakfast, lunch and dinner, or even use them for weekly meals plans! Unfortunately, it only includes basic instructions for the methods, so it might not be the best option if you're after a little more explanation.
If you always seem to have a few leftover ingredients that you don’t know what to do with, Big Oven could be an excellent option for you. Their detailed search function enables you to deep dive into their huge library, searching for meals with just three ingredients that you want to use up.
The app also includes a shopping list which adds all your ingredients in just one click, saving you heaps of time. The downside is that the app isn’t that user friendly compared to some of the other choices, which can be a little offputting while you're searching for something to cook.
If there’s one thing you can count on with a recipe app from the NHS, it's that the meals will be healthy! If you’re struggling to follow a healthy diet at home, downloading this app could be a great first step. Each recipe includes a detailed breakdown of nutritional information including calories, protein and fat percentages.
However, the app is again quite basic, with just a few, minimal features – you won’t find any fancy restaurant-grade cooking here! But this means that all the ingredients are easily found at your nearest shop, and the food is really simple to make. You can even store your favourite recipes in categories such as dinner or breakfast, and use the collections to prep your weekly meal plans!
Easy Meals is one of the best recipe apps for beginner cooks who are keen on looking after their weight. There are 150 recipes to choose from, which might not sound like a lot, but when you’re new to the kitchen, huge recipe apps with thousands of choices can be a little overwhelming.
With a range of meal ideas to choose from and built-in features for shopping lists and calorie counting, Easy Meals makes planning your food for the entire week simple. The app also includes additional information on eating seasonally and lots of cooking tips to help you learn new kitchen skills. The downside, of course, is that it will be a little too simple for non-beginners.
Recipe apps are also an excellent way to keep your menus fresh! With most providing regular updates of new recipes, completely for free, searching for something new to cook only takes a couple of minutes compared to poring over the pages of hefty books.
Add that to the additional features of built-in shopping lists and meal planners, and the hassle of prepping your food for the week is reduced significantly, so you can just enjoy the cooking part – and the eating, of course!
You've downloaded a new recipe app (or three), but how about a few more ideas for boxes and books to get you firing up the stove? Most importantly though, expanding your culinary repertoire means tastier food, and more of it!
We hope that you've enjoyed our buying guide on the best free recipe apps in the UK! As long as you make sure the app you go for has all the content you're looking for to make cooking easier and more enjoyable, you'll be onto a winner. Which ones have caught your eye?
Author: Roxy Pratley
No. 1: Buzzfeed|Tasty
No. 2: AJNS New Media|Kitchen Stories Recipes
No. 3: Yummly|Yummly
No. 4: Condé Nast Digital|Epicurious
No. 5: IPC Mobile LLC|Project Foodie: Guided Cooking
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