How to save recipes from YouTube

Save the video to a recipe playlist

1. Open the cooking video you want to keep and choose Save.
2. Choose Watch later for a quick bookmark, or save it to a playlist for recipes.
3. If you need a separate playlist, make one with a name you will recognize, such as Recipes or Dinners to try.
4. When you return to cook, open the saved video and check its description for the ingredients and full method.

You can save Shorts to playlists too. A playlist keeps cooking videos together, but you still need to find the recipe inside each one. It does not extract ingredient amounts or turn the demonstration into written steps.

Look for the written recipe first

Expand the description using Show more, then look for an ingredient list or a link to the creator's website. Check the pinned comment as well. The full recipe may be there even if the video only mentions a few amounts.

If there is a website link, open it and look for the full instructions. You may find details that are hard to catch on camera, such as how far ahead you can prepare something. Keep the website link and video link together in your note so you can read the method and watch the technique.

Chapters can help you jump to the ingredient list or the part you need to rewatch. A chapter is useful for finding a moment in the video; you still need to write down any amounts you want in your saved recipe.

Use the transcript for spoken amounts

To get a recipe from a YouTube video with spoken instructions, look for Show transcript in the description. If a transcript is available, use it to find the passages with amounts and cooking directions.

1. Copy the relevant transcript passages into Notes, alongside the video title, creator's name and original link.
2. Watch those parts of the video again. Compare the transcript with what the cook says and any text on screen, especially ingredient names and amounts.
3. Rewrite the passages as an ingredient list and steps in cooking order. Leave out chat that does not affect the recipe.
4. Mark anything missing. Check the description or creator's written recipe before filling in an amount you could not hear clearly.

If there is no usable transcript, pause the video to write the details yourself. Screenshots help with on-screen lists, but a single written note is easier to follow than a collection of frames.

Pinchery does not import YouTube videos yet

YouTube and Shorts are coming soon. Pinchery cannot turn a YouTube video into a recipe yet. If you share a YouTube link to it, it keeps the link and tells you when YouTube works; that does not produce ingredients and steps today.

Pinchery is an iPhone app that is not on the App Store yet. A TestFlight beta opens soon. Once you have access, recipe websites and pasted recipe text give you two ways to work with a recipe you found on YouTube:

1. If the description links to the creator's recipe website, open that page. Use the iOS share sheet to share the recipe website link to Pinchery.
2. If the description contains the written recipe, copy that recipe text and paste it into Pinchery instead.

These methods use the website or text you supply. They do not read the YouTube video, so include the written ingredients and instructions rather than only the video title. Keep the creator's name and the YouTube link with your own notes too.

Check the recipe before shopping

Read through your note once without playing the video. Check that every ingredient has an amount or a clear instruction such as salt to taste. Confirm the serving count and any preparation you need to do before cooking.

If you are feeding fewer people, the recipe scaler can adjust a copied ingredient list. Keep the creator's cooking cues in your steps: a smaller batch does not automatically mean you should halve the cooking time.

Watch and credit the original cook

Watch the video on YouTube, where your viewing can support the creator. Keep their name and a link to the original beside your saved recipe. When someone asks where dinner came from, send them to the cook's video or written recipe.

For other platforms, see how to save recipes from TikTok or save Instagram Reels and posts.