Mealie is a self-hosted recipe manager and meal planner — import recipes from around the web, organize your own collection, and plan meals, all under your own control.
What Mealie Provides
- Recipe import directly from URL (automatically parsing ingredients and instructions from most recipe websites)
- Manual recipe entry with rich formatting
- Meal planning calendar
- Shopping list generation based on planned meals
Prerequisites
- Docker installed
Step 1 — Run Mealie with Docker
docker run -d \
--name mealie \
--restart unless-stopped \
-p 9925:9000 \
-v mealie-data:/app/data \
-e TZ=America/New_York \
ghcr.io/mealie-recipes/mealie:latestStep 2 — Access the Web Interface
http://YOUR_SERVER_IP:9925Step 3 — Log In with Default Credentials
Email: [email protected]
Password: MyPasswordChange these immediately under account settings.
Step 4 — Import Your First Recipe
Use the "Import from URL" feature, pasting a link to any recipe page — Mealie automatically extracts ingredients, instructions, and often an image, saving considerable manual entry time.
Step 5 — Organize with Tags and Categories
Tag recipes by cuisine, meal type, or dietary category for easier browsing as your collection grows.
Step 6 — Set Up Meal Planning
Use the meal planner calendar to schedule recipes across the week — Mealie can then automatically generate a consolidated shopping list based on your planned meals.
Step 7 — Add HTTPS
See How to Install Nginx Proxy Manager with Docker to route a domain with SSL.
Inviting Household/Family Members
Create additional user accounts for family members, letting everyone contribute recipes and view meal plans from their own devices.
Using the Mobile-Friendly Interface
Mealie's web interface is responsive and works well on mobile browsers — convenient for pulling up a recipe on a phone/tablet while actually cooking in the kitchen.
Backing Up Recipe Data
docker run --rm -v mealie-data:/data -v $(pwd):/backup alpine tar czf /backup/mealie-backup.tar.gz /dataYour recipe collection represents real accumulated effort — include this in your regular backup routine (see How to Set Up Automated VPS Backups) rather than treating it as disposable.
Common Errors
"Import from URL" fails for a specific recipe site — some sites use structures Mealie's parser doesn't recognize; manually entering the recipe is a reliable fallback when automatic import doesn't work for a particular source.
Continue Reading
- How to Install Nginx Proxy Manager with Docker
- How to Set Up Automated VPS Backups
- How to Choose Which Self-Hosted App Fits Your Needs
Browse more articles in Popular Self-Hosted Applications.
