Scan a recipe and start cooking
Point your camera at any recipe — cookbook, magazine, recipe card, printout. Cooking Timers reads the ingredients and cook times and builds timers for you.
What the scanner does
- • Extracts the ingredient list, including quantities and units.
- • Detects cook times and turns them into timers you can start with one tap.
- • Preserves the original instructions so you can follow them step by step.
- • Saves to your Libraries so the recipe is one tap away next time.
How to scan a recipe
- 1. Open the scanner. Tap Scan recipe in the app and point your camera at the page.
- 2. Capture. Snap a photo of the recipe, cookbook page, or printout.
- 3. Auto-detect. Cooking Timers extracts ingredients, instructions, and cook times automatically.
- 4. Save and cook. Save to your library, edit anything, and start timers with one tap.
Common questions
- What can I scan?
- Recipes from cookbooks, magazines, printouts, recipe cards, and package instructions. Handwritten recipes can be scanned too.
- What if the scan misses something?
- Every scanned recipe is editable. You can adjust ingredients, instructions, and timers, and the app can help reconstruct missing ingredients and steps when possible.
- Do I need a subscription to scan recipes?
- Yes. Recipe scanning is part of the Libraries plan — $2.99/month or $24.99/year. Timers are always free.
Related: Save family recipes · Run multiple timers · Help & FAQ