Best apps to cook with what you have (2026)
We make Fixins, so we’ve put it first. Every other app here is described as fairly as we can, from its own website or app store listing.
Updated
These apps start from the food you already have and show what you can make with it. They differ in how you tell them what you have and where their recipes come from. Fixins scans your groceries with the iPhone camera and shows recipes from creators. Supercook searches recipes from other websites by the ingredients you pick, for free. Cooklist and KitchenPal keep a pantry and match recipes to it, and BigOven and Samsung Food search by ingredient inside larger recipe apps.
See what your own kitchen can make.
On iPhone. Scan your kitchen, see what you can cook tonight.
First
The short version
What to look for
First, how the app learns what you have: typing, voice, barcode scanning, the camera, or your store loyalty card. Second, where the recipes come from. Third, what happens when a recipe needs one more ingredient. The list below answers all three for each app, from its own pages.
The list
The apps, one by one
Fixins
Point your iPhone camera at your groceries and they go into your pantry. Fixins shows creator recipes you can cook tonight, and anything missing goes on a list grouped by aisle that one tap sends to Instacart checkout.
- Where it runs
- iPhone, iOS 26 or later (United States and Canada)source
- Price
- Subscriptionsource
- Scan your pantry with the camera
- Yes: point the camera at a grocery item or barcode and it goes into your pantry with an expiration estimate; Fixins sends expiration alertssource 1source 2
- Where recipes come from
- Recipes from creators, plus your own handwritten or cookbook recipessource 1source 2
- Missing ingredients
- A grocery list of what you're missing, grouped by aisle; one tap sends it to Instacart checkoutsource
Supercook
Free on the web, iPhone and Android: pick your ingredients from a list or say them out loud, and it shows recipes from over 11 million on 18,000 recipe websites that use them.
- Price
- Free on the App Store; no paid plan stated on its listingsource
- Scan your pantry with the camera
- Not stated on its listing. You pick ingredients from a list of 2,000+ or say them out loudsource
- Where recipes come from
- Over 11 million recipes from 18,000 recipe websites, per its listingsource
- Missing ingredients
- Not stated on its listing. It shows recipes that use the ingredients you already havesource
Cooklist
Fills your pantry from linked grocery loyalty cards and a barcode scanner, matches over 1 million recipes to it, and lists only what you’re missing.
- Price
- Free, with an optional paid plan, Cooklist Prosource
- Scan your pantry with the camera
- Yes: a barcode scanner, plus purchases imported from linked grocery loyalty cardssource
- Where recipes come from
- Over 1 million recipes matched to the food in your pantrysource
- Missing ingredients
- A grocery list of only the ingredients you’re missing, sorted by aisle; no ordering stated on its listingsource
KitchenPal
A pantry with barcode scanning and expiry alerts, with recipe ideas matched to what’s in it and a grocery list your household shares.
- Price
- Free, with an optional paid plan, KitchenPal Premiumsource
- Scan your pantry with the camera
- Yes: a barcode scanner, with a library of 4 million+ products, and expiry alertssource
- Where recipes come from
- Recipe ideas searched by ingredient and matched to your pantrysource
- Missing ingredients
- Shared grocery lists with suggestions from your pantry; no ordering stated on its listingsource
BigOven
Its free Use Up Leftovers tool takes up to 3 ingredients and suggests dishes from over 1,000,000 recipes.
- Price
- Free, with an optional paid plan, BigOven Prosource
- Scan your pantry with the camera
- Not stated on its listing. Its free Use Up Leftovers tool takes up to 3 ingredients you havesource
- Where recipes come from
- A library of over 1,000,000 recipes, plus recipes you clip from websites or photograph from handwritten cardssource
- Missing ingredients
- A shared grocery list sorted by department or recipe; no ordering or delivery stated on its listingsource
Samsung Food
A free planner whose search takes the ingredients you have, across over 240,000 public recipes.
- Price
- Free, with an optional paid plan, Samsung Food+ ($6.99 a month or $59.99 a year on the App Store)source
- Scan your pantry with the camera
- Not stated on its listing. Its paid plan lists pantry managementsource
- Where recipes come from
- Over 240,000 public recipes, plus recipes you save from any websitesource
- Missing ingredients
- Shared shopping lists, with delivery from 23 integrated retailers in 4 regionssource
Trying Fixins
Getting started with Fixins
Get Fixins on your iPhone
Fixins needs iOS 26 or later and is available in the United States and Canada.
Scan your groceries
Point the camera at a grocery item or its barcode and it goes into your digital pantry.
Add your own recipes
The same scanner adds your own handwritten or cookbook recipes, like a family recipe card or a page from a cookbook you love.
Cook tonight
See the creator recipes you can make with what you already have. Anything missing goes on your grocery list, grouped by aisle, and one tap sends it to Instacart checkout.
Questions
Questions people ask
What’s a free app to cook with what you have?
Supercook is free on the App Store. BigOven, Cooklist, KitchenPal and Samsung Food are free, each with an optional paid plan. Fixins is a subscription.
Is there an app that scans my fridge and pantry?
Fixins scans grocery items and barcodes with the iPhone camera. Cooklist and KitchenPal have barcode scanners, and Cooklist can also import purchases from linked grocery loyalty cards.
Which apps add only the missing ingredients to a grocery list?
Fixins and Cooklist both list only what you’re missing for the recipes you pick, sorted by aisle. Fixins also sends the list to Instacart checkout.
Which ones work on Android?
Supercook, Cooklist, KitchenPal, BigOven and Samsung Food all run on Android. Fixins runs on iPhone with iOS 26 or later, in the United States and Canada.
Keep reading
Related guides
- Supercook alternatives (2026)Supercook alternatives that also start from what you have: Fixins, Cooklist, KitchenPal, BigOven and Samsung Food, each described from its own page.
- Best pantry inventory apps with a barcode scanner (2026)Pantry inventory apps that scan barcodes: Fixins, Pantry Check, NoWaste, KitchenPal and Cooklist, with platforms, prices and recipe features for each.
- Best apps to use up the food you buy (2026)Apps to use up groceries and reduce food waste at home: Fixins, NoWaste, Pantry Check, Cooklist, BigOven and Supercook, described from their own pages.
- Fixins vs SupercookFixins vs Supercook: Supercook searches recipes from other websites by ingredient; Fixins scans your groceries and shows creator recipes. Sources linked.
Cook from what you have
Facts checked on October 21, 2026. Each fact links to the page it came from. “Not stated on its listing” means that page doesn’t say.
Cook a creator’s recipe tonight.
On iPhone. Scan your kitchen, see what you can cook tonight.