Create a recipe

To create a recipe, open Recipes and tap Add recipe. In the recipe form, you name the recipe, pick the output product one batch makes, set the yield, and list each ingredient with a quantity and unit. Owners and managers can create recipes on every plan.

For background on what a recipe is and how it plugs into the rest of Rinvy, read recipes overview first.

Before you start

Have these in place:

Ingredient products already in the catalog, with the right default unit and (if needed) unit conversions. The recipe modal lets you reference any product as an ingredient.
Output product, the stocked item the recipe makes (marinara, dough, stock). Every recipe made here needs one. Either create the output product ahead of time as a recipe-output type, or let the recipe modal create it for you.

Open the modal

Go to Recipes.
Tap Add recipe (or Scan — see AI recipe scanning).

Fields on the recipe modal

The Add recipe modal filled in — Recipe name, Description, an Output product with its Yield quantity and a "Tracked in inventory by portion" note, and the first ingredient row

Recipe name (required)

The name your team sees. Examples: Marinara, Classic vinaigrette, House burger patty. It doesn't have to match the menu item name, because a menu item can have its own customer-facing name.

Description (optional)

A one-liner — what this recipe is for, where it's used. Shown in recipe lists but not on menus or receipts.

Output product (required)

The output product is the stocked item one batch of the recipe makes, such as Marinara (quart). The recipe form lists products flagged as recipe-output. If the right one doesn't exist yet, choose + Create new product at the top of the list.

A made-to-order dish with no batch stocked ahead (a burger, a salad) doesn't need a recipe here. Build its ingredients on the menu item with the New recipe option instead. See menu items.

Yield quantity (required)

How many output-product units one batch produces. Examples:

Marinara recipe with output product Marinara (quart) and yield 4 → one batch makes 4 quarts.
Pizza dough recipe with output product Dough ball (each) and yield 12 → one batch makes 12 dough balls.

The yield's unit is whatever the output product's default unit is. Don't override the unit on the recipe — set it on the product instead.

Ingredients

Each row is a quantity × unit × product triple:

Pick the ingredient product. Type part of its name to search, or tap the field to see every product from A to Z. The list marks products you make in-house and non-inventoried products, and shows the supplier for the rest. If the product doesn't exist yet, choose Create at the bottom of the list. The new product starts with the name you typed.
Enter the quantity as a decimal (e.g., 2.5).
Pick the unit. Type part of its name (for example, tbsp) to search, or tap the field to see every unit. Each unit shows its group: weight, volume, count, container or pan. The unit must convert to the product's tracking unit.

If the row shows a conversion error, the ingredient product is missing a conversion. Tap Add conversion under the error. A small sheet opens over the recipe and names both units, for example 1 lb = [ ] cup. Enter the amount, or tap ⇄ to state it the other way round, and tap Save conversion. The conversion is saved on the product, the row's error clears, and the rest of the form stays as you left it. You need permission to edit products to see Add conversion. Without it, save the recipe as a draft and ask a manager to add the conversion on the product. The same link appears on the menu item form, and Add conversion in the "Why the cost is incomplete" sheet does the same for a menu item's cost.

The Add conversion sheet over the Add recipe form. It reads "Ground Beef is counted in lb. Your recipe uses cup.", with 1 lb = 2 cup entered, the line "So 1 cup = 0.5 lb.", the ⇄ button, and Save conversion ready to tap

A conversion from weight to volume needs a figure for that one ingredient, because a cup of flour and a cup of honey weigh different amounts. The surest figure comes from weighing one cupful on a kitchen scale, the method NIST's culinary measurement tips suggest for converting a customary recipe. USDA's FoodData Central also lists gram weights of common portions, such as a cup chopped, for many foods.

Instructions (optional)

Free-form prep notes for the team. Rinvy does not read them, so they don't affect costing or prep.

Save it for later as a draft

If you cannot finish the recipe now, tap Save as draft instead of Add recipe. A draft saves the form as it is, even with fields empty or a unit that does not convert yet. It appears under Needs review at the top of the Recipes page, with a note on what is still missing. Tap it to continue, and tap Save recipe when it is complete. Discard in the draft's menu deletes it.

The Needs review section at the top of the Recipes page with one draft, Basil Pesto, "Started by hand", and three chips for what is missing: No output product, No yield and No ingredients. The saved recipes are listed below it

A draft is not a recipe yet. It does not appear in prep lists or menu items, and it does not count toward your plan's recipe limit. While a draft is open, Rinvy saves your edits to it every few seconds, and closing it never asks you to discard changes. If someone else saves the same draft while you have it open, Rinvy asks you to reopen it so you see their version. A kitchen can hold up to 50 drafts.

Save and use

After saving, the recipe is immediately available for:

Ad-hoc prep — log a batch from the prep page.
Prep lists — include the recipe in a planned prep shift.
Menu items — link a menu item to this recipe for food cost analysis.

Will editing a recipe change last month's variance?

No, unless you mark the edit as a fix. When you change the ingredients or the yield, Rinvy keeps the old version. The variance report, sales uploads for auto-tracked products and edits to a past prep log use the recipe as it was on each day. You can edit any field after save, and an edit applies to the whole day you make it. If the old version was a mistake, turn on This fixes a mistake. Apply it to past days too. before you save, and the fix also applies to the days the old version covered. Food cost always uses today's recipe. See what happens to old reports when you edit a recipe.

An Add recipe ingredient row for Ground Beef (tracked in lb) with the unit set to Cup, showing the red "Can't convert cup to lb" error under the row that blocks saving until the unit or a product conversion is fixed

See a recipe's history

Every role can see what changed in a recipe and when. On the Recipes page, tap the ⋯ button on a recipe row and choose History. You can also tap the recipe and choose History at the bottom of the recipe view.

The history lists each version of the recipe, newest first. The current version is marked Current. Each line shows the date of the edit and what it changed, for example Sep 12 · yield 8 → 10 cup · +Garlic 2 oz · Onion 1 → 1.5 lb. Tap a line to see who made the edit, the dates the version was in use, and its full ingredient list.

The History sheet for House Marinade. The top line, "yield 8 → 10 cup · Olive Oil 2 → 1.5 each", is marked Current and is open to show who changed it, the date it came into use, the yield and the ingredient list. The earliest recorded version is below it

If you saved an edit with This fixes a mistake, the version it replaced is marked Corrected and shows who corrected it. No day used that version, so it has no dates in use.

Rinvy records a version only when you change the yield or the ingredients. A name or instruction change does not make a new version. A recipe that was never changed shows "No changes yet."

Common mistakes

Using the recipe form for a dish made to order

The recipe form always needs an output product, because it is for things you prep ahead and stock, such as marinara in quart containers. For a dish you make to order, such as a burger, make the recipe on the menu item form instead: open Menu Items, tap Add menu item and choose New recipe. See menu items.

Yield in the wrong unit

The yield is always in the output product's default unit. If your product is quart and you write yield: 16 thinking cups, you'll over-produce by 4×. Either fix the product unit or fix the yield.

Ingredient unit not available

If a recipe calls for cup but the ingredient product only supports lb, the cup option won't appear in the unit dropdown. Add a weight↔volume conversion to the product so cups become a valid recipe unit.