Recipe book: how to make a family recipe book, step by step

The short answer: a family recipe book collects the dishes your family actually cooks, in one place, with the names and stories behind them.

• Choose a format: ring binder, bound blank book or printed photo book
• Collect recipes from relatives
• Check them and write every recipe the same way
• Free starter pages, including a recipe request card
• Next step: Get the free recipe book starter pages (we email it to you); want more? The Family Recipe Binder is $6.99.

A family recipe book collects the dishes your family actually cooks, in one place, with the names and stories behind them. This guide walks through making one from start to finish: choosing a format, collecting recipes from relatives, checking them, writing them the same way and putting the book together. The free starter pages below include a recipe request card you can send to the family.

Our Family Recipe Binder has section dividers, four recipe page layouts and recipe cards ready to print, or a fillable version to type into.

What's in the free recipe book pages

The free PDF has four pages:

1. Recipe request card. Send it to relatives to fill in, with a line for the story.
2. Recipe page. A clean layout for the final book, with servings, times and temperature.
3. Table of contents. Page, recipe, section and who it's from.
4. Recipe book planner. A 10-step checklist from format to final print.

Step 1: Choose a format

Decide early, because it shapes everything else.

If you're unsure, start with a binder. You can always turn it into a printed book later, once the collection is complete.

Step 2: Pick your sections

Most family recipe books use a handful of sections: breakfast, mains, sides, soups, desserts, baking, holidays and family favorites. Some families add a section for one grandparent, or one for a holiday tradition. Keep the list short so every recipe has an obvious home.

Step 3: Collect recipes from the family

This is the part that takes longest, so start it first.

• Send a recipe request card to each relative, with a date to send it back.
• Ask for the story, not just the ingredients: who made it, when and why.
• Ask for a photo of the dish or the cook, if they have one.
• Collect old recipe cards and scan or photograph them before anything gets lost.
• Cook with the person for recipes nobody ever wrote down, and measure as they go.
• Follow up kindly a week before your deadline.

A family dinner or holiday is a good time to hand out cards. Many people are happy to share, but they need a nudge and a deadline.

Step 4: Check each recipe

Family recipes often say "a handful" or "bake until done." Before a recipe goes into the book, read it all the way through. University of Illinois Extension suggests reading a new recipe at least twice: once when planning and once more before making it. That catches missing ingredients and steps like an overnight marinade.

The same Extension article points out that wording matters:

• "1 cup sifted flour" means sift first, then measure.
• "1 cup flour, sifted" means measure first, then sift.
• Chopped, diced and minced are different sizes: chopped is small pieces, diced is smaller and minced is smaller still, so "1 cup minced onion" is more onion than "1 cup chopped."

When you write recipes for the book, use these words carefully so the next cook gets the same result.

Step 5: Write every recipe the same way

A recipe book is easiest to use when every page follows the same pattern:

1. Recipe name and who it's from.
2. Servings, prep time and cook time.
3. Oven temperature or doneness temperature.
4. Ingredients in the order you use them, with clear amounts.
5. Numbered steps, one action per step.
6. The story: a line or two about where it came from.

Add safe cooking temperatures

Old recipes often say "cook until done." Add a temperature where it matters. FoodSafety.gov's safe minimum internal temperatures chart says to always use a food thermometer and lists these temperatures:

A small temperature chart at the front of the book is handy for every cook in the family.

Step 6: Add the stories and photos

The stories are what turn a stack of recipes into a family recipe book. A line like "Grandma made this every Christmas Eve" is often what people remember most. Put a photo of the cook or the dish next to the recipe if you have one, and keep handwritten cards: a scan of Grandpa's handwriting next to the typed recipe means a lot.

Step 7: Number the pages and build the contents

Number each recipe page, then fill in the table of contents with the page, recipe name, section and who it's from. If the book is a binder, number pages within each section (like "Desserts 4") so you can add pages without renumbering everything.

Step 8: Proofread, then print

Ask a second person to read every recipe once. Fresh eyes catch a missing ingredient or a "tsp" that should be "Tbsp." Then print, put the pages in sheet protectors if it's a binder, and add tabs for the sections.

Handwritten or typed?

Both make a good recipe book. Handwriting feels personal, and a page in Mom's writing becomes a keepsake on its own. Typing is easier to read at the stove, easier to fix and easier to share as copies for siblings and cousins. Many families do both: type the recipe so it's clear, then add a scan of the original card or a handwritten note beside it. If you want typed pages that still look like a family book, a fillable recipe page lets you type into a printable layout.

Recipe book ideas

Not every recipe book has to hold everything. A few themes that work well:

• Grandma's kitchen. One cook's recipes, in her words, with photos from her kitchen.
• The holiday book. Only the dishes made for Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter or other family holidays.
• A wedding or new home book. Each guest or relative adds one favorite recipe and a note.
• Kids' first recipe book. Simple recipes kids can make with a grown-up, with big print and pictures.
• The weeknight book. The 20 dinners your family actually eats, so anyone can cook them. To round out the list, browse our recipe topic hubs.
• A family reunion book. One recipe from each branch of the family, with a family tree at the front.

Common recipe book mistakes

• Starting too late. Collecting recipes always takes longer than you think.
• Mixed formats. Recipes copied in different layouts are hard to follow. Rewrite each one the same way.
• Vague amounts. Ask the cook to measure "a handful" once, then write the real amount.
• No index. Without a table of contents, a big book is hard to use.
• Skipping the stories. The notes and names are what your family will treasure.

A recipe book timeline for a gift

If the book is a gift, work back from the date:

Ready-made recipe book pages

If you'd rather not design the pages yourself, the Family Recipe Binder ($6.99) is a printable set built for a family recipe book: section dividers, four recipe page layouts with room for the family story, 4x6 and 3x5 recipe cards, a kitchen conversion chart and a fillable version you can type into before printing.

We're also preparing My Family Recipes, a bound blank recipe book ($10.99). It isn't on Amazon yet, so it can't be ordered right now.

To put your family recipes to use every week, the Meal Planner & Grocery List ($3.99) has weekly meal pages and a grocery list sorted by aisle. The Household Binder ($6.99) keeps family info, calendars, meals and bills in one binder, with room for a few favorite recipes.

More recipe printables

For a working notebook of recipes you try, see our recipe journal guide. For single cards to share, use our recipe card template. To set up a binder section by section, our family recipe binder printable guide walks through it.