Editing Recipes

Saved a recipe that needs tweaking? Maybe an ingredient got cut off, or the instructions are jumbled. ClipDish lets you edit every part of a recipe—and even has AI-powered cleanup to fix messy formatting automatically.

What You Can Edit

Every recipe in ClipDish is fully editable (unless you're viewing a read-only preview or in a cooking session). You can change:

• Title - Recipe name
• Description - Short summary
• Quick Info - Prep time, cook time, and yield
• Ingredients - Add, remove, reorder, or edit ingredient text
• Instructions - Add, remove, reorder, or edit steps and sections
• Category - Manually select a category (e.g., "Dessert")
• Notes - Add personal notes and cooking tips

Important: Edits are saved automatically when you leave the recipe detail view. You don't need to tap a "Save" button.

Editing the Title

Tap the recipe title (overlaid on the hero image) to edit it.

A sheet appears with a text field. Type the new title and tap "Done".

When to edit the title:

• The original title was too long or poorly formatted
• You want to rename it to something more memorable
• It's a manually entered recipe and you need to add a title

Editing the Description

Tap the description text (below the hero image) to edit it.

A sheet appears with a text editor. Type or paste the new description and tap "Done".

When to edit the description:

• The original description was cut off or missing
• You want to add your own summary
• You're adding context (e.g., "From Grandma's cookbook")

Editing Quick Info (Prep/Cook Time and Yield)

Tap the quick info chips (showing prep time, cook time, and yield) to edit them.

A form appears with separate fields for:

• Prep Time - Hours and minutes
• Cook Time - Hours and minutes
• Yield - Servings or quantity (e.g., "4 servings" or "12 cookies")

Enter the values and tap "Done".

Tip: Leave fields blank if you don't know the value. ClipDish will display "N/A" for missing times.

Editing Ingredients

Tap the pencil icon next to "Ingredients" to open the ingredient editor.

What You Can Do

Add an ingredient:

1. Tap "Add Ingredient" at the bottom
2. Type the ingredient in the text field
3. Tap "Save"

Edit an ingredient:

1. Tap the ingredient you want to change
2. Edit the text
3. Tap "Save"

Delete an ingredient:

• Swipe left on the ingredient and tap "Delete"

Reorder ingredients:

• Tap and hold the ingredient, then drag it to a new position

Magic Cleanup for Ingredients

Sometimes ingredients are poorly formatted—maybe they're duplicated, have weird spacing, or include unnecessary details. ClipDish's Magic Cleanup uses AI to reorganize and standardize them.

How to use Magic Cleanup:

1. Open the ingredient editor
2. Tap the "Cleanup" button at the bottom
3. Wait for ClipDish to process the ingredients (a loading overlay appears)
4. Review the cleaned ingredients in the comparison sheet
5. Tap "Accept" to use the cleaned version, or "Decline" to keep the original

What Magic Cleanup does:

• Removes duplicate ingredients
• Standardizes formatting (e.g., "1 cup milk" instead of "milk (1 c.)")
• Fixes typos and capitalization
• Removes extra whitespace

Note: Cleanup requires an internet connection and may take a few seconds.

Editing Instructions

Tap the pencil icon next to "Instructions" to open the instruction editor.

What You Can Do

Add a step:

1. Tap "+ Add Step" at the end of a section
2. Type the instruction
3. Tap "Save"

Edit a step:

1. Tap the step you want to change
2. Edit the text
3. Tap "Save"

Delete a step:

• Swipe left on the step and tap "Delete"

Reorder steps:

• Tap and hold the step, then drag it to a new position within the same section

Move a step to a different section:

1. Tap the step to edit it
2. Tap "Move to Section"
3. Select the destination section (or create a new one)

Working with Instruction Sections

Some recipes have multiple sections (e.g., "For the Dough" and "For the Filling"). You can manage these sections from the ellipsis menu in the toolbar:

Add a section:

1. Tap the ellipsis button in the toolbar
2. Select "Add Section"
3. Enter the section name
4. Tap "Create"

Edit a section (rename or delete):

1. Tap the ellipsis button in the toolbar
2. Select "Edit Section"
3. Choose the section you want to edit
4. Rename or delete it

Reorder sections:

1. Tap the ellipsis button in the toolbar
2. Select "Reorder Sections"
3. Drag sections to reorder them
4. Tap "Done"

Note: If a recipe has only one unnamed section, ClipDish hides the section header to keep the UI clean.

Magic Cleanup for Instructions

Just like ingredients, instructions can get messy. Magic Cleanup for instructions reorganizes and improves formatting.

How to use Magic Cleanup:

1. Open the instruction editor
2. Tap the "Cleanup Instructions" button at the bottom
3. Wait for ClipDish to process (loading overlay appears)
4. Review the cleaned instructions in the comparison sheet
5. Tap "Accept" to use the cleaned version, or "Decline" to keep the original

What Magic Cleanup does:

• Breaks long paragraphs into numbered steps
• Removes duplicate steps
• Standardizes formatting and capitalization
• Organizes steps into logical sections (if applicable)
• Fixes typos and awkward phrasing

Note: Cleanup requires an internet connection and may take a few seconds.

Editing the Category

Tap the category badge (below the description) to manually select a category.

A category picker appears with options like:

• Breakfast
• Lunch
• Dinner
• Dessert
• Snack
• Appetizer
• Beverage
• Side Dish

Select the category that best fits the recipe.

Note: ClipDish auto-suggests categories using AI when you first save a recipe. You can override this suggestion at any time.

Adding and Editing Notes

Notes are personal annotations you add to a recipe—great for tracking substitutions, cooking tips, or reminders.

Add a note:

1. Scroll to the Notes section at the bottom of the recipe
2. Tap "Add Note"
3. Type your note
4. Tap "Done"

Edit a note:

1. Tap the note you want to change
2. Edit the text
3. Tap "Done"

Delete a note:

1. Tap the note to edit it
2. Tap "Delete" in the sheet

Note: You can't edit notes during a cooking session. Finish cooking first, then make your changes.

When You Can't Edit

There are a few situations where editing is disabled:

Read-Only Previews

When you're viewing a recipe from Discover (before saving it), you can't edit it. Tap the "Save" button to add it to your library first, then edit.

Cooking Sessions

If you're in a multi-recipe cooking session, editing is disabled to prevent accidental changes while you're actively cooking. Finish the session first, then make edits.

Locked Recipes (Paywall)

Recipes behind a paywall can't be edited until you unlock them by subscribing.

Tips for Editing Recipes

Use Magic Cleanup first Before manually fixing ingredients or instructions, try Magic Cleanup. It often saves you time by reorganizing everything automatically.

Edit as you cook When you notice something wrong while cooking (e.g., an ingredient was missing), add a note right away so you remember to fix it later.

Standardize your formatting If you manually enter recipes, use consistent formatting (e.g., always write "1 cup" instead of "1 c."). This makes recipes easier to read and search.

Break up long instructions If a step has multiple actions (e.g., "Chop onions, sauté garlic, add tomatoes"), split it into separate steps for clarity.

Add personal touches Use the description field to add context like "From Mom's cookbook" or "Best for summer BBQs."

Common Questions

Q: Are my edits saved automatically? A: Yes. When you leave the recipe detail view, any changes are saved automatically. No need to tap a "Save" button.

Q: Can I undo an edit? A: Not yet. If you make a mistake, you'll need to manually change it back. Be careful when using Magic Cleanup—review the changes before accepting.

Q: Does Magic Cleanup work offline? A: No. Cleanup requires an internet connection to process recipes via ClipDish's servers.

Q: Can I edit recipes I saved from websites? A: Yes! All recipes are editable, even if you clipped them from the web. See Saving Recipes from Websites for how to save recipes.

Q: Why is Magic Cleanup suggesting weird changes? A: The AI isn't perfect. If the cleaned version doesn't look right, tap "Decline" and keep the original. You can always edit manually.

Q: Can I reset a recipe to its original state? A: Not currently. If you've edited a recipe and want the original back, you'll need to re-save it from the website (if it was clipped using Safari) or manually restore it.

Q: Does editing a recipe remove it from collections? A: No. Editing doesn't affect which collections the recipe is in. See Organizing with Collections for more details.

For more editing questions, see the FAQ.

What's Next?

Now that you know how to edit recipes:

• Working with Recipes - Learn to browse and cook from your recipes
• Ask Chef: Your AI Cooking Assistant - Get help from Chef Beverly while editing
• Scanning & Manual Entry - Create recipes from scratch or scan them from cookbooks

Happy editing!