Add Recipes to Your Meal Plan

There are several ways to get recipes into your meal plan. Use whichever method fits your workflow — adding from the Plan, browsing your collection, or adding straight from a recipe.

Method 1: Add a Meal from the Plan

The most intuitive way:

1. Go to the Plan tab
2. Find the day you want to fill (e.g., Wednesday)
3. Tap Add meal
4. Choose a meal type (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Snack, Dessert, or Drinks)
5. The recipe picker opens — browse or search your recipes
6. Tap the recipe to assign it

Method 2: From the Recipe Detail View

When you’re browsing recipes and spot one perfect for this week:

1. Open the recipe
2. Tap the options menu (three dots)
3. Choose Add to Meal Plan
4. Select the day and meal slot (breakfast, lunch, dinner, or snack)
5. Tap Add or Confirm

This method is great when you’re browsing your collection for inspiration and want to plan as you go.

Method 3: Long-Press from the Recipe List

For quick planning without opening the full recipe:

1. Go to the Recipes tab
2. Long-press on a recipe card
3. Choose Add to Meal Plan from the quick actions menu
4. Select the day and meal slot

Method 4: From a Cookbook

If you have a specific cookbook in mind:

1. Go to the Recipes tab
2. Switch to the cookbooks view and open a cookbook (e.g., “Weeknight Dinners”)
3. Browse the recipes inside
4. Long-press or tap options on a recipe
5. Choose Add to Meal Plan

This is perfect for themed planning — open your “Meal Prep” cookbook and add recipes for the week.

Method 5: Generate a Random Week

When you can’t decide:

1. In the Plan tab, tap the ••• icon to open the Manage week sheet
2. Choose Generate random week to auto-fill the week with recipes
3. Step through the wizard, then review the suggestions
4. Re-roll individual slots or confirm the plan

See the Use the Meal Plan Randomizer article for details.

Replacing a Planned Meal

There’s no in-place “replace” — to change a planned meal, remove the current one and add a new one:

1. Swipe the planned meal left and tap delete
2. Tap Add meal on that day
3. Choose the meal type and pick the new recipe

Removing a Planned Meal

To clear a planned meal, swipe it left and tap delete. This only removes it from your schedule — the recipe itself stays in your collection. (Tapping a planned meal opens its full recipe instead.)

Adding the Same Recipe Multiple Times

You can add the same recipe to multiple days. If you’re meal prepping chicken stir-fry for Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday lunches:

1. Add it to Tuesday Lunch
2. Add it again to Wednesday Lunch
3. And again to Thursday Lunch

When you build a shopping list from the plan, Cookonut will combine and scale the ingredients accordingly.

Scaling for the Meal Plan

If a recipe normally serves 4 but you’re cooking for 2:

1. Open the recipe and adjust the servings before adding to the meal plan
2. Or adjust servings from within the meal plan slot
3. The shopping list will reflect the adjusted quantities

Tips

• Plan around your calendar — check for busy days and assign quick recipes there
• Use filters when choosing recipes — filter by cook time to find quick options for weeknights
• Build a rotation — if your family loves certain meals, plan them on a regular cycle
• Mix cuisines throughout the week for variety
• Don’t forget leftovers — if a recipe serves 6 and you’re a family of 3, plan leftovers for the next day’s lunch