FAQ
Good questions.
Does this work for one person?
Yes, fully. NowCook scales from one person to a family of eight. When you set your household size, recipes and portion sizes adjust accordingly — you'll get single-serving dinners and a grocery list built for one, not a bulk haul designed for a family of four.
What if I'm vegetarian?
Set it in your preferences and NowCook will never suggest a meat-based recipe. It respects vegetarian, vegan, pescatarian, gluten-free, dairy-free, keto, and common allergies. These are hard filters — the planner won't sneak in chicken "just this once."
Will it suggest things I don't eat?
Once you set your dietary restrictions and ingredient dislikes, NowCook works around them. Flag specific ingredients — mushrooms, cilantro, anything — and they won't appear in your plans. These preferences live in your account and apply automatically to every plan.
How is this different from ChatGPT?
You could ask ChatGPT for recipe ideas, but it can't see what's in your fridge, doesn't remember your household or dietary restrictions, won't build you a grocery list of only the gaps, and isn't tuned by a chef who's thought through timing, flavor balance, and technique. NowCook is purpose-built for this one task.
What does the photo actually see?
The camera scanner reads labels, shapes, and visual context. Canned goods, fresh produce, jars, bags of pasta, leftovers in containers — it handles most kitchen staples. It won't catch everything (bad lighting or handwritten labels can trip it up), which is why you review and confirm the ingredient list before generating a plan. Photos are processed to extract ingredients and then discarded — they're not stored.
Does it work if my pantry is almost empty?
It works better with more ingredients, but doesn't need a fully stocked kitchen. Even with a handful of staples, NowCook can suggest a few solid meals and tell you what to buy for the rest of the week. The grocery list just gets a bit longer.
Can I use it without taking a photo?
Yes. If you'd rather type your ingredients manually — or you're on a device without a good camera — you can enter everything by hand. The rest of the experience is identical: ingredient list, week plan, grocery list.
What if a recipe doesn't look right for me?
Swap it. Every recipe card has a swap option that generates an alternative using your existing pantry. You can swap as many times as you like before you start shopping. Recipes you love can be saved so they come up more often in future plans.
Is the 14-day trial really free — no card required?
Yes, genuinely. No credit card, no billing info required to start. At the end of 14 days, you're asked if you want to continue. If you don't, your account pauses and your data stays intact. Nothing is auto-charged.
Who built this?
A working chef with years on professional lines. NowCook was built because no existing app started with what was already in the fridge. Read the full story →
Will it work with my dietary restrictions?
Yes. NowCook supports gluten-free, vegan, vegetarian, dairy-free, and nut-free diets as hard filters — not soft suggestions. Set your restrictions once in your profile and every meal plan will respect them automatically. The app won’t sneak in an ingredient that conflicts with your settings.
Does it actually know what’s in the photo?
Yes — computer vision identifies common ingredients from pantry and fridge photos. It reads labels, shapes, and visual context: canned goods, fresh produce, jars, bags of pasta, and most kitchen staples. Anything the app isn’t confident about gets flagged for your review before the meal plan is generated. Photos are processed to extract ingredients and then discarded — not stored.
What if it suggests something I don’t like?
Regenerate it. Every recipe card has a swap option that generates an alternative using your existing pantry. You can also exclude ingredients from future plans entirely — flag mushrooms, cilantro, or anything else and they won’t appear again. Set these once and they carry into every plan going forward.
Can I use it without a subscription?
Yes. The free Taste plan gives you 3 meal plans per month, forever — no trial expiry, no credit card required. Each plan includes 5 recipes and a basic grocery list. For unlimited plans, the camera scanner, week view, and saved favorites, that’s the $9/month Pro plan.
What’s actually in the $9/month plan?
The Pro plan includes: unlimited pantry photo scans, unlimited weekly meal plans, a smart grocery list showing only what you’re missing, a week-at-a-glance view, the ability to save favorite recipes, and dietary memory for your whole household. It’s $9/month or $72/year (effectively $6/month). 14-day free trial — no credit card needed to start.
