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How to save recipes from Instagram

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To save a recipe from Instagram, share the Reel or post to a recipe app that writes it out, instead of only tapping the bookmark. In Groceree you tap the paper plane, pick Groceree, and a few seconds later you have the ingredients with quantities and the steps, ready to cook from and add to a shopping list.

Instagram’s Saved collections are where recipes go to be forgotten. There is no search by ingredient, no shopping list, and the recipe itself is often half in the caption and half in the video. Saving the post and being able to cook it later are two different things.

Three ways to keep an Instagram recipe

Save it to a collection

The bookmark under a post adds it to your Saved posts, optionally in a collection. You keep the post, but finding the right one weeks later means scrolling, and a deleted post or a private account takes the recipe with it.

Screenshot the caption

A screenshot keeps a written caption, but Reels often show the quantities on screen or say them out loud instead. The screenshot cannot be searched, scaled or turned into a shopping list.

Share it to Groceree

Share the Reel or post to Groceree and it reads the caption. When the caption is not the whole recipe, it watches the Reel too, listening and reading the text overlays, and writes out one clean recipe.

From an Instagram Reel to your shopping list

Five steps, and only the first two happen in Instagram.

  1. Open the Reel or post

    01

    Open the Reel or post

    Open the post itself rather than the profile. Reels, video posts and posts with the recipe written in the caption all work.

  2. Open the Reel or post

    Groceree iconGroceree
    02

    Share it to Groceree

    Tap the paper plane and pick Groceree. Not in the list on iPhone? Tap More and add it. On Android, scroll along to find it.

  3. The recipe is written out
    03

    The recipe is written out

    Within a minute the recipe opens in Groceree: ingredients with their quantities, numbered steps, servings and a link back to where it came from.

  4. Untick what you already have
    04

    Untick what you already have

    Tap Add on the recipe, choose a list and set the servings. Untick the salt and anything else already in the cupboard.

  5. It is on the shared list
    05

    It is on the shared list

    The rest lands on the list sorted by supermarket aisle, and everyone you share the list with sees it straight away.

What ends up in the saved recipe

  • The name of the dish, and the number of servings when the post gives it.
  • Every ingredient with its quantity and unit, grouped into parts such as the dough or the filling when the post splits them.
  • The method as numbered steps, and the cooking time when it is stated.
  • The post’s picture, kept as the recipe’s photo.
  • A “Watch on Instagram” link back to the post.
  • The recipe stays in the language it was written in, with a Translate button to show it in your app language. “Translate imported recipes” in Settings does that for every import.

Where it has limits

  • Only public posts can be read. Posts from private accounts, and stories, cannot be imported.
  • For a photo carousel, Groceree reads the caption and the first picture. A recipe that is only on the later slides, the “swipe for the recipe” kind, does not come through.
  • The profile bio is never opened, so “recipe in bio” posts give no recipe. A link written in the caption is followed.
  • A quantity the post never shows or says stays empty rather than guessed, so check the recipe before you cook.
  • A recipe in a language the app does not have is saved in English.

Questions about saving Instagram recipes

Is there an app that saves Instagram Reels as recipes?
Yes. Share a Reel to Groceree and it writes out the ingredients with quantities and the steps, even when the recipe is only shown or said in the video. Groceree is free on iPhone and Android, and saving recipes is part of the free app.
Can I save a recipe from a carousel post?
When the recipe is in the caption, yes. Groceree reads the caption and the first picture of a carousel, so a recipe that only appears on the later slides is not picked up.
Can I paste an Instagram link instead of sharing?
Yes. Copy the link, then in Groceree tap + on the Recipes tab, choose “Import from Instagram, TikTok, YouTube…” and paste it under “Or paste a link from a social network here”.
What if the recipe is in Spanish or Italian?
It is saved in the language it was written in, and the Translate button shows it in the language you use the app in, with the quantities unchanged.

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