Grublin is a free recipe app for iPhone and Android that writes a complete recipe around whatever ingredients you give it, including a single unfamiliar one, and lists the few staples you'll need to buy alongside it. Used in a supermarket, that turns an offer shelf into a plan: type or photograph what's cheap, get the recipe, pick up the staples on the way to the till. Every recipe fits the kit, allergies and diet you set once.
The offer shelf is where dinner is cheapest, and most confusing
The best value in any supermarket is the stuff that's cheap because it's in season, over-ordered or near its date: the aubergines at 29p, the mountain of sweet potatoes, the whole fish nobody bought, the reduced-sticker chicken thighs. The catch is that it's cheap because nobody knows what to do with it. You stand there knowing it's a bargain and not knowing what it becomes, so you buy pasta and pesto again.
Grublin ends that stand-off in the aisle. Type "aubergines" and Grub writes dinner around them, assuming only the staples a normal kitchen has, and lists the rest.
How to shop with Grub
- Spot the bargain. The 29p aubergines. The bag of peppers. The reduced lamb.
- Tell Grub. Type it in on the Cook tab, or point the camera at the basket and let Super Grub read it. Add anything you know is already at home if you like.
- Set the vibe. Weeknight for tonight, a bit special for the weekend. Who's eating.
- Read the staples list. Every recipe ends with the few things you'll need to nab: a tin of tomatoes, a lemon, some cumin. Grab them. That's the shopping list.
- Not that one? Try a different idea while you're still in the aisle. Aubergine parmigiana or a smoky aubergine curry; Grub doesn't mind which.
The recipe comes home with you, saved or on screen, and the aubergines become something rather than compost.
Things you've never cooked
This is where Grublin earns the download. Recipe sites assume you already know what the ingredient is for. Grub assumes you don't, and writes the method accordingly, from "how to tell it's cooked" to what it goes with.
- Aubergine. Salted or not, roasted until collapsing, in a curry, a bake, a dip, or sliced and griddled.
- Celeriac, kohlrabi, fennel, swede. The ugly bargains. Soups, gratins, slaws, roasts.
- A whole fish. Baked in foil with what's in the fridge, no filleting required.
- Offcuts and cheap cuts. Shin, cheeks, thighs, shoulder: slow, forgiving, and perfect for a slow cooker if you've told Grub you own one.
- The mystery reduced item. Photograph it. Super Grub names it, then Grub cooks it.
A bargain is only a bargain if you eat it
The second half of the offer-shelf problem is volume. Four aubergines for a pound is only cheap if all four get used. Tell Grub how many you're feeding and he sizes the recipe; tell him you've still got two left tomorrow and he writes a different dinner around them. Beat the bin twice: once at the shop, once at the back of the fridge. Not out of virtue. Grub just wants the aubergines.
Your kit, your rules, in the aisle
Everything you set once still applies when you're standing by the reduced shelf. Your dietary needs are enforced on every recipe, so the bargain never becomes something you can't eat. Your kit shapes the method, so a no-oven flat gets a hob aubergine curry rather than a bake. And if you're shopping on a student budget or for a family, the servings and the Kid-friendly switch carry over too.
Yes. Type the ingredient in, or photograph it, and Grub writes a complete recipe around it, assuming only normal kitchen staples and listing the ones you'll need to buy. Every recipe ends with the few staples you'll need to nab alongside what you've told Grub you have. Used in the shop, that is the shopping list. Yes. Super Grub reads a photo of ingredients, packaged or loose, and turns it into a list you confirm before Grub writes the recipe. Scanning is free. Yes. Your kitchen kit, allergies and diet are set once in Preferences and apply to every recipe, so the bargain becomes a dish for your kitchen and your household. Tap Try a different idea and Grub suggests something else built around the same bargain, taking any hint you give him, such as "something quicker" or "not a curry".Questions people ask
Can Grublin write a recipe around one ingredient I've never cooked?
Does it give me a shopping list?
Can I photograph my basket or the offer shelf?
Will it suggest something I can actually make at home?
What if I don't like the first idea?