Actually, there are many. In addition to helping users save time and money, you’ll find a wide array of meal planning apps, each designed to meet your specific needs—from learning new recipes and reducing food waste to promoting healthier eating habits designed to help you lose weight. Here are the best meal planning apps available today.
Best Meal Planning Apps of 2022
Best Overall: Paprika Best for Vegetarians: Forks Over Knives Best Free Option: Yummly Best for Families: Cozi Best for Fitness Goals: PlateJoy Best for Shopping Lists: Mealime Best for Easy Recipes: MealPrepPro
ProsQuick and easy access to materialsEasy download and sync capabilities ConsExtensive user’s guide can seem overwhelmingNo chance to try before you buy the app Paprika feels like a digital version of an old-school family recipe box. Whether you want to build an entire database of carb-rich comfort foods or recipes that cater to a paleo diet, how you customize the app is entirely up to you. There aren’t any built-in recipes in the app, but the platform’s built-in browser allows you to easily link to numerous popular food and recipe sites, including Serious Eats, Cook’s Illustrated, Epicurious, and The New York Times. You can also add your own personal recipes. The grocery list and pantry functions make it easy to organize your shopping list and keep track of ingredients you already have on hand. Since the data is stored locally, you don’t need Wi-Fi to access recipes. Paprika has more than 34,000 reviews in Apple’s App Store and sports a rating of 4.9/5 stars. Unlike the other meal planning apps in this roundup, Paprika, which is created by Seattle-based Hindsight Labs, isn’t a subscription. Instead, you pay a one-time download fee, which varies by device ($4.99 iOS; $2.99 Android; $29.99 MacOS; $29.99 Windows). One downside to this setup is that if you want to have the app on more than one platform, you have to buy each separately. However, if you decide to get the app for multiple devices, Paprika’s cloud service allows you to seamlessly sync your data across your desktop and mobile platforms. ConsExpensiveOnly connects to one grocery shopping service Tied to the 2011 documentary and a New York Times bestselling book “Forks Over Knives,” this meal planning app focuses on a whole-food, plant-based diet. Loading up on fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, tubers, and other starchy vegetables is encouraged. Nuts, seeds, tofu, plant-based milk, tofu and tempeh, and whole-grain bread can be enjoyed in moderation. A plant-based diet is the goal, but the movement recommends minimizing rather than altogether forbidding meat, poultry, and seafood, along with eggs, dairy, oils, and other more processed foods like refined sweeteners, white rice, pasta, and bread. The app features hundreds of plant-based recipes designed by professional chefs that are meant to be prepared in 35 minutes or less. Each week, the app sends you a customized meal plan and recipes; all you have to do is shop, prep, cook, and eat. More than a recipe resource and meal planner, Forks Over Knives feels like a mission-driven food community. Subscriptions are on the pricey side, at $119.99 per year or $19.99 per month, so this app, which is available for iOS and Android, may not be for everyone. If you want to give it a spin before committing, there’s a free two-week trial offered. ProsHuge selection of recipesDiverse chef voicesStep-by-step video instructions for some recipes ConsOccasionally clunky shopping interface With Yummly, you can personalize your recipes based on cooking goals (learn new skills, try new cuisines, save time and money, or eat healthy), skill range (beginning, intermediate, and advanced), or dietary preferences (keto, vegetarian, low FODMAP, etc.). The step-by-step guided video instructions with some of the recipes are a nice touch. Yummly also enables you to schedule meals and sync directly onto your personal calendar rather than in the app. The shopping feature is set up so you can order ingredients instantly via grocery delivery services such as Instacart. Owned by kitchen appliance giant Whirlpool, Yummly also lets you link smart appliances, such as Yummly’s very own smart thermometer, to the app via the My Connected Kitchen function. The Virtual Pantry feature enables you to keep a digital running tab on all the ingredients you have on hand and search for recipes that use up those items. The feature will even remind you when an ingredient is running low or about to expire. One of the biggest standout features in the premium version is Yummly’s diverse collection of recipes and instructional videos from featured chefs, including Carla Hall, the Potash Twins, Judy Joo, and others. The basic version of the app, which boasts over 2 million recipes, is free. Yummly Pro, which includes even more bells and whistles, is $4.99 per month. If you want to test out the upgraded version before committing, Yummly offers a free 14-day trial. Yummly is available on iOS and Android. ProsHelpful family organizing featuresThe app’s “keep screen on” function ConsLimited number of recipes within the appClunky to transfer ingredients to grocery lists The fact that the app helps you organize more than your cooking schedule makes it feel like you’re getting your money’s worth. Recipe-wise, the app is a bit bare-bones, but it’s easy enough to add recipes from websites and even upload your own to the recipe box. One especially nice feature is the “keep screen on” function, which ensures your device’s screen doesn’t go dark while you’re cooking. ProsNutritionist-designed menusUser-friendly and intuitiveInstagram-worthy recipe photos ConsExpensive Unlike some of the other diet-focused meal planning apps we looked at, this one doesn’t feel like you’re getting stuck with humdrum diet food. The recipes feel fresh and modern, and the photos of each dish are so attractive that it feels like you’re scrolling through Instagram. The app itself is user-friendly and intuitive. Available as a one-month ($12.99), six-month ($69), or annual subscription ($99), PlateJoy is one of the pricier meal planning apps which you can test out first with a 10-day free trial. Meal plans are designed by nutritionists and customizable to suit your diet preferences and needs. There are options for low-carb, Mediterranean, dairy-free, keto, gluten-free, and plant-based diets. Nutritional information is provided for each recipe. To help you even further along your healthy eating journey, the subscription even gives you access to coaches who are registered dieticians/nutritionists. Available on iOS and Android, you can also connect the PlateJoy app to your Fitbit. ProsEasy, straightforward shopping featuresFood waste savings tracker ConsFree version has limited features The recipes featured on Mealime are created by chefs and registered dieticians, and you can choose the menu type you want to follow, from classic and flexitarian to keto, vegan, and paleo options. Overall, the recipes are approachable and healthy, albeit a bit basic. You can search recipes by diet, cuisine type, price per serving, and even calories (in the premium version), and build meal plans to reduce food waste, save money on groceries, and use up what’s in your pantry. One especially cool feature is the app’s food waste savings tracker, which keeps tabs on how much food waste you prevent by using Mealime’s recipes and meal planning. Available on iOS and Android, the basic version of the app is free, but you can upgrade to a premium version for $2.99 per month. With the upgraded version you get exclusive recipes, the ability to import your own recipes, a nutrition tracker, and advanced recipe filters (by nutrients, grocery price, and cook time), among other extras. ProsBuilt-in water tracker for monitoring hydrationEmphasis on prep ahead meals ConsRecipes feel a bit tameAdding your own recipes is slightly convoluted MealPrepPro is a subscription-based meal planning app. Its health-focused recipes are straightforward and uncomplicated, hopping on trends like grain bowls, chia pudding, and sheet-pan meals. Choose the kind of plan you want to follow—from high protein, Mediterannean, low-carb, keto, vegan, vegetarian, and pescatarian—and the app creates a weekly menu plan for you. There’s also a pantry staples-focused plan that helps you create budget-friendly meals and reduce the number of trips you make to the grocery store. If you don’t want to adhere to a specific diet, there’s a flexible plan that features recipes from all categories. Though it takes a few clicks to find, you can add your own recipes to the planner by tapping on the swap button for a particular recipe. The prep ahead features of the app are especially handy. You can set the level of prep you’d like to do, from no prep to full prep. Recipes note nutrition info, prep time required, and if the dish is freezable. When you’re ready to grocery shop, you can either take your list to the store or use the app to link directly to Instacart. The water consumption tracker is another helpful feature. The app is currently only available for iOS, but the website notes that the company is currently beta testing an Android version. The app syncs to Apple Health and Apple Watch. It costs $8.99 per month or $49.99 per year, and a free seven-day trial is available.
How Do Meal Planning Apps Work?
From selecting recipes to generating shopping lists and creating menu calendars, meal planning apps help you streamline the process of getting meals on the table. Some apps focus on dietary needs and fitness goals, while others can help you track ingredients you have in your pantry and offer video tutorials to guide you through the cooking process. The options are almost endless.
Can Using a Meal Planning App Help Save Money?
Meal planning and meal planning apps can help you wean yourself off pricey food delivery services. MealPrepPro, Yummly, Mealime, and Paprika have features that encourage you to check what’s in your pantry before you shop, so you don’t end up buying an ingredient you already have. By determining the recipes you want to cook for the week and buying only those ingredients, you can minimize impulse purchases. Other savings from meal planning include more time in your schedule, less food waste, and less stress.
How Much Do Meal Planning Apps Cost?
Some meal planning apps have free options, with premium versions of the app available for a monthly or annual subscription fee; others require a one-time app purchase.
Can I Create a Personalized Meal Plan With a Meal Planning App?
Many of the apps we researched are highly customizable. With Paprika, you can build your recipe database and meal schedule from the ground up. Other services like Forks Over Knives send you a weekly menu, which you can customize by swapping out recipes.
Methodology
To sift through the numerous meal planning apps on the market, we started by targeting those that had at least several hundred reviews and ranked 4.5 stars or higher in the app store. As much as possible, we tried to include apps that were available across multiple platforms (IOS, Android, and desktop applications). We also featured meal planning apps that might meet a variety of needs for different users, from vegetarian-friendly apps to those that provide guidance for health and fitness goals.
