The 6 Meal-Planning Apps That’ll Take All the Brainwork Outta Making Dinner
Meal planning is the buzzy word dominating our social feeds. Probably cause we’re all strapped for cash since we’re in a recession and eggs cost like $5 damn dollars. Not to mention Mcdonald's got rid of their dollar menu (RIP 😭), so basically it’s now cheaper to cook than to eat out. And if you're like me who has zero cooking skills and no food imagination, you’ll need a meal planning app to get you by.
There are tons of meal planning apps out there, some good, some bad, others downright atrocious but are free so you’ll make do. Rather than shift through your app store and lurk in the review sections, you can look through this tip-top meal planning app guide. Yep because I love cooking (cue sarcasm), I went ahead and found the six best meal-planning apps, from the most budget-friendly option to the best app for specific eaters and everything in between. You’re welcome.
Best Overall: Paprika
Paprika ranks as my top choice cause it’s free! No, but really, the app offers a free version that still comes with the customization and flexibility the subscription app has. While the app doesn’t have a built-in recipe guide, it does allow you to save and enter recipes from the Internet (Get this: you can add up to 50 recipes before a paywall comes in). Plus, if you add the app as a browser extension too, its recipe clipper will let you save recipes directly from your favorite recipe sites like The New York Times or Serious Eats.
The app also has a grocery list and pantry function, so you can easily organize your shopping list in the app as well as keep track of ingredients right in your pantry. For example, if you’ve cooked pasta for dinner two nights ago and only used a cup of your Parmesan cheese, Paprika will let you know that you don’t need to buy any more on your next shopping trip. Neat, right?
Pros:
Offers a free version of the app
Has download and sync capabilities, so you can easily save all your recipes across all devices
Can create grocery lists
Cons:
Does not have a built-in recipe guide
Listen, I get it. Sometimes having (another) bag of crunchy Cheetos for dinner is the easiest thing to do after a draining day of work, especially if you have no extra coins left for take-out. Using your brain to creatively concoct some recipe with...actual ingredients? Who has the energy and mental capacity?!
But, sorry to say, those college eating habits aren't gonna cut it. So, allow me to introduce meal planning. You've probably heard of it—if not from your mom trying her damnedest to make you a Fully Functional Adult by (constantly) suggesting you cook more, then, at the very least, by the way it's been completely buzzing around all of our social feeds. If you're like me and don't wanna use what little post-work brain power you have to come up with dinner ideas, a meal planning app will get you alllll the way together. Trust.
There are a bunch of meal planning apps out there—some good, some bad, and others that are downright atrocious, but don't cost a thing. Just so you don't have to sift through your app store and skim the review sections, I went ahead and curated this tip-top meal planning app guide. Below you'll find the six best meal-planning apps, from the most budget-friendly option to the one designed for picky eaters (I see you, chicken tender girlies) to everything in between. You’re welcome.
Best Overall: Paprika
Get this: Paprika's free version comes with the same flexibility as its paid version. The app doesn’t have a built-in recipe guide, but it does allow you to save and enter recipes from the internet, and you can add up to 50 (!!) before a paywall comes in. Plus, if you add the app as a browser extension, you can save recipes directly from your favorite sites, like The New York Times or Serious Eats.
Pros:
Has download and sync capabilities, so you can easily save all your recipes across all devices
Can create grocery lists
Cons:
Does not have a built-in recipe guide
Best App for Quick Recipes: Mealime
Who has two hours to cook? Do I look like Ina Garten? And neither do you. Enter: Mealime. All recipes on the app are made in 30 minutes or less, and the app can curate specific recipes just for you. It'll ask about your dietary restrictions and eating habits before creating a personalized list of recipes—all for free, yes!—then once you select your meals for the week, you can generate a grocery list and upload it to Amazon Fresh or Instacart.
Oh, and did I mention that you can change your serving size from two to four, and vice versa? And if you want the nutritional info of each recipe or to substitute items, you’ll have to pay for the pro version, which is only $3/month (truly, a steal if ya ask me). On the paid version, you can upload your own recipes, plus other perks.
Pros:
All recipes are under 30 minutes or less
Offers a free version
Cons:
Recipe customization is limited without a subscription
Best Budget: Whisk
Whisk is truly the best budget pick outta this bunch simply because you get all of its perks for zero cost. I mean, this bb is free with a capital F and comes with customizable recipes, how-to tutorials from food influencers like The Korean Vegan, and custom shopping lists! Every week, Whisk provides a calendar where you’ll add your recipes for each day. Then, you can request a shopping list, which it will automatically make for you, complete with any dietary preferences you put in. Oh, and you can send your grocery list straight to your preferred shopping service too.
If you’re not feeling the app’s recipe collection (which, fair), you can take meal ideas from literally anywhere else and upload them to the Whisk collection. Win-win.
Pros:
App is free
Has customizable recipes
Each recipe comes with basic nutritional facts
Cons:
Best App for Customized Meals: Eat This Much
Eat This Much creates your meal plans based on your dietary preferences and calorie needs. All you gotta do is sign up and enter your personal info, like height and weight, and the app does the rest. You can make your own meal plan or let the app do it for you. And thanks to its extensive database of popular restaurant menu items and everyday dishes, you can easily search for and add your meal if you're having take-out.
Pros:
Personalizes your meal plans based on your dietary preferences and calorie goals
Has a bar code feature that allows you to scan ingredients
Can manually add online recipes to the app
Cons:
You can only access the shopping list feature through a paid subscription
Best App for Meal Prepping: MealPrepPro
This app ranks top for meal prepping and provides easy-to-make recipes that can last a few days. Simply sign up and enter a bunch of intel, like your preferred prep level, how many meals you want to make a week, allergies, likes and dislikes, the works. Then, the app creates ideas for lunch and dinner, which include original recipes and nutritional info. MealPrepPro will also spit out all the groceries you'll need too, so you’ll know exactly what to grab next time you hit those aisles.
Pros:
Creates customized meal plans based on your preferences
Offers different diet options including keto, paleo, and plant-based
Breakfast and snack options can be added too
Cons:
The app is not available for Android users
Best App for Limiting Food Waste: Cooklist
If you've never thrown out a plastic container of rotten mixed greens, I can't trust you. But! I have felt bad lately about all my food waste and one of my tricks to cutting back is this handy dandy tool, Cooklist, which lets you know when your food is nearing its expiration date. Freezer, pantry, and fridge? It tracks e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g. You can either manually add your groceries in the system or load your shopping list straight into the app. It also has meal ideas for you too! So it's working overtime so you can chill. Praises.
Pros:
Keeps track of the expiration date for your groceries
Creates menus with your recipes or from its collection
Has an expansive database of recipes
Generates grocery list for each recipe
Cons:
What are the benefits of meal-planning apps?
The benefits of meal planning apps range from cutting down on food costs to helping you fuel your body with foods that you like *and* that make you feel good. Because both can happen! And just when you don't have the mental capacity to think through what to make for a wholesome meal, meal planning apps take all the tiresome thought-work away.
Are meal-planning apps worth it?
Whatever your reasons for meal-planning, these apps will be a good tool on that journey. They’ll save you both time and money, especially since they create a daily, weekly, or monthly meal plan. You won’t have to stress about making a different plate of food each night, nor will you have to worry if your pantry has the right ingredients because—thanks to the grocery list features—you’ll have all the items for each recipe right in your kitchen.
How to choose the best meal-planning app:
From saving money, to reducing food waste, to transparent convenience, there are tons of reasons to choose a meal planning app. And whatever that reason is for you, will be your deciding factor. Ask yourself, "What do I want this app for?" before you start downloading, and you'll find the right pick. But trial and error is okay too! So feel free to play around a bit. You don't always strike on the first try.
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