Ladle is an app I made for iPhone, iPad and Mac. It connects to your own Mealie, so you can search your recipes, cook from them step by step, plan the week and tick off your shopping list, in an app that feels at home on your phone.
Ladle is in testing now and coming to the App Store.
What you need
- A Mealie account, on Mealie 2.0 or later. Mealie is a free, open-source recipe manager. You can run it yourself (on a home server, a NAS or Home Assistant), pay a hosting service to run it for you, or use an account on someone else’s Mealie.
- An iPhone or iPad with iOS 17 or later, or a Mac with Apple silicon
No Mealie yet? Tap Look around with sample recipes on Ladle’s first screen to try everything with pretend recipes.
Quick start
- Connect. Open Ladle, type the address you open Mealie with in Safari (for example https://mealie.example.com) and tap Continue.
- Sign in. Use your Mealie email (or username) and password. If your Mealie uses single sign-on, tap Sign in with … instead. You can also paste an API token from your Mealie profile.
- Find a recipe. The Recipes tab has every recipe in your Mealie. Search, sort, or tap the filter button for favorites, categories and tags.
- Cook. Open a recipe, pick how many servings, and tap Start cooking. Tap a time under a step to start a timer.
- Plan and shop. Tap Plan it to put a recipe on your meal plan, or Add to list to put its ingredients on a shopping list. Tick items off on the Shopping tab as you go.
Help
Ladle can’t find my Mealie.
Use the same address you open Mealie with in Safari, including https:// if it has it. Check that the page opens in Safari on the same device. If your Mealie only works on your home Wi-Fi or over a VPN such as Tailscale, Ladle can only reach it there too.
Which versions of Mealie does Ladle work with?
Mealie 2.0 and later. If yours is older, ask whoever runs it to update.
Does Ladle keep my password?
No. Ladle uses your password once, to sign in. Then it makes an API token called “Ladle on iPhone” (or iPad, or Mac) in your Mealie profile and keeps only that, in your device’s Keychain. Signing out of Ladle deletes the token from Mealie.
How does single sign-on work?
If your Mealie uses single sign-on (for example Authentik, Authelia, Pocket ID or Keycloak), tap Sign in with … and sign in on your usual page. It needs a recent version of Mealie 3, and whoever runs your sign-in service needs to allow Ladle’s return address, ladle://oauth-callback, for Mealie. If it isn’t set up, use an API token instead: in Mealie, open your profile, then API Tokens, create one and paste it into Ladle.
How do I change the number of servings?
On a recipe, tap − or + next to Ingredients and the amounts change to match. Tap the number to go back to the recipe’s own amounts. If Mealie hasn’t parsed a recipe’s ingredients, Ladle changes the number at the start of each line.
What’s cook mode?
Tap Start cooking on a recipe. You see one step at a time in big text: swipe or tap Next. Tap Ingredients at the top to tick things off. Your screen stays on while cook mode is open; you can switch that off in Settings.
How do timers work?
When a step mentions a time, like “simmer for 15 minutes”, tap the timer button under it. The timer runs at the bottom of the screen, and if you allow Ladle’s notifications, your device lets you know when it’s done, even if Ladle is closed. For a range like “6 to 8 minutes”, the timer is set to the shorter time.
How do I save a recipe from a website?
In Safari, open the recipe, tap Share, then Ladle, then Save recipe. Your Mealie reads the page and saves the recipe. You can also tap + on the Recipes tab and paste a link. If Ladle isn’t in the share sheet, scroll to the end of the row of apps, tap More and switch it on.
How do I add a recipe to my shopping list?
Open the recipe and tap Add to list. Pick the list, untick anything you already have and tap Add. Mealie combines anything that’s already on the list. To add a whole week, open the Meal plan tab and tap the cart button at the top.
Does the shopping list update when someone else changes it?
Yes. While the list is open, Ladle checks your Mealie every few seconds, so items your household adds or ticks off show up.
Can I use Ladle without internet?
Recipes you’ve opened before are saved on your device, so they still open when your Mealie can’t be reached. Changes, like ticking off shopping items, need a connection to your Mealie.
How do I invite someone to my household?
Open Settings, tap Invite someone, then Make an invitation. Ask them to point their iPhone’s camera at the code and tap the Ladle button that appears (they need Ladle installed first). Ladle opens with your Mealie filled in, and they make their own account with their name, email and a password. No web address, no browser. You can also send the invitation in a message. To invite people, Mealie needs to let you invite; admins and household managers always can.
Someone in my household already has an account. How do they connect?
On Invite someone, open “Already have a Mealie account?” and show them that code. It opens Ladle with your Mealie’s address filled in, so they only type their email and password.
Can I choose who can do what?
If you manage your household, open Settings, then People in your household, and tap a person to choose whether they can manage the household, invite people or organize recipes. Settings → Household settings has the day your week starts on (the meal plan follows it) and how your recipes are shared.
Can I manage my Mealie from Ladle?
Yes, if you’re a Mealie admin. Settings has a Manage Mealie section where you can add and remove people, change their household and permissions, set a new password for someone who forgot theirs, unlock locked accounts, add, rename and remove households and groups, make, download and restore backups, and check your server’s version, email set-up and storage. Things set in Mealie’s own server configuration, like single sign-on, email and whether anyone can sign up, can’t be changed from an app.
How do I change my name, email or password?
Open Settings, then Your account. You stay signed in on your device after changing your password. If you sign in with single sign-on, your password is managed there instead.
Does Ladle work on iPad and Mac?
Yes. On a Mac with Apple silicon, the same app from the App Store runs in its own window.
Is Ladle made by Mealie?
No. It’s an independent app made by me. It isn’t endorsed by or affiliated with the Mealie project.
Contact
Something broken or confusing? Email me at jessicahart94@icloud.com.