Recipe Keeper App Review: Quick Access On The Go

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For years, I kept a three-ring binder with all of my favorite recipes. While this system worked, it didn’t travel well. It never failed, I wanted to make something on the spur of the moment and had to hope I could remember the ingredient. After I got a fancy cell phone, I kept a folder of pictures of my favorite recipe so I had some portability. I even tried creating an account on popular recipe websites where I could upload my own recipes. Often cell signal was poor and it was inaccessible when I needed it. I had enough and determined there had to be a better way! That’s when I discovered the Recipe Keeper Pro App. In this complete Recipe Keeper App review, I share my favorite features and why I will never go back!

Organized Recipe System

Recipe Keeper is an all-in-one recipe organizer that allows you to create your own personal cookbook in your pocket! My favorite feature is that is accessible whenever I need it! It’s not dependent on the internet or cell signal or lack thereof!

Recipe Keeper was released in 2012 by Tudorspan Limited and is available in 16 languages. Recipe Keeper comes in both a free app and a Pro version. The free version works exactly the same as the pro version, except you get a limited number of recipes.

Recipe Keeper is designed for use on Android, Apple products, and Windows. You can sync across devices, however, each version of Recipe Keeper is limited to only one platform. I knew right away that I wanted to upgrade to Recipe Keeper Pro, it’s very affordable at just $14.99. I purchased the Pro version for my iPhone. However, it wasn’t until after my purchase, did I realized that I would not be able to sync to my windows computer. I reached out to customer service and they explained that due to the cost of developing an app for multiple platforms that a separate purchase is required for each platform. While this is disappointing, it is my only negative comment of using the Recipe Keeper App, I can certainly understand their position. All of my apple products sync flawlessly which meets my needs.

Four Ways to Add a New Recipe

Recipe Keeper has four different ways to add recipes to the app. While I have used all four, two methods are my go-to methods for loading new recipes.

Manual Entry

Manual entry is the first method of adding a new recipe. After selecting the plus sign at the top of the homes screen, you can add the details of your choice:

The manual means of entry is easy enough to do and possibly if I used the Recipe Keeper Pro version on my PC, I might use this method to enter my own favorite family recipes. However, of all the methods, it’s the method I use the least.

Import Recipe from a Website

Importing recipes from my favorite websites is by far the easiest and fastest way to import recipes into Recipe Keeper. Let’s be real, most of the new recipes I acquire all come from online resources. The import feature is extremely easy to use. From my mobile devices, I can use the share button and instantly upload a new recipe. An alternative method is to copy the URL from the web page and paste it into Recipe Keeper. This takes only a few seconds. The app tells me when the details are uploaded and I add the Course and Categories to organize my app.

Scan Recipes from a Photo

Scanning a recipe from a photo is the next option that I use the most. This is an easy way to scan a recipe from physical recipes, a recipe book, or old family recipes on index cards. I can also add an actual photo of the recipe to show on the menu. The scan method is easy but does have some additional steps.

Once you upload a photo of the original recipe, either by loading a photo from your phone’s camera or by taking a photo with the app. A box will appear on the photo. Move the box to scan each section of the recipe. To import the ingredient list, place the box over the ingredients in the photo. Once you stretch the box to fit, push the button Scan Selection and a box opens where you select the section you are importing. A preview screen allows you to check the import. I highly suggest you preview the results, especially when importing handwritten recipes. If there are any errors, correct them in the app.

Once you finish reviewing, you push Accept. Continue the process to import all the sections of the recipe. For items like Title and Source, I just type those things in rather than importing them. After you have imported all the sections, save the recipe

Scan the Recipe from PDF Files

Scanning a recipe from a PDF file works just like scanning a recipe from a photo. I use this feature less, but when it comes to manual import or scanning, I always use the scan feature!

Recipe Features in the Recipe Keeper App

Once you add recipes to Recipe Keeper, there are a lot of features to help you best use your app. While I use the app on both my phone and the iPad. The iPad is the easiest to use in the kitchen. The biggest reason is the screen is larger so the view is bigger, regardless they work the same.

Adjust Serving Sizes

Recipes that are created with serving sizes included can be adjusted. In my house, Philip and I are empty nesters. This feature makes it easy for me to select a recipe, and reduce the number of servings from 8 to 2. The recipe will automatically adjust.

While reducing a recipe serving size to a smaller quantity might not seem that challenging. Adjusting the servings works the other way as well. Maybe you are serving a dish for a dinner party of 25. Next to serving size, you increase the servings to the number that you need. The recipe will automatically adjust every ingredient to accommodate the number of servings you need. It takes all the guesswork out!

Share Your Recipes

One of the great features that I use often is the share feature. Maybe I took a dish to a potluck and someone liked it enough to request the recipe. I open the app, select share and I can text or email it to them right then! This is how I share recipes with my daughter who lives a long distance when she requests her favorite recipes from home.

Mark the Recipe As You Cook

Recipe keeper allows you to check off the items as you go. Once you add an item, just click the recipe ingredients in the list. It goes from black to gray so you know exactly where you are. This would be really helpful to young cooks learning to manage their cooking. It’s also helpful for me, if I am trying to multi-task, it remembers where I’m at!

Link Recipes

Recipes can be linked. Maybe your favorite chicken recipe is really good with a particular side dish. You can link the recipes so that you never have to search for the side.

Recipe Organization in the Recipe Keeper App

Once you upload recipes into the Recipe Keeper App, it’s best to organize them. Recipe Keeper has several organizational methods: Courses, Categories, and Collections.

Courses

Recipe Keeper comes with standard courses already built-in: Appetizers, Beverages, Breakfast, Dessert and Main Dish are just a few of the 8 courses that are set up upon download. However, with any menu, you can customize the Courses to fit your organizational needs. I added a Course called “NEW Recipe Want to Try”. Every new recipe I download gets put into this folder first. After we try the recipe and decide it earns a permanent place in our recipe collection, I edit the specific course in the permanent recipe collection.

I have another Course called Homestead. This folder gets the homestead recipes I want to keep track of. The Skunk Remedy from Michelle at Souly Rested. The Fly Spray recipe from my riding instructor Julie Grenan. The Homemade Suet Cakes for Chickens from the Prarie Homestead.

I created another Course called Preservation. I added the Spiced Rum Vanilla Extract from my friend Julie at Capturing Wonderland. It also includes my Bacon Cure recipe that we got from a friend of Philip’s.

The final course that I added is called “YUCK, Don’t Make Again”. This one might seem silly, but I’ve had recipes that I deleted from my recipe app find there way back in. This ensures I remember, NOT to cook them again!

Categories in the Recipe Keeper App

The app comes with 24 built in categories. These allow me to organize my recipes even more specifically. Things like Barbeque, Casserole, Chicken, Cookie, Egg, Muffins, Pasta, Soup, and Vegetarian. I’ve added many others, you might see a trend here: Candy, Cheesecake, and Honey. There are more practical ones too: Canning, Homestead, Preservation, Rabbit, Sauce, Seasonings and Venison.

Some recipes I give multiple categories. I have a recipe for Beef and Broccoli. It’s delicious made with chicken, shrimp, beef and venison. I can tag it with all four categories so when I am browsing any of those categories it will pop up.

Collections of Recipe Keeper

I will admit I haven’t used Collections in the past. However, if you have a favorite recipe source, you can create customizable recipe collections just for them. My daughter, Kaitlyn Soroka, is a big fan of Half Baked Harvest. Any recipes she adds to the app from that blog can be added to the Collection for easy identification. For fun, I created a Collection called Kowalski Mountain. I added all the recipes I have published on the blog!

Home Page Organization

The home screen of the app allows you to search in several ways. If you have entered the specific information for each recipe you can sort by those designations. Select Course, Categories, Favorites or Recent. This is really useful is you are browsing for a recipe. Maybe you are serving breakfast for Mother’s Day and you want to browse the Breakfast recipes you have saved. Within each section, the Categories break down specifically, so you search Casseroles or you can choose “All” to search all the Categories under that course.

The Favorites feature is very easy to use. For recipes that you want to designate as favorite meals, open the recipe and with a simple tap of the Star at the bottom of the recipe. The recipe will be added to your favorites section for easy access.

While this might seem like a lot of organization, it’s really easy to input. Generally, you add just one recipe at a time. With just a few clicks you can select the Course, Categories, and Collections which will make using the app so much easier later!

Menu Planner

The menu planner feature is something I can’t say I use. I plan dinner by the seat of my pants usually! However, it’s a really nice feature, I should actually try it for my workcation meal planning! Our workcations are probably the most important reason to have an app like Recipe Keeper, I always have my recipes with me.

The app includes a calendar where you can create weekly meal plans or monthly plans. Add as many meals as you like, Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner to your monthly meal planner. From the calendar view, you can click the recipe and it takes you directly to the recipe itself, no searching required. I was also able to add menu items that weren’t a recipe. An example is Sandwiches, I just write that in with no attached recipe.

If you create a meal plan, you can choose to pin the recipes of the day to the home page (do this in settings). This feature is amazing, if you already took time to plan a menu, you don’t have to search when it’s time to make dinner. On the day the recipe is scheduled it will be pinned to the front when you open Recipe Keeper. With a single tap, the recipe opens and you are ready to get started. I might need to look at using this menu planner more often!

Shopping Lists

Recipe Keeper has a shopping list feature as well. This is a feature I really like. When I choose a recipe that I want to add to my shopping list, I select the shopping list icon at the bottom of the recipe. All the ingredients in the recipe will pop up. If there is anything in the recipe that I already have in my pantry and don’t need to add to the grocery list, I uncheck the box. Everything else is added to the shopping list. If you use the calendar feature, you can do this with every recipe on your meal plan. You can also add items that are not included in any recipes you are making for the week. The best part is the shopping list is organized by category which makes time grocery shopping efficient.

In the setting area of the app, you can reorganize the shopping list categories. They are set to alphabetical order, but you can customize it, maybe to the layout of your grocery store!

Cookbooks

The cookbook feature is another feature I have not used, however, my youngest daughter recently requested all of my venison recipes. I shared them with her but I worked a lot harder than I needed to. Philip likes to be prepared for any situation, having printed copies of my recipes is easy to do by adding them to a Cookbook and creating a PDF. I think I need to look more closely at this feature. It would be a fun idea for a cookbook for my granddaughter. Only the family gets a copy of my Ribbon Winning Chili Recipe!

Useful Setting

Not only can you do so much with the recipe features, but you can also customize your Recipe Keeper. Select from 25 different color schemes to make Recipe Keeper display your favorite color. For fun, I set my phone to one color and the Ipad another.

Sync with Amazon Alexa. I can’t speak for this, as I don’t have a service like Alexa, but Recipe Keeper can be synced to allow you to work handsfree.

Getting harder to read the recipes pages? Adjust the font size on every recipe. It makes it so much easier as I am now over 50 and have a whole new understanding of this problem.

Most phone lock after so much time passes returning to the lock screen. You can set Recipe Keeper to remain open as long as a recipe is open. This ensures that the phone won’t lock when your hands are a mess and you can cook hands-free!

Recipe Keeper App Review Wrap Up

I have used Recipe Keeper for years! I honestly can’t say I tried any other recipe apps, I have been so happy with Recipe Keeper that I never felt the urge to look elsewhere. The ease of use and the added features of being able to share my recipes and customize my recipe collection for the food we really eat make this one of my most used apps on my phone.

I wish they had an affiliate program, know that this review is offered because I truly love the product! Remember you can give the Recipe Keeper app a free trial with a limited number of recipe uploads. Search the app store of your preferred platform to download. If you currently use a recipe app and want to make the switch, you can import your files from another recipe app.

Let Me Know Your Favorite Feature

There is enough to do on the homestead or in the kitchen cooking delicious meals, organizing your recipes shouldn’t be a challenge. My only challenge is finding time to fully switch all my recipes from that old three-ring notebook and go completely digital! Check it out! Let me know your favorite features!