Cooking with Mealime.

How Mealime cooking mode works.

Start from a recipe in your meal plan. Use the route for your device below; the instructions are from the dated guide, so the labels may differ in your installed version.

On both mobile routes, down advances and up returns to the previous instruction. At the final step, Done marks the recipe cooked and exits. These are gesture and touch controls; the support guide does not describe voice commands.

When the next instruction will not appear.

If hovering does nothing, try the visible down arrow once. If that advances the recipe, continue with taps for this meal. Keep the screen where you can reach it comfortably without leaning over the hob.

If both gesture and arrows appear unresponsive, note the current step and reopen the ordinary instruction view. Use a readable backup or printed method if necessary. Avoid repeatedly tapping while a pan needs attention; investigate the interface after you have a usable method in front of you.

When you return to the recipe, find the last action you completed, not merely the last instruction you read. If you skipped ahead to check a sauce quantity, return to the unfinished action before continuing. A short note such as “vegetables chopped; sauce not mixed” is more useful than remembering only a step number.

Read the full recipe before starting.

Mealime’s Viewing and cooking recipes guide, updated 29 July 2019, organises preparation into cookware, ingredients and instructions. Its cooking view is designed to keep the phone awake. That display behaviour does not start a cooking timer for you.

1. Find Cookware: gather the pan, chopping board and other listed equipment before starting.
2. Grab Ingredients: check the quantities for your serving count and set out what you need.
3. Read the complete method: spot ingredients divided across steps, preheating, resting and actions that overlap.
4. Cook & Enjoy: follow the instruction view, returning to the ingredient list whenever a quantity needs checking.
5. Finish the recipe: mark it cooked only after completing the method, then save any personal adjustments.

Keep timing separate from step navigation.

A recipe duration, a countdown and the next-step button do different jobs. The official cooking guides explain navigation but do not document an automatic timer workflow. Use a kitchen timer or your phone’s timer for timed instructions; set it when the relevant cooking action begins.

For example, if vegetables roast while you mix a dressing, start the roasting timer when the tray enters the oven. Advancing to the dressing instruction should not make you lose track of the tray. Name separate timers by the task when your timer supports labels. Use the recipe’s actual timing and completion cues rather than treating this example as a cooking time recommendation.

Keep the phone on a stable surface away from heat and splashes. Read the method once before switching to the single-step view: the shorter display is easier to follow when you already know what preparation is coming.

Keep the instructions as well as the recipe name.

A favourite marker is not an independent copy of the method. Save the complete recipe before 21 October 2026, Mealime’s announced closure date. Its official notice says the catalogue continues in free Meals Hub and Pro features are now available to everyone, with no further subscription fees. Familiar recipes can continue there without implying that the old cooking interface transfers.

Two ways to keep a readable method.

• Print from Mealime: the 20 February 2018 print guide directs you to sign into the web app, open the recipe, scroll below its instructions and click the printer icon on the right. It describes a printer-friendly copy of cookware, ingredients and instructions.
• Save an independent file: use an accessible recipe link or pasted text in the free browser backup tool, review the preview and download TXT or JSON. Open the downloaded file before relying on it.

Check the first and last instructions, serving count and measured quantities. A missing sauce amount can be hidden in the middle of the method. Keep personal changes separately with the recipe-notes checklist, including the equipment and ingredient substitutions that worked for you.

Cooking after a MealPot import.

MealPot Pro imports a linked recipe one at a time: Recipes → + → Import Recipe → review → save to My Recipes. Review the ingredients and instructions before saving. A recipe import brings recipe content into a new interface; it does not carry Mealime’s gesture settings, current step or cooked status.

The free browser backup is a separate readable file, not the app’s import format. Keep that copy and your notes until you can find the complete method in the planner you choose. Compare other cooking and planning approaches in the alternatives guide.

A short kitchen setup check.

Before moving a whole collection, open one familiar dish in the replacement you intend to use. With the phone in its normal kitchen position, confirm four practical things:

• The instruction text is readable from where you stand.
• You can return to an ingredient amount and find your place again.
• Your timing method remains accessible while the recipe is open.
• Your saved copy includes the complete method if the app is unavailable.

Keep any awkward action specific: “I lost my place after checking the oil amount” gives you something to fix in the setup or compare in another app. Once the method and controls are clear, cook a familiar dinner before moving the rest of the collection.

Frequently asked questions