KitchenOwl

Self-Hosted

Open-source recipe manager for meal planning and shared shopping lists

Overview

KitchenOwl is an open-source recipe management tool for organizing recipes, planning weekly meals, and generating collaborative shopping lists. It supports importing recipes from websites (via URL), categorizing dishes, and syncing data across devices. Deployable via Docker (with a simple Compose file) or manual setup, it offers user authentication, dark mode, and multi-user access—ideal for households wanting to avoid proprietary SaaS tools.

Self-Hosting Resources

Find Official Image on Docker Hub View Source & Docs

Below is a reference structure for docker-compose.yml. ⚠️ Do NOT run blindly. Replace placeholders with official values.

docker-compose.template.yml TEMPLATE


version: '3'
services:
  kitchen_owl:
    image: <OFFICIAL_IMAGE_NAME>:latest
    container_name: kitchen-owl
    ports:
      - "8080:<APP_INTERNAL_PORT>"
    volumes:
      - ./data:/app/data
    restart: unless-stopped

Key Features

Recipe import from websites
Meal planning calendar
Collaborative shopping lists

Frequently Asked Questions

? Is KitchenOwl hard to install?

No—KitchenOwl is easy to install using Docker Compose (a single YAML file) that handles all dependencies. Non-Docker users can set it up manually with basic Python/PostgreSQL knowledge.

? Is it a good alternative to Paprika Recipe Manager?

Yes—it offers core features like recipe import, meal planning, and shopping lists with self-hosted privacy. It lacks some advanced Paprika features (e.g., nutrition tracking) but is actively developed.

? Is it completely free?

Yes! KitchenOwl is 100% open source (AGPLv3 license) with no hidden costs, paid tiers, or subscriptions—all features are available to self-hosters.

Top Alternatives

Paprika Recipe Manager Search Google

Yummly Search Google

Tool Info

Pricing Free/Open Source

Category Recipe Management

Platform Self-Hosted

Pros

⊕ Privacy-focused (self-hosted data)
⊕ No subscription fees

Cons

⊖ Requires server/Docker setup
⊖ Mobile app features are evolving