What is a good meal planning app to use in 2020? Get the scoop on 4 of the top rated apps compatible with Android and iPhone.
Do you find meal planning tedious and a hassle? I can relate.
I have always used a good old fashioned pen and paper to plan my dinners each week. This method is very simple and I can do it in under 10 minutes. As easy as this is, I couldn’t help wondering if there is a different way.
I started looking at various ways to do this, and discovered there is an app (or countless apps) for that!
Friends, these apps can do amazing things – plan meals, organize recipes, and automate grocery lists just to name a few. Bonus, many of them are free to download and have optional in-app purchases for more features.
I needed to know more about these apps! Could these really be as useful as they seemed? Or was it too good to be true? Well, I did some research to attempt to answer these questions. Wanna know more? Check out my summary on 4 of the top rated apps, and handy feature comparison chart to help you choose one and take your meal planning high tech. All 4 are compatible with Android and iOS. Let’s dig in!
Meal Planning? Check Out these Apps!
Great for single people, couples, and families! Compatible with Android & iOS.
Mealime
Cost: Free to Download with optional in-app upgrades
Google Play Rating: 4.7 out of 5 Stars with over 14K reviews
This app comes with it’s own library of Healthy Recipes that take 30 minutes or less to make. You enter in your food preferences and your diet needs (Vegan, Keto, Whole 30, No special diet needs, Allergies, etc.). The app will walk you through creating a weekly meal plan based on those preferences.
A Grocery List will be automatically created from your weekly recipe plan. You will have the ability to edit the list as needed to add or remove items.
Upgrade to Pro gives you access to additional recipes, nutritional information, ability to upload your own recipes, and more.
Paprika
Cost:
Google Play – Free to Download with Optional in-app upgrades.
APP store – Ranges from $4.99 for iPhone to $29.99 for Mac.
Google Play Rating: 4.8 out of 5 Stars with 3K Reviews
You can organize all of your recipes, and create categories to search for them by name, ingredient, and more.
Take inventory of the items in your pantry, and keep track of them using the Pantry Feature.
The Grocery List feature automatically combines ingredients and sorts them by aisle.
You can plan meals using daily, weekly, or monthly calendars, and save your favorite meal plans as reusable menus.
All of your data is stored locally which means you do not need an internet connection to access it. You can work offline if you find yourself in an area with no internet, have a bad signal, or have limited data on your wireless plan.
Upgrade via in-app purchases to gain access to Paprika Cloud Sync.
AnyList
Cost: Free to download with optional in-app upgrades.
Google Play Rating: 4.8 / 5 Stars with over 700 Reviews
You will be able to create your own grocery list, categorize the items, and share the list with others in your household via e-mail or text.
Enter your own recipes, organize them into collections, and search for them by name or ingredients.
Sync / Back-up Sync all of your lists and recipes across all your devices. All your data is securely backed up in the cloud as part of your account.
This app is a favorite for those looking to make grocery shopping easier for their household.
Upgrade via in-app purchases to get access to the Meal Planning Calendar, download recipes from the web, and more.
Yummly
Cost: Free
Google Play Rating: 4.6 / 5 Stars with 105k reviews
This app features Recipes from the Yummly Test Kitchen and Top Sites like AllRecipes, Epicurious, Food52 to smaller food blogs.
You will enter in your taste and nutrition preferences, and any diets and allergies. The app will only find recipes that match your entries. As you use the app, it learns your likes and dislikes and provides recommendations.
The search feature has filters to help you find the perfect recipe. You can filter by cuisine, nutrition, cook time, technique, and more. Use the filtered results to find favorites, save, and organize them.
Schedule recipes to your calendar for Easy Meal Planning, and add those recipes to your grocery shopping list where Yummly will automatically categorize items.
Let’s Compare
A handy, dandy chart to compare meal planning app features side by side
Now, how do you know which app would be best for you? Review this app comparison chart, and choose one that has the most features to suit your needs.
Meal-Planning-App-Comparison-2020Are you Ready to Give Meal Planning a Try?
Whether you choose to use a meal planning app, or use the good old fashioned paper & pen.
I can’t wait to try one of these apps for my meal planning!
If you decide to take your meal planning high tech with one of these apps, that’s great! If it seems like too much trouble, that’s ok too.
There is no right, wrong, or perfect way to meal plan! What works for someone else may not work for you, and that’s OK! Try some different methods, and do what is best for you 🙂
I have found meal planning is the best way to eat better, save money, and stop that daily nagging question of “what’s for dinner?”.
Did this article inspire you and make you hungry? I am always on the lookout for great stuff to share with everyone to make everyday life easier!