Save a Recipe from YouTube
Paste a YouTube video or Short. Many cooks link the written recipe in the description or a comment, so Only Recipes looks there first, then falls back to the video's own text.
Paste a youtube.com/watch, youtu.be or youtube.com/shorts link. YouTube imports need Premium.
Ready to import your recipe
Paste a URL in the field above and we'll extract ingredients, instructions, and more.
YouTube imports are a Premium feature
Video platforms (TikTok, Instagram, YouTube and Facebook) need Only Recipes Premium, which includes 10 minutes of video imports per month. Recipe websites and Pinterest pins import for free. See pricing
How to Save a Recipe from YouTube
- 1
Open the video
Find the recipe video or Short in the YouTube app or on youtube.com.
- 2
Copy the link
Tap Share under the video, then Copy link. This gives a youtu.be or youtube.com/shorts link that the importer understands.
- 3
Paste it above
Paste the link into the box at the top of this page and press Import.
- 4
Check it and save
Look over the ingredients and steps, then save the recipe to your collection.
On iPhone, the Only Recipes app adds itself to the share sheet, so you can send a link to it without copying and pasting. Get the app
What Only Recipes Does with Your YouTube Link
Regular videos: check the description
Only Recipes reads the video's description from YouTube. If it links to a recipe site Only Recipes already recognizes, or has a line like "Recipe: <link>", it imports the recipe from that page.
Regular videos: read the description
If no linked page works, an AI model writes the recipe from the description text. For regular videos the importer does not use a transcript of the video.
Shorts: check the creator's comment
For Shorts, it looks through the 10 most recent comment threads for a comment from the channel that posted the Short, and follows the first link in it.
Shorts: read the transcript
If that does not lead to a recipe, it gets an English transcript of the Short through Supadata, a video data service, and an AI model writes the recipe from it.
Good to Know
- Importing from YouTube needs Only Recipes Premium. Without it, the importer shows an upgrade prompt instead of a recipe.
- The importer understands youtube.com/watch, youtu.be and youtube.com/shorts links. Links copied from the mobile website (m.youtube.com), playlists and live stream pages are not recognized, so use Share, then Copy link.
- For regular videos, the recipe has to be in the description or on a page it links to. The importer does not listen to regular videos, so a recipe that is only spoken will not come through.
- When the text lists ingredients but never says the steps, the AI is told to write reasonable steps from the ingredients. Check those steps before you cook.
YouTube Import Questions
Does Only Recipes use the YouTube transcript?
Only for Shorts. For regular videos it reads the description and any recipe link in it. For Shorts it first follows a link in a comment from the channel, then falls back to an English transcript of the Short.
Is importing from YouTube free?
No. YouTube is one of the video platforms that need Only Recipes Premium, along with TikTok, Instagram and Facebook. Premium includes 10 minutes of video imports per month. Recipe websites and Pinterest pins import for free.
The cook links their recipe in the description. Will it use that?
Yes, if the link goes to a recipe site Only Recipes already recognizes, or sits on a line that starts with the word recipe and a colon. The recipe is then imported from that page, which usually has exact quantities.
Why did my YouTube import fail?
For regular videos, the usual reason is that the description has neither the recipe nor a working link to it. The link format matters too: use Share, then Copy link, rather than an m.youtube.com, playlist or live link. If an import fails, the importer offers to keep trying and to email you, or send a push notification, if it manages to save the recipe later.
Can I import a YouTube Short?
Yes. Paste the youtube.com/shorts link. The importer checks the channel's own comment for a recipe link first, then reads a transcript of the Short.