HelloFresh offers free recipe services on its app
A leading meal kit provider is directly providing recipe organization and discovery tools via its app.
HelloFresh is offering a new, free open-access feature on its app called Cookbook, which serves as an artificial intelligence-based centralized hub to organize recipes from any source – including videos from external sites such as TikTok, YouTube or Instagram – directly into the app.
The AI instantly extracts the information to create a structured recipe with step-by-step instructions that mirrors HelloFresh’s own cooking guides, complete with an organized ingredient list. Cookbook also digitizes physical media, enabling users to photograph handwritten recipe cards or notebooks or magazine clippings for the app to convert into the same structured, searchable format as videos.
Since launch in May 2026, HelloFresh says more than a million recipes have already been saved globally, in Cookbook. For the first time, non-paying customers can also save HelloFresh's own recipes.
A central feature within the Cookbook is the "Discover" tab, a curated in-app feed that surfaces recipes tailored to each user's tastes. It utilizes the same personalization engine that powers HelloFresh's weekly meal recommendations for subscribers, learning a user’s preferences over time.
The Discover tab integrates HelloFresh's own library of recipes alongside content from the broader food creator ecosystem. Creators can publish their recipes on the Discover tab for free and get a dedicated profile page with their bio, photo, links to their social channels, and full recipe collection. Over time, HelloFresh intends Discover to evolve into a personalized discovery engine, learning individual preferences to serve up individually targeted ideas.
Cookbook furthers HelloFresh’s efforts to AI-enable its enterprise. In December 2025, the company began utilizing an AI-equipped tool suite to speed up production and design elements of its recipe card process, shortening the timeline for producing recipe cards from several weeks or months to just a few hours.
HelloFresh recipe cards provide customers step-by-step instructions, ingredient breakdowns, and visuals to aid preparation of meals at home. By integrating generative AI into its creative process, HelloFresh can now automate much of the layout and visual design work.
The AI system supports the design and production workflow, while human chefs and food stylists remain responsible for recipe creation and editing recipe cards.
"HelloFresh has become the world's most trusted home-cooking platform – delivering fresh ingredients, expertly crafted recipes, and the confidence to cook well, week after week," said Assaf Ronen, group president & board member, HelloFresh SE. "Almost 15 years of delivering millions of meals has given us the world's largest proprietary recipe database and unparalleled insight into what people genuinely love to cook and eat. That foundation is what makes the Cookbook uniquely powerful – a natural extension of our meal kit service, and the basis for our vision of one seamless platform, from the first scroll of inspiration to the moment you plate your meal."
Founded in Germany in 2011, The HelloFresh Group operates eight brands in the U.S., U.K., Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Australia, Austria, Switzerland, Canada, New Zealand, Sweden, France, Denmark, Norway, Italy, Ireland and Spain.
