Search for food recipes by name, ingredient, or category, and retrieve full details with ingredients and instructions. Invoke when user asks "find a recipe for X", "how do I make chicken pasta", "what can I cook with X", "recipe for lasagna", "show me the ingredients for Y", or "give me a random meal idea". Uses TheMealDB API — no API key required.
TheMealDB API. No API key required.
| Task | Command |
|---|---|
| Search by name | curl -s "https://www.themealdb.com/api/json/v1/1/search.php?s=Arrabiata" |
| Random recipe | curl -s "https://www.themealdb.com/api/json/v1/1/random.php" |
| Filter by category | curl -s "https://www.themealdb.com/api/json/v1/1/filter.php?c=Seafood" |
| Filter by area | curl -s "https://www.themealdb.com/api/json/v1/1/filter.php?a=Italian" |
| Filter by main ingredient | curl -s "https://www.themealdb.com/api/json/v1/1/filter.php?i=chicken_breast" |
| Lookup by ID | curl -s "https://www.themealdb.com/api/json/v1/1/lookup.php?i=52772" |
| List all categories | curl -s "https://www.themealdb.com/api/json/v1/1/list.php?c=list" |
| List all areas | curl -s "https://www.themealdb.com/api/json/v1/1/list.php?a=list" |
| List all ingredients | curl -s "https://www.themealdb.com/api/json/v1/1/list.php?i=list" |
Returns array of meals matching the name.
curl -s "https://www.themealdb.com/api/json/v1/1/search.php?s=chicken" | python3 -c "
import sys,json
data = json.load(sys.stdin)
for m in data.get('meals', []) or []:
print(f\"{m['idMeal']} {m['strMeal']} ({m.get('strArea','')}, {m.get('strCategory','')})\")
"
After finding an ID from search, get full details including ingredients and instructions.
curl -s "https://www.themealdb.com/api/json/v1/1/lookup.php?i=52772" | python3 -c "
import sys,json
m = json.load(sys.stdin)['meals'][0]
print(f\"# {m['strMeal']}\")
print(f\"Category: {m['strCategory']} | Area: {m['strArea']}\")
print(f\"Source: {m['strSource']}\")
print()
print('## Ingredients')
for i in range(1,21):
ing = m.get(f'strIngredient{i}','').strip()
meas = m.get(f'strMeasure{i}','').strip()
if ing:
print(f'- {meas} {ing}')
print()
print('## Instructions')
print(m['strInstructions'])
"
Returns meals in that category. Useful categories: Beef, Chicken, Seafood, Vegetarian, Pasta, Dessert, Side.
curl -s "https://www.themealdb.com/api/json/v1/1/filter.php?c=Seafood" | python3 -c "
import sys,json
data = json.load(sys.stdin)
for m in data.get('meals', []) or []:
print(f\"{m['idMeal']} {m['strMeal']}\")
"
Find meals you can make with what you have.
curl -s "https://www.themealdb.com/api/json/v1/1/filter.php?i=chicken_breast" | python3 -c "
import sys,json
data = json.load(sys.stdin)
for m in data.get('meals', []) or []:
print(f\"{m['idMeal']} {m['strMeal']}\")
"
curl -s "https://www.themealdb.com/api/json/v1/1/random.php" | python3 -c "
import sys,json,re
m = json.load(sys.stdin)['meals'][0]
print(f\"# {m['strMeal']}\")
print(f\"Category: {m['strCategory']} | Area: {m['strArea']}\")
print()
print('## Ingredients')
for i in range(1,21):
ing = m.get(f'strIngredient{i}','').strip()
meas = m.get(f'strMeasure{i}','').strip()
if ing:
print(f'- {meas} {ing}')
print()
print('## Instructions')
print(m['strInstructions'])
"
If a YouTube video is available (strYoutube), extract the video ID and build a URL:
Toast — restaurant POS, orders, menus, employees, revenue centers, and reporting.