Best of 2026
The 5 best AI cooking apps of 2026.
Five ways to use AI for cooking: dedicated recipe apps, meal-planning tools, and general assistants.
At a glance
| App | Best for | Pricing | Works on |
|---|---|---|---|
 FoodieOur pick | Saving your recipes and using AI to adapt them or get cooking help | Free + $4.17/mo (annual) or $4.99/mo | iOS, iPadOS |
 ChatGPT | Discussing ingredients, substitutions, and meal ideas | Free and paid plans with different usage limits | Web, iOS, Android, macOS, Windows |
 Notion | People who already organize their life in Notion | Free and paid plans; AI access depends on the plan | iOS, Android, macOS, Windows, Web |
 Samsung Food | A mix of recipe discovery, saved meals, and guided planning | Free core app; Samsung Food+ is a paid subscription | iOS, Android, Web |
 DishGen | Trying cooking ideas from ingredients or a written request | Free credits; paid plans increase limits and features | Web |
AI can suggest dinner, adapt written instructions, or help turn source material into a recipe. These are different jobs. A generated meal plan is not necessarily a calendar of saved recipes, and a useful chat is not necessarily a cookbook.
The ranking
All 5 options compared
Our pick
FOODIE: Recipe Saver
A cooking assistant that works with the recipes you save. Ask for ingredient swaps, ideas, or recipe changes, then keep your recipes, meal plan, and grocery list together in a thoughtfully designed place.
- Pricing
- Free + $4.17/mo (annual) or $4.99/mo
What works well
- Save recipes from social media, websites, photos, and text
- Organize cookbooks, plan meals, and add ingredients to a grocery list
- Follow cooking steps and ask the AI assistant for ideas or changes
- Thoughtful design, with visual ingredients and a clear cooking view
- Analyzes the cooking video itself, not just its transcript
Keep in mind
- Available for iPhone and iPad; check the app for current free limits
- Saving a recipe can sometimes take longer because Foodie analyzes the full video
Inside FOODIE: Recipe Saver
ChatGPT
A conversational assistant for cooking ideas
- Pricing
- Free and paid plans with different usage limits
What works well
- Can draft recipes, meal plans, and grocery lists in conversation
- Projects organize related chats, files, and instructions
- Can work with supplied text and images, subject to plan limits
Keep in mind
- Recipe organization and planning depend on the workflow you create
- Generated quantities, nutrition, and cooking advice need review
Notion
A flexible workspace you can shape into a recipe library
- Pricing
- Free and paid plans; AI access depends on the plan
What works well
- Pages and databases can hold recipes, tags, calendars, and shopping lists
- Notion AI can draft and translate text
- Flexible views and shared workspaces
Keep in mind
- Recipe fields and workflows need to be configured
- Serving calculations and cooking views need your own setup
Samsung Food
Recipe saving and planning, with optional Food+ tools
- Pricing
- Free core app; Samsung Food+ is a paid subscription
What works well
- Saved recipes, meal planning, and shopping lists
- Food+ includes personalized meal plans and AI recipe personalization
- Food+ offers guided cooking and an ad-free experience
Keep in mind
- AI personalization, tailored meal plans, and guided cooking require Food+ and are available in the mobile app only.
- Website saving does not establish support for extracting every social video
DishGen
AI recipe ideas and meal plans in a browser
- Pricing
- Free credits; paid plans increase limits and features
What works well
- Generates recipes and meal plans from written requests
- Lets you save recipes, plans, and favorites
- Supports follow-up requests to change an idea
Keep in mind
- Usage is limited by credits and plan
- Generated recipes and nutrition estimates require review
The bottom line
Which one should you pick?
Saving your recipes and using AI to adapt them or get cooking help
Discussing ingredients, substitutions, and meal ideas
People who already organize their life in Notion
A mix of recipe discovery, saved meals, and guided planning
Trying cooking ideas from ingredients or a written request
Methodology
How we compared
This comparison was updated on October 22, 2026 using the publishers’ websites, help pages, and store descriptions linked below each app. It compares documented features, not measured performance or a hands-on test score. Features, limits, and prices can vary by plan, region, and app version.
- 01Recipe sources
- We distinguish structured recipe imports from saving a link or manually copying text.
- 02Planning and cooking
- We identify calendars, grocery lists, and cooking tools, including paid-plan requirements.
- 03Devices and access
- We compare supported platforms and free-versus-paid access. Check the official page before subscribing.
Try it for yourself
Try our #1 pick free.
Start your own recipe collection with Foodie, free to download. Premium $4.17/month annually adds unlimited AI generation and full meal planning.
Try Foodie for freeCommon questions
Frequently asked.
01How should I choose a recipe app?
Try one recipe from a source you use often. Check the ingredients, edit a quantity, find it again, and try the cooking and shopping tools you need. Also check the devices used by your household.
02Are all of these apps free?
Check the publisher’s current plan and store listing before paying. Free allowances, regional prices, and included features can change.
03Can an imported recipe need corrections?
Yes. Missing amounts, incomplete instructions, private posts, or unavailable source material can affect an import. Review the saved result against the original before cooking.
04Why are Yummly and Mealime no longer recommended?
Yummly is discontinued and its website now redirects to KitchenAid recipes. Mealime announced that its service would end on October 21, 2026, with MealsHub as its successor. Neither is listed here as an active app to start using.
05Can ChatGPT replace a recipe app?
ChatGPT can draft recipes, plans, and shopping lists, and Projects can organize cooking conversations. A dedicated recipe app adds predefined recipe fields, serving controls, calendars, and cooking screens instead of asking you to build that workflow.
