How to Write a Recipe: Tools, Template & Examples

To write a recipe, give it a clear title, a short headnote, the yield, prep and cook times, and any special equipment. Then list the ingredients in the order you use them, with exact measurements, and write the method as numbered steps that start with a verb and end with a cue the cook can see, smell or measure. Finish with notes on substitutions and storage, and test the recipe before you publish it.

That is the short answer. The rest of this guide covers each part of a recipe in detail, the style rules professional recipe writers follow, a complete annotated example, and what changes when the recipe is going on your website or online store. If you sell food, sauces, spices, coffee or baking ingredients, that last part matters most: a well-written recipe is one of the best ways to show customers what to do with your products.

What makes a good recipe?

A good recipe passes three tests. It is accurate, so the amounts and times produce the dish in the photo. It is clear, so a cook can follow it without stopping to guess. It is repeatable, so the result is the same the second and the tenth time.

Clarity is what home cooks notice first. In a survey of its users, Samsung Food found that 8 in 10 define a good recipe as one with easy-to-follow instructions, and nearly 9 in 10 read recipes on their phones while they cook. Your reader is probably standing at the stove with wet hands and a small screen. Write for that person.

The 9 parts of a recipe

Every complete recipe contains the same core information:

1. Recipe title

Name the dish the way people search for it, then add one useful detail. “Lemon Garlic Sheet-Pan Chicken” tells the reader what they are making and how; “Mom’s Famous Chicken” does not.

2. Headnote

Use two to four sentences to explain why the recipe works, when to serve it and anything the cook must know before starting.

3. Yield and serving size

State how much the recipe makes and, where useful, the portion size: “Serves 4 (about 1½ cups each)” or “Makes 24 cookies.”

4. Prep, cook and total time

Prep covers measuring and chopping, cook covers active heating, and total time includes resting, chilling, marinating or rising.

5. Equipment

List only equipment that could change the result, such as pan size, a stand mixer or an instant-read thermometer.

6. Ingredient list

Use exact amounts and list ingredients in the order they are used.

7. Method

Number the steps and include the heat, a realistic time range and a sign that each stage is done.

8. Notes

Add tested substitutions, make-ahead guidance, storage, reheating and scaling advice.

9. Nutrition

If included, calculate nutrition from the recipe as written and state the serving it covers.

Standard recipe format and the alternatives

Most recipes use the standard format: ingredients listed first, method below. It is the format readers expect online and the one Google's recipe markup is built around. There are three alternatives worth knowing:

For a blog or an online store, use the standard format. It is the easiest to scan on a phone, and it maps directly to the ingredient and instruction fields in recipe schema.

How to write the ingredient list

List ingredients in the order you use them

The cook reads from top to bottom while working. If butter goes in first, list it first. When several ingredients are added together, group them and order them from the largest amount to the smallest.

Use exact, consistent measurements

Write “2 tablespoons,” not “a splash.” Pick one measurement system and stay consistent, adding the other in parentheses when helpful: “1 cup (125 g) all-purpose flour.” Weights are especially useful for baking.

Put the prep in the right place

Word order changes the amount. “1 cup walnuts, chopped” means measure whole walnuts and then chop them. “1 cup chopped walnuts” means chop first and then measure.

Use “divided” for ingredients used twice

List the total once—“3 tablespoons olive oil, divided”—then give the amount used in each step. Avoid number collisions: write “1 (8-ounce) package,” not “1 8 ounce package.”

Use generic names, and group long lists

Use generic ingredient names unless a brand changes the result. Your own product is the useful exception: name it and link it. For recipes with several components, group ingredients under small subheadings.

How to write recipe instructions

Start each step with a verb

Recipes use the imperative: “Whisk the eggs,” “Preheat the oven,” “Fold in the berries.” It tells the cook what to do immediately.

Keep one main action per step

A step that asks the cook to brown meat, deglaze the pan, add vegetables and simmer is really four steps. Split it so readers can quickly find their place.

Give heat, time and a cue

Time alone is unreliable because ovens, pans and ingredients differ. Pair it with a visible, tactile or measurable sign:

Before: Cook the onions.

After: Cook over medium heat, stirring often, until soft and golden, 8 to 10 minutes.

Before: Bake until done.

After: Bake until the edges are set and the center jiggles slightly, 22 to 26 minutes.

Before: Add the flour and mix.

After: Stir with a spatula just until no dry streaks remain.

Use a thermometer for meat

For meat and poultry, give a safe internal temperature as well as time. Link to the USDA safe minimum internal temperature chart rather than relying on appearance alone.

Recipe writing style guide

Consistency makes recipes easier to read. Pick these rules once and apply them to every recipe you publish:

Recipe writing example

Here is a complete recipe written with every rule above. Use it as a model for your own.

Lemon Garlic Sheet-Pan Chicken with Potatoes

Bone-in thighs stay juicy at high heat, and the potatoes roast in the drippings. Everything cooks on one pan in under an hour, which makes this a good weeknight dinner.

Serves: 4 (1 thigh and about 1 cup potatoes each). Prep: 15 minutes. Cook: 40 minutes. Total: 55 minutes.

Equipment: rimmed half-sheet pan (18 by 13 inches), instant-read thermometer.

Ingredients

1½ pounds (680 g) baby potatoes, halved

3 tablespoons olive oil, divided

1¼ teaspoons kosher salt, divided

½ teaspoon black pepper, divided

4 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (about 2 pounds / 900 g)

4 garlic cloves, finely grated

1 lemon, zested and juiced (about 2 tablespoons juice)

1 teaspoon dried oregano

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Method

Heat the oven to 425°F (220°C) with a rack in the center.

Toss the potatoes with 1 tablespoon of the oil, ½ teaspoon of the salt and ¼ teaspoon of the pepper on the sheet pan. Turn them cut side down and roast for 10 minutes.

While the potatoes roast, stir the remaining 2 tablespoons oil, the garlic, lemon zest, oregano, and the remaining ¾ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper in a small bowl. Pat the chicken dry and rub the mixture all over it.

Push the potatoes to the edges of the pan and set the chicken skin side up in the center. Roast until the skin is deep golden and a thermometer in the thickest part of a thigh reads at least 165°F (74°C), 25 to 30 minutes.

Drizzle the lemon juice over the chicken and potatoes, let rest for 5 minutes, and scatter with parsley.

Notes: Boneless thighs work; start checking the temperature after 15 minutes. Refrigerate leftovers in a covered container for up to 4 days and reheat at 375°F (190°C) until hot.

How to create your own recipe and test it

Start from a base recipe

Cook a reliable base recipe as written, then change one variable at a time: the spice blend, main ingredient or cooking method. Changing five things at once makes it impossible to know which change helped.

Write while you cook

Measure everything and record pan size, heat level, actual timing and doneness cues as you go. A recipe rebuilt from memory will have gaps.

Test the written version

Cook the recipe at least twice while reading only your instructions. Then give it to someone who has never made it. Every hesitation reveals missing information.

Every listed ingredient appears in the method, and every ingredient in the method appears in the list.

Divided amounts add up to the listed total.

Every cooking step includes heat, a time range and a doneness cue.

The yield and timing match what the tester recorded.

Substitution and storage advice has been tested.

If you plan to sell the dish or a kit for it, RecipeKit’s free food cost calculator can turn ingredient pack prices into a cost per serving and a suggested price.

How to write a recipe for your website or online store

Everything above applies to a recipe in a notebook. A web recipe also has to communicate with search engines and, for an online store, help customers buy.

Why recipes have become a sales channel for food brands

Customers rarely want a jar of chili crisp for its own sake. They want the noodles they will make with it. A recipe answers “What do I do with this?” while showing the product in a useful context. It can attract people searching for the dish, support product pages and give existing customers a reason to reorder.

Across RecipeKit’s merchant data, stores that actually publish recipes are also far more likely to remain active users. In a cohort of 1,264 shops installed between January 2024 and April 2026, stores that published at least one recipe stayed with RecipeKit at rates of 71% to 90%, compared with about 13% for stores that never published. This is a product-adoption pattern, not proof that recipes directly caused sales.

The opportunity is still wide open. In a database of 43,773 online food brands, 20,498 published no recipes and another 11,794 published recipes without Recipe structured data.

Add recipe schema

Recipe schema is JSON-LD that identifies the recipe name, image, yield, times, ingredients, instructions and nutrition for search engines. Complete markup can make a page eligible for rich results. If you write the nine parts above, you already have the information needed.

Use photos that do the work

Lead with a clear finished-dish image and add process photos where a beginner could get stuck. Use descriptive filenames, useful crops and alt text that explains what the image shows.

Make recipes shoppable

Link ingredients you sell to their product pages and, where possible, let readers add them to the cart from the recipe. The links should help rather than interrupt: the recipe still needs to work for someone who does not buy.

How RecipeKit makes recipe writing faster and better

RecipeKit turns the parts of a good recipe into a guided editor, so writers do not have to remember every field or format a Shopify blog post by hand. Add the title, author, description, yield, timings, ingredients, equipment and directions in one place, or import a recipe from a URL, photo, PDF or pasted text and edit it before publishing.

Ingredients, equipment and directions can be reordered; long recipes can be divided into groups; images can be added to individual steps; and SEO-friendly step names make the method easier to scan. RecipeKit can also generate nutrition information, add FAQs, set image alt text and attach video.

When published, the recipe appears as a recipe card on the Shopify blog with structured data added automatically. Product links and Add to Cart buttons make it shoppable, while share images and analytics help the same recipe work across search, social media and the store.

Publish your next shoppable recipe on Shopify with RecipeKit.

Useful free RecipeKit tools

Recipe schema generator: create JSON-LD for an existing recipe page.

Recipe SEO audit: see which fields are missing for rich results.

Recipe nutrition calculator: estimate calories and nutrition per serving.

Recipe card template: create a printable card in several sizes and designs.

Free recipe templates

A template keeps every recipe in the same order, so you never forget the yield or the cook time. You have three options:

Printable recipe cards: the free RecipeKit recipe card template gives you six designs in 4×6, 3×5, Letter and A4 sizes.

Canva recipe templates: RecipeKit's library of 30 free Canva recipe templates includes 4×6 and 3×5 recipe cards, an A6 photo card, printable recipe pages, Instagram carousels and 3:4 social recipe cards. Open one in Canva, save your own copy and swap in your recipe.

A plain-text template: copy the outline below into any document or notes app.

Plain-text recipe template

Title:

Headnote (2 to 4 sentences):

Serves / yield and serving size:

Prep time / cook time / total time:

Equipment:

Ingredients (in order of use, with amounts):

Method (numbered steps, each with heat, time and a doneness cue):

Notes (substitutions, make-ahead, storage):

Nutrition per serving (optional):

Source or credit (if adapted):

How to make a recipe card

A recipe card is the same recipe condensed to fit one card. Keep the title, yield, times, ingredients and method; cut the headnote to one line or drop it. Use a font size you can read from arm's length on the counter, at least 10 point for a 4×6 card, and leave space between steps. If you design yours in Canva, start from a template in the right size and test print at 100% scale. An A6 card is not the same size as a 4×6.

Crediting recipes and copyright

Two questions come up often: can you copyright a recipe, and when does an adapted recipe become yours? According to the US Copyright Office, a mere listing of ingredients or a simple set of directions cannot be copyrighted. The creative writing around a recipe can be, such as a headnote, an explanation of technique, and your photographs.

Copyright aside, credit is good practice. If you changed a few details, write "adapted from" and name the source. If you changed the method or most of the ingredients, "inspired by" is fair. Either way, write the steps in your own words and use your own photos. This is general information, not legal advice.

Special cases

Writing recipes for a cookbook

Cookbook recipes follow the same rules, with more attention to consistency across the book. Publishers expect a style sheet: one way of writing temperatures, fractions and ingredient names, applied to every page. Test every recipe again in a kitchen other than your own, and keep headnotes to a similar length so the layout works.

Recipe writing for kids and students

For a school assignment, a recipe has five parts: a title, what it makes, a list of ingredients, numbered steps that start with bossy verbs ("mix," "pour," "bake"), and the finished result. Words like "first," "next" and "finally" help show the order.

Frequently asked questions

What are the 3 recipe formats?

The standard format lists ingredients first and the method below. The action format combines ingredients and steps in blocks. The narrative format writes the recipe as a paragraph. Most websites and cookbooks use the standard format.

What does yield mean in a recipe?

Yield is the amount a recipe makes, given as servings ("serves 4"), pieces ("makes 24 cookies") or volume ("makes 2 quarts"). A good recipe gives the serving size too.

Should ingredients be listed by weight or volume?

For baking, weight is more accurate. For everyday cooking, US readers expect cups and spoons. Many recipe writers give both: "1 cup (125 g) flour."

How many times should you test a recipe?

At least twice yourself from the written version, and once by someone who has not made it before.

Can you copyright a recipe?

Not the ingredient list or basic directions, according to the US Copyright Office. The creative writing and photographs that go with a recipe can be protected.

How do I make a recipe template?

Write the 9 parts of a recipe as headings in a document and save it, or use a ready-made template such as RecipeKit's free recipe card template or its Canva recipe templates.

How to write a recipe: the short version

A recipe is a set of instructions for someone who is not in the kitchen with you. Give them the yield, exact amounts in the order they will need them, and steps that say what to do, how hot, how long and what done looks like. Then test it. If the recipe is going on your store, add schema, link your products, and let it bring in customers. Download a free recipe card template to write your first one, and when you are ready to publish, try RecipeKit on your Shopify store.