Recipe Import Checklist: Check Before You Cook
Before cooking an imported recipe, compare its ingredient list and instructions with the original. Check the serving count, quantities, units, and any missing steps. This checklist helps you keep an uncertain import separate from a recipe you have actually checked.
Download the free recipe import checklist (CSV)
Keep the source beside the saved recipe
A useful recipe card starts with a trail back to its source. Save the creator's name, the original link, and the recipe title before editing. If the source is a screenshot, keep the image until you have checked the card. That lets you resolve an unclear number without relying on memory or repeating the entire import.
Give the card a practical title, such as “Lemon chickpea pasta — serves two,” instead of the video's opening caption. Keep your own changes in a separate note. The original might use cream while your version uses yogurt; distinguishing the two makes it easier to understand what happened when you cook it again.
Check six things before marking an import ready
- Servings: Is the recipe for one person, a family, or an unspecified number? Do not scale it until you know the starting quantity.
- Ingredients: Does every ingredient mentioned in the steps appear in the list? Look for finishing ingredients introduced near the end of a video.
- Numbers and units: Compare fractions, decimal points, grams, and spoon measures with the source. “Half a cup” and “half a tablespoon” cannot be treated as interchangeable.
- Sequence: Check whether an ingredient is divided between stages. A sauce quantity may not belong entirely in the first step.
- Missing directions: Flag absent temperatures, preparation details, and cooking times. An AI-generated guess should remain visibly unverified.
- Your requirements: Check product labels and substitutions yourself when dietary restrictions matter. An import is not an allergy check.
A worked example: one ingredient used twice
Imagine a caption lists three tablespoons of oil, but the video says “add two tablespoons to the pan” and later “finish with the remaining oil.” The saved card might put all three tablespoons in the first step. Keep the ingredient total at three, then edit the instructions to show two in the pan and one at the end. This is an illustrative example, not a cooking recommendation.
If the caption never supplies a quantity, record “quantity not provided” instead of treating an inferred amount as the creator's instruction. Find a complete source or choose a different recipe when you cannot resolve a detail that affects cooking. A tidy-looking card can still contain incomplete information.
Use the free checklist as a review queue
The downloadable CSV has columns for the source, serving count, ingredient check, unit check, step check, unresolved questions, and review status. Open it in your preferred spreadsheet app. Use one row per recipe and three simple statuses: “Needs source,” “Needs review,” and “Checked against source.” The final status means you compared the text; it does not certify a recipe's safety or nutritional accuracy.
Start with the recipes you plan to cook this week. Reviewing an entire saved library in one sitting is unnecessary. Once you have cooked a recipe, add a short note about your actual changes rather than overwriting its history.
Turn checked recipes into a shopping list
Only move reviewed quantities into your shopping list. Check your cupboards before adding a purchase, and combine identical ingredients only when their units match. Keep optional toppings separate so they do not look essential. See our guide to grocery lists from recipes for the next step.
Cookit offers a place to save and edit imported recipe cards. The checklist also works with a notes app or paper notebook. Use whichever setup makes the original, your corrections, and your unresolved questions easy to find.
Share or adapt the template
You may copy, edit, and share this original Soldra template, including in a class or household. Attribution is welcome but optional. Link to this guide if its explanation would help someone use the sheet. No backlink is required.