Warning

This guide is for Paprika 4, which is currently in beta. Switch to the Paprika 3 guide.

Viewing Recipes

A recipe open on iPhone: the toolbar at the top, the photo, details and date, the Ingredients and Directions switch, Scale & Convert, ingredients with some crossed off, and the pin and timer buttons at the bottom.
  1. Recipe toolbar Recipe Actions
  2. button Editing a Recipe
  3. Photo Photo Gallery
  4. Ingredients and Directions Viewing Recipes
  5. Scale & Convert Scaling & Converting Ingredients
  6. Crossed-off ingredient Crossing off Ingredients
  7. Pin button Pinning Recipes
  8. Timer button Timers
A recipe in Paprika for iOS.

From the recipes screen, tap on a recipe in the listing in order to open the recipe.

This is the main recipe view. Information about the recipe is displayed near the top, the ingredients are displayed on the left, and the directions are displayed to the right. The description will be displayed above the directions and the notes will be displayed below the directions. Any nutritional information, including a Nutrition Facts label, will appear below the ingredients.

On iPhone, the recipe shows one column at a time: use the Ingredients / Directions switch under the header to change between them. The switch stays at the top of the screen as you scroll.

The header shows the recipe's cookbook and categories, as in My Cookbook › Dinner, Italian. If the list is too long to fit, tap the arrow at its end to see every category.

Note

The description, notes, and nutritional information sections are collapsible. Tap a section's header to show or hide its contents.

Note

If the recipe has a source URL, the source will be highlighted. You can tap on the source to load the original source URL in the browser. If you prefer recipe links to open in Safari instead of Paprika's built-in browser, you can change this with the Open Links In setting in the Settings panel.

Recipe Actions

The toolbar contains several actions you can perform with the recipe:

Action Description
Add to Grocery List Add this recipe to the grocery list. You'll be asked to choose ingredients and grocery list first.
Add to Meal Planner You can add a recipe to the meal planner using this button. Select the date and type of meal you would like to add this recipe to, and then press Save.
Add to Favorites Add this recipe to your favorites. Tap the heart again to remove it from your favorites.

Note

On iPhone, these buttons appear at the trailing edge of the navigation bar next to the button; on iPad they are centered in the navigation bar, with pinned to the right.

Less common actions are placed under the button to the right of the other buttons.

Action Description
Print Print the contents of this recipe. Printing requires an AirPrint-enabled printer.
Email Email recipients can import the recipe into their copy of Paprika by tapping the .paprikarecipes attachment. When emailing a single recipe, the recipe will also be displayed as text/HTML in the body of the email.
Send to Paprika User… Send this recipe to another Paprika user as an in-app message. See Sending Recipes & Cookbooks for details.
Duplicate Makes a copy of the recipe and then enters edit mode. Good when trying out recipe variations.
Ingredient Substitutions Suggests substitutes for ingredients you don't have. Needs Apple Intelligence. See Ingredient Substitutions.
Share A submenu with Source Link (when the recipe has a source URL), Paprika File and Recipe Text. Each opens the share sheet, so you can send it with AirDrop, Messages, or another app. A Paprika file can be imported into another copy of Paprika.
Delete Moves the recipe to the Trash category.

Note

You can also tap and hold on a recipe in the recipes list to see many of these actions.

Printing Recipes

As described above, printing is accessed via the button in the recipe toolbar. Printing requires an AirPrint-enabled printer. Paprika 4 offers an expanded set of options you can configure for printing, grouped under Print Options, Card Options, Recipe Options, and Photo Options. Options that don't apply to your choices are hidden. When you're ready, tap Next to print.

Option Description
Page Type Full Page, Index Cards, or Index Card Sheets. Index Cards will print to physical index cards, while Index Card Sheets is meant for printing several index cards on full page paper and then cutting them out.
Paper Size US Letter, US Legal, A4, A5, or A6. Not used for Index Cards.
Orientation Portrait (taller than wide) or Landscape (wider than tall). Not used for Index Cards.
Font Size Allows you to change the font size of the printed recipe.
Page Margins Allows you to adjust the printer margins. Measurements are given in inches. Not used for Index Cards.
Card Size The size of the index card: 3 x 5, 3.5 x 5, 4 x 6, or 5 x 7 inches.
Card Margins Allows you to adjust the inner margin of the index card. Measurements are given in inches.
Divider When printing more than one recipe, separate them with a Page Break or a Line.
Layout One Column prints everything in a single vertical column. Two Columns prints the ingredients and directions side by side, and Two Columns (Wrap) lets the directions continue under the ingredients once they end. Full page only.
Show Info Whether or not the recipe metadata, such as prep and cook times, should be printed.
Show Notes Whether or not the recipe notes should be printed.
Show Nutrition Whether or not the recipe's Nutrition Facts label and nutrition notes should be printed.
Show Photos Thumbnail Only, All Photos (the thumbnail plus the photos embedded in the recipe text), or None. Full page only.
Thumbnail Size Small, Medium, or Large.
Thumbnail Position Whether the thumbnail prints on the Left or Right.
Photo Size How large the embedded photos print: Small, Medium, Large, or Full. Only used with All Photos.

Note

Printed recipes follow your measurement system, and if you have scaled a recipe, the printout will show the scaled servings.

Timers

Timers are automatically detected in your recipe's directions and highlighted. In order to start a timer, simply tap on the highlighted time and press .

Viewing timers - Running timers are displayed in the recipe's lower toolbar while you cook, and in the Main Menu sidebar when it is fully expanded.

Adding a timer manually - Tap the timer button at the right end of the recipe's lower toolbar to open the Timers list, and then tap the button. You can choose a name for the timer. Once you have selected a time, press Start to begin the timer.

Removing timers - Timers are automatically removed once they have elapsed. If you would like to manually remove a timer, swipe left across it in the sidebar's timers list and delete it.

Editing timers - To change the name or time of a timer, tap on the timer. You can also pause, resume and cancel the timer from this screen, and see the remaining duration of the timer.

Note

Timers will fire a notification and play an alarm sound even if the app is not open. If you run into issues, make sure you have allowed Paprika to send notifications, that your device is not muted, and that your volume is turned up.

Note

Timers can be set for up to 99 hours.

Scaling & Converting Ingredients

Scaling - You can scale the ingredients of a recipe by tapping the Scale & Convert button next to the Ingredients heading.

When the ingredients scaling popup appears, select the amount you'd like to scale the ingredients by and they will change automatically. The scale button will update to display the current recipe scale.

The amount to scale can be entered as a whole number, decimal, or fraction (ex: 3, 0.25, 1/3).

If you add a scaled recipe to the grocery list, the grocery list items will preserve the ingredients scaling.

Note

Paprika anticipates this ingredient format: quantity unit ingredient, i.e. 1 cup milk. For best results, ensure your ingredients are entered in this format.

Converting - You can convert ingredients units from standard (US) units to metric or reset them to their original units by using the Convert Units option in the same popup.

Crossing off Ingredients

When you are cooking, you may find it useful to cross off ingredients once you have used them. Simply tap the desired ingredient in order to cross it off. (Tap again to un-cross it.)

Marking Directions

You can also highlight the current step of your directions by tapping on it to help keep your place.

Ingredient Substitutions

Missing an ingredient? Tap the button in the recipe toolbar and choose Ingredient Substitutions. Paprika lists the recipe's ingredients. Tap one you don't have, and Paprika suggests one or two substitutes, each with an adjusted amount where one is needed and a short reason it works in this recipe. Tap the ingredient again to clear it.

Note

Ingredient Substitutions is free. It uses Apple Intelligence, so it needs iOS 26 or later with Apple Intelligence turned on in the Settings app; otherwise the action doesn't appear.

Pinning Recipes

You can pin active recipes to easily switch between them while you are cooking. To pin a recipe, tap the button in the recipe toolbar, and choose Pin Recipe.

Your pinned recipes are displayed in the Main Menu sidebar when it is fully expanded, and buttons for one or more of your pinned recipes also appear in the lower toolbar of the recipe screen — so you can hop between the dishes you are cooking with a single tap. When a recipe is pinned, Paprika will keep track of the ingredients you have crossed off and the current directions you have highlighted, so you don't lose your place.

Note

On iPad, more pinned recipe buttons fit in the lower toolbar than on iPhone, and fewer are shown while a timer is running.

When you're done cooking, swipe left across the pinned recipe in the sidebar to un-pin the recipe.

Note

From the main recipes list, you can also pin recipes by dragging and dropping them onto the sidebar.

Photo Gallery

If there are photos associated with the recipe, you can tap the thumbnail next to the recipe name — or any photo embedded in the recipe text — to display the photo gallery. The photo gallery contains an ordered list of photos with names displayed at the top. Swipe left and right to move between photos, and tap the button to close the gallery.

Use the button in the upper right of the gallery to open the share sheet for the currently displayed photo, where you can save it to your photo library or send it to another app. The button appears once the photo has downloaded.

Note

When downloading recipes via the browser, only a link to the online photo is saved unless you explicitly add photos to the recipe. In the case that the thumbnail references a linked photo, tapping the thumbnail will load the photo from the internet and display it.

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
    1. Table of Contents
  2. What's New
    1. Highlights
    2. Other Changes
  3. Beta Testing
    1. Before You Start
    2. What to Test
      1. Adding Recipes
      2. Organizing
      3. Nutrition
      4. Sharing
      5. Pantry
      6. Meals
      7. Integrations
    3. Sending Feedback
  4. Overview
  5. Adding Recipes
    1. Adding a Recipe
    2. Adding a Recipe from the Clipboard
  6. Scanning Recipes
    1. Scanning a Recipe
    2. Editing a Scanned Recipe
    3. Scanning Tips
  7. Browsing Recipes
    1. Browsing by Category
    2. Browsing Subcategories
    3. Searching Recipes
    4. Advanced Search
    5. Saved Searches
    6. Sorting Recipes
  8. Editing Recipes
    1. Editing a Recipe
    2. Deleting Recipes
    3. Recipe Fields
    4. Inserting Recipe Text
    5. Adding Recipe Photos
  9. Viewing Recipes
    1. Recipe Actions
    2. Printing Recipes
    3. Timers
    4. Scaling & Converting Ingredients
    5. Crossing off Ingredients
    6. Marking Directions
    7. Ingredient Substitutions
    8. Pinning Recipes
    9. Photo Gallery
  10. Nutrition
    1. Entering Nutrition Facts
    2. Analyzing Ingredients
    3. Viewing Nutrition
  11. Categories
    1. Assign a Recipe to a Category
    2. Suggesting Categories
    3. Adding a Category
    4. Editing Categories
    5. Built-In Categories
  12. Cookbooks
    1. Switching Cookbooks
    2. Adding a Cookbook
    3. Managing Cookbooks
    4. Moving Recipes between Cookbooks
    5. Sharing a Cookbook
  13. Browser
    1. Using the Browser
    2. Clipping Recipes Online
    3. Clipping Recipes from Social Media
    4. Manually Saving Recipes Using the Clipboard Tools
      1. Tips
  14. Groceries
    1. Adding Ingredients
      1. Adding a Recipe to the Grocery List
      2. Adding a Custom Item to the Grocery List
    2. Editing the Grocery List
      1. Editing Grocery List Items
      2. Removing Items from the Grocery List
    3. Using the Grocery List
      1. Marking Items as Purchased
      2. Filtering Grocery List Items
      3. Searching the Grocery List
      4. Sorting the Grocery List
    4. Managing Multiple Grocery Lists
      1. Viewing your Grocery Lists
      2. Adding a New Grocery List
      3. Renaming a Grocery List
    5. Grocery List Actions
    6. Using Siri
  15. Pantry
    1. Adding Items to the Pantry
    2. Editing Pantry Items
    3. Pantry Locations
    4. Scanning Barcodes
    5. Sorting the Pantry
    6. Searching the Pantry
    7. Pantry Actions
  16. Meals
    1. Viewing the Meal Planner
      1. Switching Views
      2. Daily View
      3. Weekly View
      4. Monthly View
    2. Adding a Meal
      1. From the Meal Planner
      2. From the Recipe Screen
      3. Drag and Drop
    3. Editing Meals
      1. Changing a Meal's Date or Type
      2. Deleting Meals
      3. Moving or Copying Meals
      4. Scaling Meals
    4. Meal Planner Actions
    5. Calendar Feed
  17. Menus
    1. Adding a Menu
    2. Adding Menu Items
    3. Drag and Drop
    4. Adding a Menu to the Meal Planner
    5. Menu Actions
  18. Sharing
    1. Family Sharing
      1. Inviting Family Members
      2. Managing Family Members
    2. Messages
      1. Sending Recipes & Cookbooks
      2. Receiving & Importing Recipes
      3. Push Notifications
  19. Settings
    1. Accessing the Settings Panel
    2. List of Settings
    3. Account
      1. Paprika Cloud Sync
      2. Creating an Account
      3. Logging In
      4. Managing your Account
      5. Deleting your Account
    4. Import Recipes
      1. YAML Format
    5. Export Recipes
      1. How to export your recipes
    6. Find Duplicates
    7. Alexa
  20. Extensions
    1. Saving Recipes from Other Apps
    2. Widgets
    3. Shortcuts
    4. Apple Watch
      1. Grocery Lists
      2. Timers
  21. Resources
    1. Technical Support
    2. Frequently Asked Questions
    3. Changelog