How to Import Recipes

Cookonut gives you five different ways to save recipes, so no matter where you found a recipe — on a website, in a cookbook, on social media, or in your head — there’s a way to get it into your collection.

The Five Import Methods

Tap the + button on the Recipes tab to open the Add Recipe hub and see all your options:

1. Search the web

Browse the web inside Cookonut’s built-in browser. Open any recipe website, food blog, or online magazine, and when you land on a recipe you like, tap Save to import it — no copying and pasting URLs. This is the way to import a recipe you found online. Works with:

• Recipe blogs and food websites
• Online magazines and news articles with recipes
• Sites in any language

To import a recipe from social media (Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest, or YouTube), use the share menu inside that app instead — see our dedicated social media import guides.

2. Scan recipe

Take a photo of a recipe or choose one from your camera roll. Great for:

• Cookbook pages
• Handwritten recipe cards
• Screenshots of recipes
• Magazine clippings

3. Paste text

Copy recipe text from anywhere (an email, a message, a document) and paste it into Cookonut. The app figures out which parts are ingredients, which are steps, and structures everything neatly. This is for recipe text, not links — to import from a web page, use Search the web.

4. Dictate recipe

Speak a recipe out loud and Cookonut will structure it for you. Perfect when:

• Grandma is telling you her secret recipe
• You want to capture a recipe from memory without typing
• Your hands are busy

5. Create from scratch

Write a recipe manually, field by field. This is the only method that does not use an import credit, so it’s always unlimited. Ideal for:

• Your own original recipes
• Family recipes you know by heart
• Recipes you want to enter exactly how you want them

Understanding Import Credits

The first four methods (Search the web, Scan recipe, Paste text, and Dictate recipe) all use Cookonut’s AI to extract and structure recipe data. Each import uses one credit.

• Free plan: 10 credits per month, resetting on your billing cycle date
• Premium plan: Unlimited credits

All four AI methods share the same pool — there’s no separate budget for photos vs. web pages. Creating a recipe from scratch is always free and unlimited.

If you run out of credits, you can still add recipes by creating them from scratch, or you can upgrade to Premium for unlimited imports.

Which Method Should I Use?

Situation	Best Method
Found a recipe online	Search the web
Scrolling Instagram or TikTok	Share it from the app (see our social import guides)
Have a cookbook open in front of you	Scan recipe
Someone is telling you a recipe	Dictate recipe
Got a recipe in an email or text message	Paste text
Want to browse and discover recipes	Search the web
Know the recipe by heart	Create from scratch

After Import: Review & Save

No matter which method you use, Cookonut always shows you a preview before saving. You can review and edit every detail — title, ingredients, instructions, tags, times — before the recipe goes into your collection. Nothing is saved until you tap Save.

Tips for Best Results

• Search the web tends to produce the most accurate imports because food blogs are well-structured
• Scan recipe works best when the text is clear, well-lit, and not at an extreme angle
• Dictate recipe works best in a quiet environment — speak clearly and include quantities
• When in doubt, you can always edit after importing — the preview screen lets you fix anything before saving