Scan a Recipe from Photo

Have a recipe in a cookbook, on a handwritten card, or in a screenshot? Cookonut can scan the image and turn it into a structured, editable recipe in your collection.

How to Scan a Recipe

1. Open Cookonut and go to the Recipes tab
2. Tap the + button
3. Choose Scan recipe
4. You’ll have two options:
   • Take Photo — use your camera to snap a picture right now
   • Choose from Library — select an existing photo from your camera roll
5. After selecting or taking the photo, tap Import
6. Wait while Cookonut reads and processes the image

What Works Best

Cookonut can read text from many types of images:

• Cookbook pages — lay the book flat for the best results
• Handwritten recipe cards — clear handwriting works surprisingly well
• Magazine clippings — printed text is easy to read
• Screenshots — of recipes from apps, websites, or messages
• Photos of whiteboard or chalkboard recipes — as long as the text is legible

Tips for Taking Good Recipe Photos

The clearer your photo, the better the import:

1. Lay the page flat — avoid curved pages that distort text
2. Good lighting — natural light or a well-lit room works best; avoid harsh shadows
3. Shoot straight on — hold your phone directly above the page, not at an angle
4. Fill the frame — get close enough that the recipe text is large and readable
5. Keep it steady — blurry photos produce blurry results
6. One recipe per photo — if a page has multiple recipes, focus on the one you want

Multiple Pages

If your recipe spans two pages (like a cookbook spread):

1. Take a photo of page one and import it
2. In the preview, you may find the recipe is cut off at the page break
3. You have two options:
   • Edit the preview to manually add the remaining steps and ingredients
   • Take a second photo and import it separately, then combine the recipes by editing

For best results, try to capture both pages in a single wide photo if possible.

Handwritten Recipes

Cookonut handles handwritten recipes remarkably well, but here are some tips:

• Print-style handwriting is easier to read than cursive
• Dark ink on light paper produces the best contrast
• Avoid smudges and stains — they can confuse the text recognition
• Be prepared to make a few edits in the preview, especially for unusual abbreviations

After Scanning

Once the image is processed, you’ll see the standard import preview screen. Take a moment to:

• Verify all ingredients were captured with correct quantities
• Check the instructions — make sure no steps were missed or combined incorrectly
• Add prep time, cook time, and servings if they weren’t in the original
• Assign tags and a cookbook for organization

Tap Save when everything looks good.

Credit Usage

Each photo import uses 1 credit from your monthly pool. Free plan users get 10 credits per month; Premium users have unlimited imports.

Common Issues

Text not recognized — The photo may be too blurry or too dark. Try taking a new photo with better lighting.

Recipe partially imported — The photo may have been cropped too tightly or included extraneous content. Edit the preview to fill in any gaps.

Wrong language detected — Cookonut automatically detects the language, but if it guesses wrong, you can correct the recipe text in the preview.