Recipe formatting best practices

Quick Answer: Recipe Cloud works best when each ingredient is on its own line in the form [quantity] [unit] [ingredient], with optional notes after a comma or in parentheses — for example, 1 cup 2% milk (or whole milk if preferred). Instructions should be added as one step per line; the app numbers steps for you. The same rules apply on the iPhone/iPad app and the web app when you create or edit a recipe.

Why formatting matters

Recipe Cloud parses each ingredient line to separate quantity, unit, ingredient name, and notes. That powers:

• Servings scaling (adjusting amounts up or down)
• Shopping lists and grocery integrations
• Cleaner recipe display (notes shown separately from the main line)

Directions are stored as a list of steps. Keeping ingredients and steps structured makes recipes easier to cook from, shop for, and edit later.

Recommended ingredient format

Use this pattern:

[quantity] [unit] [ingredient name][, notes or (notes)]

Good examples

Example	What Recipe Cloud understands
1 cup 2% milk (or whole milk if preferred)	1 cup · milk · note in parentheses
1 1/2 cups flour, sifted	1½ cups · flour · note after comma
2 tbsp olive oil	2 tbsp · olive oil
8–10 slices pepperoni	Range quantity · pepperoni
1/2 tsp kosher salt	Fraction quantity · tsp · salt
Salt and pepper to taste	Ingredient with no fixed amount

Notes and substitutions

• Parentheses at the end → treated as a note: (no salt), (or whole milk if preferred)
• Comma after the name → treated as a note: flour, sifted, onion, diced

Both styles work. Pick one and stay consistent within a recipe.

Quantities and units

The parser handles common kitchen formats:

• Fractions: 1/2, 3/4, ½
• Mixed numbers: 1 1/2 cups
• Ranges: 8–10 or 1-2
• Standard units: tsp, tbsp, cup, oz, lb, g, ml, and others (including some non-English abbreviations)

Put the number first, then the unit, then the ingredient name.

Ingredient section headers

Use headers when a recipe has parts (e.g. “Sauce” and “Toppings”).

When pasting a list, end the header line with a colon, then put ingredients on the lines below:

Pizza:

1 oz pizza dough

3/4 cup pizza sauce

1 cup mozzarella

Toppings:

8–10 slices pepperoni

In the editor:

• Web: tap + Group Title to add a section header
• iPhone/iPad: tap Add Header

You can also type a header line ending in : when pasting multiple lines at once.

One ingredient per line

Always use one ingredient per line. Do not combine multiple ingredients on a single line.

Avoid:

1 cup milk and 2 eggs

Prefer:

1 cup milk

2 eggs

Adding ingredients in the app

iPhone and iPad

When creating or editing a recipe (Add Ingredients):

1. Type one ingredient, then tap the orange + or submit the field.
2. Or paste a list — each line becomes its own ingredient.
3. Tap the ? next to Add Ingredients for in-app tips.

Web app

When adding or editing a recipe on recipecloudapp.com:

1. Type one ingredient and press Enter, or tap the orange +.
2. Or paste a list — each line is added separately.
3. Tap the ? next to Ingredients for the help panel.

Tip (web): If you paste from a checklist, Recipe Cloud strips common checkbox characters ([ ], ☐, etc.) from ingredient lines automatically.

Instructions (directions) best practices

Recipe Cloud stores instructions as numbered steps. You do not need to type step numbers — the app adds Step 1, Step 2, and so on when viewing the recipe.

Good practice

• One step per line when pasting or bulk-adding
• Write clear, actionable steps
• Keep each step focused on one action

Example to paste:

Preheat the oven to 375°F.

Roll out the dough on a floured surface.

Spread sauce evenly, leaving a 1-inch border.

Bake 12–15 minutes until the crust is golden.

Multi-line steps

A single step can span multiple lines if you edit it that way (useful for a longer explanation). When first adding steps, each line is treated as its own step. To combine lines into one step, edit the step after adding it.

What to avoid in step text

• Leading step numbers — if you paste 1. Preheat oven, the 1. stays in the text and the app still shows “Step 1” above it. Remove numbers when cleaning up imported recipes.
• Putting all directions in one paragraph — split into separate steps for easier cooking mode.

Adding instructions in the app

iPhone and iPad

Under Add Instructions (or Instructions when editing):

1. Type a single step and tap + to add it.
2. Paste multiple lines — each non-empty line becomes its own step.
3. If you paste steps separated by a blank line, each paragraph can become one step (with line breaks preserved inside that step).
4. With two or more steps, use Reorder to drag steps into the right order.

Web app

Under Instructions:

1. Type one or more lines in the add field.
2. Press ⌘ Enter (Mac) or Ctrl Enter (Windows), tap +, or click away from the field to add.
3. Paste a list — each line becomes its own step.
4. Click a step to edit, merge, or delete it. Drag to reorder.

Recipe notes vs. ingredient notes

• Ingredient notes (comma or parentheses on an ingredient line) are part of that ingredient — e.g. butter, softened.
• Recipe Notes (the separate Add Notes field) is for general tips: storage, make-ahead, serving suggestions, etc. It is not parsed as an ingredient or a cooking step.

Tips for imported recipes

Recipes saved from a URL, Instagram, YouTube, or TikTok are imported automatically, but formatting varies by source. After saving, a quick cleanup helps:

1. Ingredients: Confirm one item per line; fix combined lines; add section headers if needed.
2. Instructions: Split long blocks into separate steps; remove duplicate numbering (1., 2., etc.).
3. Units: Standardize abbreviations (tbsp vs tablespoon) if you want consistent scaling display.

Quick reference

	Ingredients	Instructions
Format	qty unit name (notes)	One step per line
Sections	Line ending with : or Add Header / Group Title	Not used
Bulk add	Paste one ingredient per line	Paste one step per line
Numbers	Put quantity at the start	App numbers steps — don’t prefix with 1. 2. 3.
Reorder	Available with 2+ items	Available with 2+ steps