Whether you organize your recipes digitally or with paper in a recipe binder, it helps to have recipe organization categories so that you can plan meals easily. I use the AnyList app for my recipe collection, and I love it. I can rate recipes and organize recipes into any custom category I want. But here’s the key, I only sort a recipe into a category once I’ve made it and given it a rating.
Introduction
How Should I categorize my recipes?
Sort your recipes into categories that work for you using a system that works for you! You can use an app (AnyList, Paprika, etc.) or a manual method, like a recipe box or binder with dividers, sheet protectors, the whole nine yards. Then decide your categories using the suggestions above.
How do you organize recipes gathered online?
My favorite way to organize online recipes is with a recipe app. You can ‘share’ the online recipe to the app, and the app will import it so that it is usable in the app format. I have AnyList, and each recipe has an overview page, an ingredients tab, instructions tab, and notes tab.
Recipe apps let you create categories or tags to organize your recipes so that you can find what you need when you need it. And you can search by recipe name, ingredient, source, etc.
The Recipe Rating System
Star Rubric
My husband and I rate recipes on a 5-star system:
- 5: Wonderful! I want to make this again.
- 4: Good. I would eat it again.
- 3: Meh. If I make it again, there need to be modifications.
- 2: Didn’t like it at all. A step above a 1.
- 1: Awful. Horrible. No redeeming qualities.
P.S. If your recipe app has a 4-star rating system, combine 1 & 2 into a single category.
The Significance of Stars
When we rate a recipe as 5 stars, I then tag it with my recipe categories. Every now and then I’ll put a 4-star recipe into a category, but only if I have a really good reason.
Recipes with 1, 2, or 3 stars do not get sorted into categories, but I do keep them in my recipe app so that I know not to make them again unless I’m making a modification.
P.P.S. A note about unmade recipes: you do not need a special category for this. If the recipe is unrated, it means you haven’t made it yet. Tada! No need to spend time adding these to a category. Once you make it and rate it, then you can categorize it.
P.P.P.S. I highly recommend only trying new recipes that have been rated AT LEAST 4.5 stars by AT LEAST 5 users. And 4.7 stars is better. 4.5 stars is an A minus. Anything less is a B or lower.
Don’t waste your time and energy on recipes that most people don’t consider to be an A. If you implement this rule of thumb, you will have fewer recipes to try and the ones that you do try are more likely to be rated as 5s by you.
The Recipe Organization Categories
So what are the categories? If you are using a digital recipe organizer, do not be afraid of too many categories. The idea here is to quickly be able to find a short list of recipes that meet your criteria. Each recipe can belong to more than one category – if a weeknight meal is also celebration-worthy, put it in both lists.
I have several categories that are more circumstantial. When I need to make a dessert that I know is relatively easy, I have a category for that. I hope my categories inspire you to create the categories that work for you.
The categories can be anything you want! The trick is to make sure that the categories are meaningful for you.
Are most of your meals an entree, starch, and vegetable? Great! Make a category for each of those things.
Do you frequently need to bring something to a potluck? Make a potluck category.
Do you have family friends with special diets? Make a category for the recipes you like that work for each of those restrictions.
Do you like to make a specific person’s favorite foods on their birthday? Make a category of their favorite meals.
You get the idea.
Again, I only categorize 5-star recipes. When I go looking through one of my categories, I want to decide between the best of the best without considering mediocre things.
Without further ado, here are my categories:
Easy Delicious
The Easy Delicious category is inspired by The Lazy Genius’s “Brainless Crowdpleaser” category, and it is my primary category. I always want to make something delicious, but it’s rare that I want to make something that isn’t quick and easy. These are my go-to recipes.
- These are 5-star main dishes that are relatively quick and easy to make. This is a catchall category for me. I will put any main dish here, whether it be for breakfast or dinner.
Weeknight
- Weeknight meals are Easy Delicious meals that are so quick and easy I would make them on a weeknight also go into a “Weeknight” category. I think of it as a sub-category of Easy Delicious. If you follow a repetitive meal planning structure (ex. Meatless Mondays, Taco Tuesdays, etc.), you might find it helpful to make those the sub-categories.
Pantry Meals
- Pantry meals are meals that I consistently have all of the ingredients on hand for. I keep a stash of ingredients for these recipes in the pantry, and might need to add a few common items from the fridge like eggs or butter.
Single Serving
- Every now and then, it’s nice to be able to make one serving of something. These recipes are intended to make a single serving. Some of them scale well to any number of servings you’d like. And I will never ever make a time-consuming single serving recipe, so this also counts as a sub-category of Easy Delicious.
Breakfast
My family loves breakfast foods. We will often do breakfast for dinner, too. (See: Fruit, Yogurt, and Granola Bowls)
Easy Breakfast
- Delicious breakfast recipes that are not a big project go in the Easy Breakfast category.
Special Breakfast
- Delicious breakfast recipes that take planning ahead go in the Special Breakfast category.
Breakfast for the Week
- Delicious breakfast recipes that can be made on Sunday and eaten throughout the week go into the Breakfast for the Week category.
Dessert
My favorite thing to make and eat is dessert. I love to bake.
I categorize these desserts by type: cookies, cakes, pies, etc. For each of those types, I keep track of whether the recipe is easy to throw together or more involved. Easy Sweets are 5-star sweets that are relatively simple and straightforward. Intricate Sweets are not necessarily difficult, but they do require more time and/or have more steps.
- Cookies: The classic. You need a few cookie recipes up your sleeve.
- Brownies & Bars: Sort of cookie-ish, but easier, because you don’t have to scoop individual portions.
- Cake: Would it be a dessert list without cake?
- Fruit: Crumbles, turnovers, etc.
- Pies: Tarts, cheesecakes, classic pies – they’re all pie.
- Miscellaneous: For all of the other desserts that don’t fall into one of the main categories. Think mousse, ice cream, tiramisu, etc.
Other People
Sometimes recipes need to be made for more than just my family unit. These recipes need to be great – do you really want to serve something mediocre to other people? And when you’re making meals for other people, there’s typically a specific circumstance to solve for.
Delegate to Guests
- These are recipes that have parts that are easy for guests to bring. Maybe we make the main course but ask each guest to bring a different topping, etc.
Foodie Friend Worthy
- We have friends who are excellent fancy schmancy cooks. Recipes in the Foodie Friend Worthy category are recipes that I feel comfortable making for these fancy schmancy friends.
For a Crowd
- Sometimes you need go-to recipes to make (and possibly take) to feed more than a couple of people. Those recipes are sorted here.
Easily Vegan
- We eat mostly ovo-lacto-vegetarian, but we have some vegan friends. These are the recipes that are vegan or could easily be made to be vegan with a simple ingredient sub or omission.
Sides
- I am a one-pot meal cook. But sometimes I’m asked to bring a side. This is where I keep a list of sides I like.
Other Circumstances
Celebrate
- These are 5-star recipes that are worthy of making for a special occasion – like a birthday or anniversary.
Farmers market
- You never know what veggies you’ll find at the farmers market. The recipes in this category do equally well with whatever veggies you have available.
Leftovers on Purpose
- The recipes in this category make good leftovers. I might choose to make a double batch of these recipes for that reason.
Delegate to the hubby
- These are recipes for which at least some of the tasks can be delegated to my husband. For instance – I hate prepping potatoes, but he doesn’t mind it as much if he gets to eat potatoes.
Holidays
- There are some recipes that are only made for Thanksgiving (or Christmas or Easter). These are those recipes. I’m looking at you stuffing, turkey, pumpkin pie, etc.
Old Bananas
- Yes, I have a category just for old bananas. Sometimes bananas are overripe, and you’d rather use them than toss them. These are my favorite recipes for that purpose.
Step by Step
- Make and eat a new recipe.
- Rate that recipe. Importantly, if you are making this recipe for your nuclear family, take their opinions into consideration when deciding how to rank it. You, the cook, get to add a bonus point if it’s extremely easy or enjoyable to make though. 😉
- If you rated a recipe 5 stars, congrats! Tag it with the categories where it fits best.
- Reference these categories any time you need to plan meals that meet the criteria you used to create your categories.
