Mealime Alternative: Your Favorite App Closed—Now What?

When Mealtime shut down on October 21, 2026 with no export option, millions of users lost access to their saved recipes overnight. The app vanished, accounts were deleted, and there was no official way to download your data. If you're looking for a Mealime alternative, you're likely in one of two situations: you used Mealtime and want your recipes back, or you're thinking about switching from another app before the same thing happens. Here's what you can do.

What Happened to Mealtime and Why It Matters

Mealtime had more than 1 million Android installs and a loyal user base. The app let you save recipes, plan your weekly meals, and generate grocery lists—exactly what its competitors do. The key difference: when Mealtime shut down, it offered no export tool. No ZIP file of your recipes, no JSON backup, no CSV of your favorites. Just a message that the service was ending, then nothing.

This isn't a technical limitation. Other apps—Paprika, AnyList, Plan to Eat—all offer exports. The absence of one here was a choice, and it left users trapped. If you only used Mealtime and didn't manually screenshot or rewrite your favorite recipes, you have lost that work. That's the real lesson: the app you choose matters not because of its features today but because of what you can do with your data tomorrow.

Rescuing Your Mealtime Recipes

If your favorite recipes were from Mealtime's public library (rather than ones you created from scratch), there's a recovery path. Mealfolder built a dedicated Mealtime rescue tool that works by recipe name.

Here's how it works:

1. Write down the names of your favorite Mealtime recipes (from memory, phone notes, or screenshots).
2. Go to Mealfolder's Mealtime rescue page and paste the recipe names.
3. The tool searches an index of all 3,291 public Mealtime recipes and imports the matches—including photos, ingredients, and instructions.
4. Your recipes appear in Mealfolder, and you can start meal planning right away.

The catch: this only works for recipes in Mealtime's public collection. If you created custom recipes or imported from food blogs, those won't be in the index and can't be recovered. But if your go-tos were Mealtime originals (most users' collections were), you can get them back.

Once your recipes are in Mealfolder, you can plan your week, generate grocery lists sorted by store aisle, and download everything as a CSV anytime. The free plan holds 10 recipes; Plus ($12.99/year) is unlimited.

Moving Recipes from Other Apps

If you're leaving Paprika, AnyList, Plan to Eat, or another app, here's the exact process for each.

Paprika

Paprika is the easiest migration. Export your entire collection as a .paprikarecipes file (includes photos, categories, ratings, and notes). Upload it to Mealfolder during signup or afterward in the app. Your recipes transfer in seconds.

AnyList

AnyList doesn't offer a direct export format. Instead:

• Photo method: Screenshot your recipes in AnyList, then use Mealfolder's photo import. The app reads the photo, extracts the title and ingredients, and creates a recipe card. You can edit afterward.
• Link method: If your AnyList recipes came from food blogs or recipe sites, collect the URLs. Share each link with Mealfolder (Android: Share → Mealfolder; desktop: paste the URL). Mealfolder scrapes the recipe from the web link and saves it.

Plan to Eat

Plan to Eat exports as JSON. Mealfolder accepts JSON uploads directly—go to Import and upload the file. Most Plan to Eat recipes also have links to their original source (usually a food blog), so you can import them as links in Mealfolder if the JSON doesn't work.

Copy Me That

Copy Me That doesn't have a built-in export. Most recipes in Copy Me That are linked to their original sources (food blogs, YouTube, etc.). Export your collection as a list of links or use screenshots, then share each link with Mealfolder. For recipes you created yourself, copy the text (ingredients and instructions), paste it into Mealfolder, and the app will parse it into a recipe card.

Samsung Food (formerly Whisk) & Yummly

Neither offers standard exports. Use Mealfolder's photo import: take a screenshot or photo of the recipe in your app and upload it to Mealfolder. The app extracts the title, ingredients, and instructions from the image. For recipes sourced from food websites, save the URL and import it as a link in Mealfolder.

Recipe Keeper & BigOven

Recipe Keeper exports as HTML; BigOven exports individual recipes as links or PDFs. For HTML, copy the recipe text, paste it into Mealfolder, and let the app parse it. For links, share them directly with Mealfolder. Most BigOven recipes link to their original source, so this is often the fastest method.

Why Export Matters: The Apps That Let You Own Your Data

Here's a simple truth: if you can't export your data, you don't own it. Mealtime's shutdown proved this. Every alternative app you consider should let you download your recipes at any time in a portable format (PDF, CSV, or a format another app can import).

Mealfolder lets you export your entire recipe collection immediately. You get a CSV file with every recipe, ingredient, and note. You can also export just your grocery lists. This means if you decide to move to another app in five years, you're not stranded. Your data is yours.

When comparing alternatives, ask this question: Can I export my recipes and import them somewhere else? If the answer is "not easily" or "no," move on.

Planning Your Transition

When you switch apps, don't rush. Here's a safer approach:

FAQ: Moving Away from Mealtime

Can I recover my Mealtime recipes if I didn't save my favorites?

Only if they were in Mealtime's public library. Custom recipes you created from scratch won't be in the recovery index. If you remember the names of your favorites, Mealfolder's rescue tool will find them. If not, and you have no screenshots or notes, those recipes are lost. This is why taking screenshots or exporting is so important.

Which alternative is closest to Mealtime?

Most recipe apps have similar core features: save recipes, plan the week, generate a grocery list. Paprika is premium but powerful; AnyList is simple and syncs across devices; Plan to Eat is strong on meal planning. The best choice depends on what you valued in Mealtime—if it was simplicity, go simple; if it was recipe management, choose Paprika. The difference is less important than choosing an app that exports, so you can leave if you need to.

Do I need to pay for an alternative?

Some alternatives are free (AnyList has a free tier; Mealfolder's free plan covers 10 recipes and the current week). Others charge upfront or per feature. Mealfolder's free plan is enough to try it out; Plus ($12.99/year) is one of the cheapest unlimited options available.

Can I import my recipes into multiple apps at once?

Yes. Paprika exports as .paprikarecipes, which multiple apps recognize. AnyList and Plan to Eat also let you export. You can move your recipes to two, three, or more apps if you want to test them before committing. Just remember that recipes created in one app won't automatically sync to the others.