Turn Recipes Into One Shopping List, Without Duplicates

To turn several recipes into one shopping list without duplicates: collect the week’s recipes, convert every quantity to the same unit, merge the same ingredient into one line, subtract what you already have, and sort what is left by aisle. The step that prevents the most waste is the subtraction: check the pantry and the fridge before you write the list.

Updated October 2026. Sources: Swissmilk, “Gramm und Löffel: Mengenangaben im Rezept umrechnen” (seen 5 October 2026); Rappn app 2.0.0 screens.

How do you turn several recipes into one list without duplicates?

The method works with pen and paper or any notes app. It is the step after how to meal plan in Switzerland: first you choose the dishes, then you build the list.

1. Collect the week’s recipes in one place, each with the number of servings it was written for.
2. Rescale the servings to the number of people at your table. If you are unsure how much one person needs, use the portion sizes per person chart.
3. Convert the units: tablespoons, dl and grams get reduced to a single measure per ingredient (see the table below).
4. Merge duplicates: onions, garlic, cream and oil show up in several recipes almost every week. One line, with the sum.
5. Subtract what you have: really look, especially for salt, oil, flour and spices. For a starting point there is the pantry staples list.
6. Group by aisle: fruit and vegetables, dairy, meat and fish, bakery, dry goods. That way you walk each aisle once.
7. Round to pack sizes: products come in whole packs. Rule of thumb: if the total is just over one pack, check whether the recipe can take a little less; otherwise take the next pack and plan where the leftover goes.

How many grams are a tablespoon, a teaspoon and a dl?

Values for flour, sugar, salt, spices and honey: Swissmilk, seen 5 October 2026. For liquids the volume counts: 1 dl = 100 ml, so one tablespoon is roughly an eighth of a dl. Butter, rice and nuts have no value in this table: density differs from product to product, so it is better to weigh them or buy them directly by the gram.

An example: three dinners, one line for onions, garlic and cream

Eight lines become three. Then you subtract: if you already have two onions, you write two. Finally you round: if the cream is sold in 2 dl cartons (a hypothetical size), you need two, and the spare 1 dl is for a fourth dish or the freezer. For storage, see our guide to freezing food.

How does Rappn send a recipe’s ingredients to your list?

In the Rappn app (iOS and Android) the recipes come from external publishers. In a recipe’s detail you adjust the “Servings” with plus and minus and the ingredient quantities rescale. With “Add to” you pick the cart (for example “Weekly shop”): under “Items to add” you tick the ingredients you need, while those under “You might already have” (salt, water, flour, pepper, oil) start unticked. The green button shows how many items you are adding. From the “Planner” you can do the same for a whole day: the ingredients split into “You have it at home” and “You might already have”, then the “Add … items” button (with the number of ingredients you chose) sends them to “Weekly shop”, where they are grouped by category. One honest note: merging the same ingredient across different recipes is still a check you do yourself, as in the method above. For more ideas browse the recipes; to organise the whole week read how to plan your weekly grocery shop, and for paper there is the printable grocery list.