cooking

Most popular cooking apps for busy parents

Discover a curated list of cooking apps that help busy parents save time while preparing delicious and nutritious meals for their family. These apps offer meal planning, easy recipes, and essential cooking tips to make the kitchen experience more efficient.

9 Apps
4.5 ★ Avg Rating
Cooking Category
Last updated December 2024
Mealime

Mealime

4.8 ★ Free

Mealime is an innovative meal planning app tailored for busy parents. By inputting your dietary preferences, Mealime generates meal plans and grocery lists to simplify shopping and cooking. With easy-to-cook recipes and step-by-step instructions, it’s an excellent solution for families looking to balance nutrition with time constraints.

Best for: Parents wanting quick, balanced meals

Pros:

  • Custom meal plans
  • Simple recipes
  • Grocery list

Cons:

  • Subscription required for some features
Available on
iOS Android
Visit Website
Yummly

Yummly

4.7 ★ Free

Yummly is a smart cooking app that offers a personalized recipe feed based on your tastes, dietary needs, and food preferences. It provides step-by-step guided recipes with video tutorials, allowing users to learn and cook efficiently. With features like meal planner, grocery list, and pantry manager, it simplifies the meal preparation process for busy parents.

Best for: Parents who want personalized recipes and efficient meal planning

Pros:

  • Personalized recipes
  • Meal planner
  • Grocery list integration

Cons:

  • In-app purchases required for premium features
Available on
iOS Android
Visit Website
Cozi Family Organizer

Cozi Family Organizer

4.6 ★ Free

Cozi Family Organizer is more than just a calendar app; it also features recipe planner and grocery list creation options. Busy parents can organize family meals by storing favorite recipes and scheduling them in the Cozi calendar. Its shared access lets the whole family stay updated on meal plans and grocery needs.

Best for: Families needing a complete organizational tool

Pros:

  • All-in-one family organizer
  • Shared access
  • Multiple features

Cons:

  • More focused on organization than cooking
Available on
iOS Android
Visit Website
Tasty

Tasty

4.6 ★ Free

Tasty is the ultimate cooking app with short, engaging video tutorials on a variety of recipes. Perfect for busy parents, Tasty allows you to quickly find recipes by ingredients, meal type, or dietary needs. The app’s user-friendly design and wide array of recipes make it a go-to tool for fast, delicious home-cooked meals.

Best for: Parents needing quick cooking inspiration

Pros:

  • Video tutorials
  • Easy navigation
  • Wide variety

Cons:

  • Limited advanced features
Available on
iOS Android
Visit Website
Paprika Recipe Manager

Paprika Recipe Manager

4.5 ★ $2.99

Paprika Recipe Manager is an app designed to organize your recipes, meal plans, and grocery lists in one place. It allows busy parents to easily capture, bookmark, and categorize recipes from the web or manually add their own. The app also includes a pantry feature to keep track of supplies, making meal preparation seamless and organized.

Best for: Parents who like to keep their recipes organized and accessible

Pros:

  • Recipe organization
  • Pantry tracker
  • Cross-device sync

Cons:

  • No free version
Available on
iOS Android
Visit Website
Forks Over Knives

Forks Over Knives

4.5 ★ $19.99

Forks Over Knives is an app based on the plant-based lifestyle, perfect for busy parents looking to integrate healthier eating habits. It provides over 400 whole-food, plant-based recipes that are easy to prepare, making it simpler to incorporate nutritious meals into everyday life. The app avoids processed foods, focusing on natural ingredients.

Best for: Parents interested in plant-based cooking for the family

Pros:

  • Healthy recipes
  • Plant-based focus
  • Easy to use

Cons:

  • Paid app required
Available on
iOS Android
Visit Website
Prepear

Prepear

4.4 ★ Free

Prepear is an all-in-one app designed for busy families to manage recipes, meal plans, and grocery shopping. It offers a vast library of user-generated recipes and tailored meal plans to simplify kitchen tasks. The app encourages home cooking with its interactive and easy-to-follow instructions, making it perfect for busy parents.

Best for: Parents who want a community-driven recipe app

Pros:

  • Large recipe database
  • Meal planning
  • Interactive cooking

Cons:

  • Subscription needed for some features
Available on
iOS Android
Visit Website
SideChef

SideChef

4.4 ★ Free

SideChef is a user-friendly app that provides step-by-step cooking support, ideal for busy parents needing guidance. It offers meal plans, voice-guided cooking, and grocery delivery integration to streamline the cooking process. With its comprehensive recipe library, SideChef is an excellent resource for families looking to try new dishes.

Best for: Parents wanting interactive cooking support

Pros:

  • Voice-guided cooking
  • Meal planning
  • Grocery delivery

Cons:

  • In-app purchases for premium content
Available on
iOS Android
Visit Website
Allrecipes Dinner Spinner

Allrecipes Dinner Spinner

4.3 ★ Free

Allrecipes Dinner Spinner offers a unique experience for busy parents looking for quick meal ideas. By taking into account the time available and ingredients on hand, it provides tailored recipe suggestions. Users can access community reviews, save favorites, and share their own recipes, creating a dynamic exchange of cooking ideas.

Best for: Parents seeking quick meal ideas with community input

Pros:

  • Community-driven suggestions
  • User reviews
  • Tailored ideas

Cons:

  • Contains ads
Available on
iOS Android
Visit Website

Comparison Overview

App Rating Price Best For
Mealime 4.8 ★ Free with subscription options Mealime is an innovative meal planning app tailored for busy parents.
Yummly 4.7 ★ Free with in-app purchases Yummly is a smart cooking app that offers a personalized recipe feed based on your tastes, dietary needs, and food preferences.
Cozi Family Organizer 4.6 ★ Free with premium options Cozi Family Organizer is more than just a calendar app; it also features recipe planner and grocery list creation options.
Tasty 4.6 ★ Free Tasty is the ultimate cooking app with short, engaging video tutorials on a variety of recipes.
Paprika Recipe Manager 4.5 ★ Paid Paprika Recipe Manager is an app designed to organize your recipes, meal plans, and grocery lists in one place.
Forks Over Knives 4.5 ★ Paid Forks Over Knives is an app based on the plant-based lifestyle, perfect for busy parents looking to integrate healthier eating habits.
Prepear 4.4 ★ Free with optional subscription Prepear is an all-in-one app designed for busy families to manage recipes, meal plans, and grocery shopping.
SideChef 4.4 ★ Free with in-app purchases SideChef is a user-friendly app that provides step-by-step cooking support, ideal for busy parents needing guidance.
Allrecipes Dinner Spinner 4.3 ★ Free with ads Allrecipes Dinner Spinner offers a unique experience for busy parents looking for quick meal ideas.

Quick Tips

  • Plan meals for the week in advance to save time.
  • Involve kids in cooking to make it a family activity.
  • Choose recipes with fewer ingredients for quick prep.
  • Use meal planning apps to organize grocery shopping.
  • Opt for batch cooking on weekends to prepare food in advance.

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