How to save a recipe from a YouTube video

YouTube's own ways to save a recipe

Built into the app, nothing to install. Each one keeps the video, not the recipe.

• Save it to Watch Later or a playlist. Tap More (the three dots) on the video, then Save. On a Short, tap More, then Save to playlist. A "Recipes to try" playlist is a fine start, but it's still a list of videos you'll have to rewatch.

• Download it. With YouTube Premium you can download a video to watch offline. The download stays inside the YouTube app, not your camera roll, and it's still a video.

• Read the transcript. On videos with captions, open the description and tap Show transcript. You get every spoken line as text, which is handy when the amounts are only said out loud. You can copy the lines you need, though it takes some picking through.

Check the description first

Tap the description to open it. Many cooking channels post the full recipe there, or link to it on their own website. If there's a link to a written recipe, save that link instead of the video: it usually has exact amounts, and the creator gets the visit. Prepful imports recipe websites too, see how to save recipes from any website. If there's no link, save the video itself, below.

Save it as a recipe: share directly from YouTube

The fastest way, ten seconds, no copying or pasting.

1. Open the video or Short with the recipe.

2. Tap Share below the video.

3. Choose Prepful from the share sheet.

4. Prepful reads the video and description to pull out the ingredients and steps.

First time on iPhone? If Prepful isn't in your share sheet yet, tap More, then Edit, then tap the green + next to Prepful. On Android, Prepful is already listed there, no setup needed.

Paste the link

Works the same everywhere, including on desktop.

1. Tap Share on the video, then Copy Link.

2. Open Prepful, then go to Recipes > Add > Import Recipe.

3. Paste the link and tap Import Recipe.

4. Review the recipe, then save it to your library.

Works for regular videos, Shorts, and short youtu.be links.

What Prepful keeps from a YouTube video

Everything lands as text you can read and search.

• The description and what's said in the video. Prepful reads the description, and when the video has a transcript, the spoken words too. Amounts that are only said out loud usually make it into the ingredient list.

• A link back to the channel. The saved recipe keeps the channel name and the original video as its source, so you can jump back to watch a tricky step and the creator still gets the view.

• Ingredients ready for your shopping list. Add the recipe to a day this week and its ingredients go onto your shopping list, scaled to the servings you planned.

When the recipe won't come through

Two fallbacks for videos that don't import cleanly.

• Copy the text, then paste it. Copy the recipe from the description or the transcript, then in Prepful go to Recipes > Add > Paste a Recipe. Prepful turns the pasted text into ingredients and steps.

• Upload a screenshot. If the ingredients flash up on screen, pause, take a screenshot, then go to Recipes > Add > Upload a Photo. More on that in how to save recipes from a photo.

Then actually cook it

A saved recipe only helps if it makes it onto a plate. Put it on a day this week and it joins your shopping list with everything else you planned. See how to meal plan with the recipes you've saved and how to make a grocery list from recipes.

Curious how Prepful compares to other recipe-saving apps? See Prepful vs ReciMe, the closest match on import platforms.