Cook Smarts

Active

Country: United States (US)
Founded: 2014
Developer: Cook Smarts (Stirrup Labs)
Pricing: Freemium with subscription plans starting at monthly or annual rates
Open source: No
Platforms: iOS, Web

Indexes

Recipe Managers

Overview

Cook Smarts is a meal planning service that provides weekly menus with 4 dinner recipes, allowing users to customize by adding or removing meals from an archive of over 2,500 recipes. It generates automatic grocery lists organized by store section, supports one-click adjustments for vegetarian, paleo, or gluten-free versions, and scales servings. Recipes include video tutorials for cooking skills and optional weekend prep lists; it targets busy families and home cooks seeking efficient, adaptable meal planning.¹²³

Key Features

Flexible Meal Plans - Customize weekly plans by selecting from pre-made menus or 2,500+ recipe archive, add/remove meals, or build custom menus.
Auto-Generated Grocery Lists - Creates shopping lists sorted by store section based on selected meals and servings, printable, emailable, or viewable on phone.
Dietary Adaptations - One-click switch to vegetarian, paleo, or gluten-free versions for each recipe without extra fees.
Serving Size Adjustments - Scale recipes to any number of servings, automatically updating ingredients and grocery lists.
Video Tutorials - Each recipe includes videos teaching basic cooking skills.
Weekend Prep List - Optional auto-generated prep steps that adjust with meal changes and servings.
Recipe Search - Search recipes by ingredient for single meals or planning.

Pricing

Plan	Price	Includes
Monthly	$8/month	Access to meal plans, recipes, grocery lists, customizations (annual cheaper).
Annual	$50/year	Full access at lower cost per month, same features.

Platforms & Requirements

Available as a web service at cooksmarts.com and iOS app on Apple App Store (App ID 6717616148). No Android app identified for this service. Web version supports PDF export, email, Instacart integration; iOS enables mobile planning and shopping list check-off.

Integrations & Ecosystem

Instacart (add shopping list directly)
MyFitnessPal (one-click calorie tracking export)
PDF export for printing
Email grocery lists
Grocery list browser view for phone shopping

Alternatives

App	Difference
Mealime	Focuses on quick 30-minute recipes with app-first approach, less emphasis on video tutorials.
Eat This Much	Generates custom plans by calorie/macros, more automation but fewer video instructions.
Plan to Eat	Emphasizes importing personal recipes and long-term planning, subscription-based like Cook Smarts.
Pepperplate	Recipe organizer with clipping from web, strong on personal collections over weekly menus.

Reputation

Cook Smarts receives positive feedback for ease of use, flexibility in dietary swaps and servings, time-saving grocery lists, and helpful video tutorials, making it suitable for busy families and beginners.¹²³ Users appreciate the large recipe archive and affordability, especially annual plans, with dietitians recommending it for balanced, family-friendly meals.³ Some note it's best for those open to service-curated recipes rather than fully custom from scratch; no major criticisms in reviews, though picky eaters benefit from variety.⁴

Sources (8)