Must Have Recipes

Why Most Recipe Apps Fail—and How This One Delivers

The problem with most mobile recipe collections is that they either demand a subscription for basic functionality or overwhelm you with poorly organized, low-quality content. Must Have Recipes from Meredith Corporation—the same team behind the iconic Red Plaid cookbook series—takes a different approach. It offers over 500 professionally tested recipes, all backed by the same editorial rigor that made those spiral-bound books a kitchen staple. The free tier provides immediate, ad-supported access to a curated library that spans everything from quick weeknight dinners to elaborate grill menus and elegant salads. For users who find the ads intrusive, a "Turbo" upgrade removes them entirely and unlocks additional content. The app targets both novice cooks and experienced home chefs who need reliable, searchable recipes without the fluff.

What You Actually Get: A Features Breakdown

The core library is built around the Red Plaid editorial standards—recipes are categorized into mains, grilling favorites, salads, desserts, and slow-cooker dishes. Each entry includes a high-resolution photograph, which is more useful than you might expect: it helps you gauge plating and portion sizes before you start cooking. The search functionality is more granular than typical recipe apps, letting you filter by meal type, cooking method, or specific ingredients. You can also organize your saved recipes into custom groups, which is practical for planning themed dinners or weekly meal prep. The app supports ingredient substitutions and personal notes on any recipe, so you can adapt dishes to your dietary needs without losing the original instructions.

Key Features at a Glance

• 75 step-by-step video tutorials that demonstrate techniques like knife skills, sauce emulsification, and grill temperature control—not just recipe walkthroughs.
• Customizable shopping lists that let you create separate lists for different stores or events, with checkboxes to mark items as purchased.
• Sponsor-provided bonus recipes that rotate seasonally, giving you access to exclusive content from brands without additional app purchases.

Practical Tools for Daily Cooking

The shopping list feature deserves special mention: it’s not just a simple checklist. You can create multiple lists simultaneously—one for a trip to the supermarket, another for a specialty store, and a third for a holiday dinner. Each list syncs with your saved recipes, automatically pulling ingredients from any recipe you’ve selected. The personal notes system is equally robust: you can record cooking times, substitute ingredients, or even rate recipes on a scale you define. Sharing is handled through email and Facebook, which is limited but functional for most users. The app’s "extended chapters"—purchasable add-ons—allow you to expand your recipe library with themed collections like holiday baking or regional cuisines, though the free base library is already substantial.

Download Mobile App Now

Stop searching through cluttered websites and unreliable user reviews. Get instant access to 500+ professionally edited recipes, 75 video guides, and a shopping list tool that actually saves you time. Your next three meals are already planned—just download and start cooking.

Heads up: you’ll need an internet connection for video tutorials and shopping list syncing. The Turbo ad-free upgrade is optional; bonus sponsor recipes require a free account.