Best apps to use up the food you buy (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
Two kinds of app help you use up what you buy. Trackers like NoWaste and Pantry Check remind you before food expires. Cooking apps turn what you have into a meal: Cooklist matches recipes to your pantry, and BigOven and Supercook find recipes for ingredients you pick. Fixins does both: it alerts you before scanned food expires and shows creator recipes that use what you have.
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
Reminders help when you forget what’s in the back of the fridge. Recipes help when you remember but don’t know what to make. Buying only what’s missing helps before the food ever comes home. Most people need one of the three more than the others.
The list
The apps, one by one
Fixins
Scan what you bought and each item gets an expiration estimate, with an alert before it expires. Filter creator recipes by ingredients expiring soon, and when a recipe needs more, only what’s missing goes on your list.
- 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
NoWaste
Fridge, freezer and pantry lists with reminders before food expires, filled by scanning barcodes, receipts or photos.
- Price
- Free, with an optional NoWaste Pro subscription at $6.99 a yearsource
- Scan your pantry with the camera
- Yes: scan barcodes, receipts or photos to add foodsource
- Where recipes come from
- Not stated on its listing. It has recipes and meal plans for planning your weeksource
- Missing ingredients
- A shopping list; no ordering stated on its listingsource
Pantry Check
A household inventory with barcode scanning, expiry reminders and shopping lists based on what you use.
- Price
- Free for up to 200 items, with optional paid storage planssource
- Scan your pantry with the camera
- Yes: a barcode scanner backed by a crowd-sourced product databasesource
- Where recipes come from
- Not stated on its listing. Its focus is tracking what you havesource
- Missing ingredients
- Shopping lists based on what you use and have, with prices and running totals; no ordering stated on its listingsource
Cooklist
Matches over 1 million recipes to the food in your pantry and lists only the ingredients 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
BigOven
Its free Use Up Leftovers tool suggests dishes for up to 3 ingredients you have.
- 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
Supercook
Free: pick the ingredients you have and it shows only recipes that use them, from over 11 million recipes.
- 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
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
Which apps remind me before food expires?
Fixins sends expiration alerts for the groceries you scan. NoWaste and Pantry Check both send reminders before food expires, and KitchenPal has expiry alerts too.
Which apps suggest recipes from leftovers?
BigOven’s Use Up Leftovers tool takes up to 3 ingredients. Supercook shows recipes that use the ingredients you pick. Fixins shows creator recipes from what you’ve scanned, and Cooklist matches recipes to your pantry.
Which ones are free?
Supercook is free on the App Store. NoWaste, Cooklist and BigOven are free, each with an optional paid plan, and Pantry Check is free for up to 200 items. Fixins is a subscription.
Keep reading
Related guides
- Best apps to cook with what you have (2026)Apps that show recipes you can make from what’s already in your kitchen: Fixins, Supercook, Cooklist, KitchenPal, BigOven and Samsung Food, compared.
- 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.
- 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.
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.