Let’s be honest: When it’s the end of the week, you’re tired, and your fridge looks empty, nine times out of 10 you’re going to order takeout. After all, who can come up with a recipe using just a few odds and ends? Well, it turns out there’s an app for that.
SuperCook, available on Apple, Android, and desktop computers, spits out recipes based on the ingredients you already have in your kitchen. You can add everything from pantry staples (the program assumes you have salt, pepper, and water) to more niche ingredients like anardana and barnyard millet. While the “zero-waste recipe generator” has been around for a few years, it recently went viral on Reddit’s budget-conscious r/Frugal subreddit.
“This is a real frugality hard-hitter that saves tons of cash for our family,” one longtime user wrote of the app.
@nutritionbykylie NOT a sponsored post, but just an appreciation post for a cool website/app I like #healthyeating #easyrecipes #cooking #LearnOnTikTok #TikTokPartner ♬ Pieces (Solo Piano Version) - Danilo Stankovic
The aggregator pulls recipes from across the web with the help of a customizable search engine, which lets you choose a main ingredient, filter by cuisine, add dietary restrictions, and more. Redditors say the app is particularly useful for trying new recipes and reducing food waste.
“Target items you know are about to expire and just scroll until something looks good,” one comment reads. “The suggested staples have also been a huge help while shopping to do more with cheaper ingredients.”
If your phone’s storage is full (or you just don’t like the idea of downloading yet another app), Redditors also suggested two unconventional recipe generators: Google and ChatGPT. Using either one is simple. In the search engine, simply enter a string of ingredients followed by the word “recipe.” The more intelligent ChatGPT can generate an entire recipe, provided you ask it the right questions.
Given that Americans waste between 30% and 40% of their food and inflation is hurting household budgets, any of these tools is preferable to tossing ingredients in the garbage.
Gallery: Easy Recipes to Cook With Kitchen Scraps When Times Are Tight