Make a shopping list from your recipes
Writing a grocery list by hand means reading every recipe twice and still forgetting the onions. In MagicMeals, a recipe and its shopping list are one tap apart: add a single recipe's ingredients, or pick several recipes and get one combined list, sorted the way a store is laid out. It's free, and it works with every recipe you save from Instagram, YouTube, TikTok or any website.
Get started freeHow it works
- 1Save the recipes. Paste a link from any recipe site or social post, or type a family recipe in. Each one becomes a recipe card with a clean ingredient list.
- 2Send them to your list. On a recipe, set the servings and tap Add ingredients to shopping list. For several recipes, open List and pick them. On the paid plan you can also plan them on your diary and tap Build my list.
- 3Shop. Your list is combined and sorted by aisle. Tap Shop in store for a big checklist that keeps working with no signal, or send it all to Instacart.
One list from several recipes, combined
When two recipes both call for onions, garlic or chicken thighs, MagicMeals adds the amounts together and writes down what you'd actually buy: 2 onions, 1 head of garlic, 1½ lb chicken thighs. The recipe amounts are kept in small print under each item, along with which recipe it's for.
- Amounts are added across recipes, even when one says grams and another says ounces
- Cloves become heads and sprigs become bunches, rounded up to what stores sell
- Salt, oil and other staples go under Already have these?, where one tap on Need it moves anything you're out of onto the list
- Items are sorted produce, meat and seafood, dairy, bakery, pantry, spices, frozen, drinks
- Servings are scaled before shopping, so doubling a recipe doubles its groceries
From your meal plan to your cart
With the paid plan, plan the week on your food diary, then build the list for the next 1, 3, 7 or 14 days. A dish you planned twice is bought once, doubled. On any plan, add anything else by hand, like paper towels, tap an item to change how much to buy, tap × to take it off, and check items off as they go in your cart.
In the store, the aisle checklist has big tap targets, a keep-screen-on switch and a Share button to text the list to someone else. Checks save on your phone when there's no signal and sync when you're back online. When Instacart is available, the whole list or a single recipe opens in Instacart so you can pick a store and check out.
Why keep recipes and the shopping list in one app
A separate list app means copying every ingredient by hand. Because MagicMeals already has each recipe's ingredients as structured lines, it can read the amounts, convert units and group them for you. The same recipes also feed your food diary and nutrition facts, so planning, shopping and logging all start from one cookbook.
Questions
How do I make a shopping list from a recipe?
Save the recipe in MagicMeals by pasting its link or typing it in, set the servings you're cooking, and tap Add ingredients to shopping list. Its ingredients go on your list, sorted by store aisle, with the recipe named under each item.
Can I make one shopping list from several recipes?
Yes. On the List tab, open Or make a list from recipes you pick, tick the recipes and tap Make one list from these recipes. On the paid plan you can also plan them on your diary and tap Build my list. Either way the same ingredients are combined into one line with the total to buy.
Is there a free app that turns recipes into a shopping list?
MagicMeals does it on the free plan. Save recipes from any website, Instagram, YouTube or TikTok, and turn them into a combined grocery list sorted by aisle. Change any amount or remove an item with a tap, and shop with an in-store checklist that works offline.
Can I send my recipe shopping list to Instacart?
Yes, where Instacart is available. Tap Get it all delivered with Instacart on the List tab to send the whole list, or Get the ingredients on Instacart on a recipe page for just that recipe.
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