How to Create a Cookbook You Love to Use

Trying to create a cookbook you love to use can be hard to do, but I have figured out what works! Let me help you make a cookbook that you will enjoy for years to come.

Finding a recipe system that works for you is so hard. I spent so much time as a new adult in college trying to figure out what types of systems worked and didnt work.

I tried recipe index cards and spiral notebooks. Then, I tried the cheap premade binders sold with pages for recipes. Finally, I tried the more expensive cookbooks that seem like they should have everything you need.

None of them worked for me!

I finally got so frustrated, that I created my own system and my own cookbook and I LOVE it!

By creating my own cookbook, I could create categories that made sense to me and that felt useable. I can add pages without worrying that I will run out or look different.

It solved so many of the problems I had easily!

The Common Problems with Cookbooks and Recipe Systems

They are not Created with Spills in Mind.

Spills in my kitchen are common and worrying that my recipes are not going to look great anymore because they are not made for spills is frustrating and makes cooking harder.

Most Cookbooks are too Heavy or Awkward to have on the Cooking Space.

I have tried to have my cookbooks just laying on the counter as I cook and they tend to take up more space than I am! I need more counter space to work and less to hold the book.

Recipe Systems get Dropped or Pushed off of Counters.

My index card system used to scatter all over the floor. I hated having to reorganize the system all the time. The binders wouldn’t always fall apart, but if the binder got damaged in the fall I couldn’t replace the binder easily.

The Categories are not How I Would Organize Them.

I really didn’t feel like I could fit all the categories I wanted into any cookbook. When you buy them they only come with a certain amount of dividers and it is NEVER ENOUGH. I spent so long trying to find recipes because it was not organized into small enough categories.

It is Hard to Replace Recipes or Move the Recipes.

Most of the bought cookbooks were double sided and if I wanted to rearrange the recipes it would be impossible to organize them because they are on the same page.

Replacing recipes was equally hard because not only did I have to rewrite the first recipe you also have to rewrite the recipe on the back too!

There is no Easy System to Manage New Recipes.

Adding and managing new recipes to cookbooks I bought and index card systems was horrible. I felt like I needed to have a whole separate system to manage the new recipes I was trying.

Why Create Your Own Cookbook?

There are SO many reasons I recommend creating your own cookbook. I really love my cookbook because it has systems that ACTUALLY work.

It may seem like I am being dramatic, but honestly managing my cookbook was a big stressor for me for years. I hadn’t found any system that I liked and it was making cooking difficult.

I didn’t decide to create a cookbook until I got pregnant. Once I was pregnant it gave me a big lightbulb moment that nothing in my life was going to be easier than it was right now, so the systems that were the worst needed to be redone and fast!

Create a Cookbook with Recipe Templates that work for you!

I love the recipe template I created. It is simple straight forward and cute. I like the art and I like that I have my recipes hand written. I feel like my cookbook is cute, functional, and personal to me.

Create Categories that you Actually Use!

The reason I struggled with my past systems is that they were not categorized enough for me. They have a section for desserts and then all my desserts get mixed together.

I needed sub-sections of cookies, cakes, bars, and frostings. When it was organized so broadly I couldn’t find any recipe I wanted in less than 2 minutes.

Finding things quickly in the frantic ‘what is for dinner?’ mode is a life saver for me! I need to be able to sort out my recipes quickly.

Maybe you want to create a cookbook organized by vegetables or ingredients because you need to find recipes based on the food in the fridge!

Creating a cookbook that works for you makes cooking so much easier and more enjoyable.

Should you Handwrite your Recipes?

I love that my recipes are handwritten. I like to idea that my cookbook is personal and my future children will use it after I am gone. Handwritten recipes need more time upfront because you are writing them.

My family does not own a printer either so handwritten recipes means that I can change things instantly instead of having to find a printer to use.

I tend to adjust recipes a little bit each time I use them, so handwritten recipes is important to me because I write and rewrite on them often.

Is handwritten recipes important to you? Are there reasons why handwritten recipes would be faster or easier?

Should you Type your Recipes?

If typing is easier for you than yes type them! Typing is great for people with easy access to a printer, people who want to share recipes with friends easily, and who like to have the recipes look uniform.

My grandma types all of her recipes so that they are easy to share for her and they all look the same. She loves how uniform they look!

Page Protectors – The Secret Weapon!

My grandma keeps all her recipes in page protectors and it is GENIUS! It keeps her recipes clean and it lets her move the pages around and reorganize whenever she wants!

Page protectors are the secret weapon of a cookbook that stays clean and functional!

How do you Manage New Recipes Coming into Your Cookbook?

Managing new recipes can be overwhelming! Here is how I do it!

Step 1 – Find and Print

I find a new recipe I want to try.

I print out the recipe and read through the whole thing.

Step 2 – Ingredients Check

If I have all the ingredients then I plan a time to make the food within the next week and add it to my todo list. If I don’t have all the food I add the ingredients to my grocery list and then plan to have that food later.

Step 3 – Test it out!

I make the recipe and test it out to see if I like it. If I don’t, then I put the recipe in the recycling. There is no reason to keep recipes that I didn’t like.

If I like the recipe then I see if I want to tweak it at all and test it with the changes.

Step 4 – Write it Down

When I love a recipe just the way it is I dedicate the time to handwrite a version that will replace the printed page. That is how I know that I have tested the recipes in my cookbook!

This system has really helped me keep track of what recipes I have tried and loved and which ones still need to be tested out!

How do you Assemble a Cookbook you Love?

Now that I have told you all the ways making a cookbook of your own will help solve the typical problems everyone has with normal cookbooks, let me show you step by step how to make a cookbook!

Step 1 – Download and Print my Cookbook Freebie

Print all the instructions and a copy of the writing style you like for the labels.

Printing this out will help you immensely for the next step!

Step 2 -Decision Time!

Now is the time to decide what you want your cookbook to look like. Use the page in my freebie to help you plan each of the elements before you gather the materials.

Decide the colors, papers, types of pages you want, the categories you want, etc. . .

Step 3 – Gather Materials to Create a Cookbook you Love

You already made the decisions, now you get to go get the materials and watch your future cookbook take shape!

Here are my recommended amounts of all the materials.

1 – 2-3 inch Binder

1 Roll of Packing Tape

100 pack of Page Protectors

Fun/Festive Paper – you decided how much

1 Glue Stick or Bottle, I prefer stick because there is no wait time.

3-5 Sandwich sized baggies or a folder to keep all your cut pieces in while you are waiting to assemble.

1 Pair of Good Scissors

1 Ruler

Step 4 – Time to Cut

Now that you have the materials lets get to cutting! I love cutting things out in front of the TV or listening to an audio book. I find it relaxing

Feel free to enlist help from others if you don’t like cutting. Otherwise make it a good time for yourself! Enjoy the process.

Cut out all the labels you want to use, the cover, the end side label

Step 5 – Assemble Cover

Glue your cookbook label to the paper you want to use for your cover. Put the end side label on the end.

Step 6 – Assemble Categories

Glue the big category labels onto the pages you want to use.

Then place them into the page protector.

Step 7 -Assemble Binder

As you finish category pages with all the tabs, put them into the binder how you want them to be!

Step 8 – Add the Side Tabs

This is the trickiest part. You can skip it if you want, but I do really like having these tabs for easy searching.

You will tape the small tabs onto the category pages you created.

For each category decide where about you want your tabs to be on the page. They can all be at the top or bottom to make searching easy or they can be spaced down the page.

Remove the category page you are working with from the binder. This is easiest on a flat, clean surface.

Fold the two labels in between the two labels like a sandwich. There should be a word on both sides of the fold. Decide which way you want the words to face on your category page.

If you want them to be even with the page protector, then tape the tab labels directly onto the page protector, then flip to finish on the other side.

If you want the tabs to stick out, then set it all on a flat surface. Position the tab where you want it and then place the tape on the page protector, then the tab. Fold over the end of the tab and then flip the page protector over to tape on the other side.

Step 9 – Reassemble the Binder and Add Recipes!

You have done the hard parts! Now you are just organizing and adding your old system into your new system.

Add the recipes into the binder behind the categories you created. No matter what they look like.

Step 10 – Set a Recipe Goal

Set a weekly goal of typing up or handwriting 5 recipes. That way you are making consistent progress toward your cookbook without getting overwhelmed!

Step 11 – Regular Check ins

You have created a beautiful cookbook that is exactly how you want it to be! Now you need to upkeep the beautiful system you have.

I find that about twice a year I need to go through and take care of my cookbook. I get rid of any recipes I have no intentions of trying. Usually I need to reorganize a few of my busiest sections that tend to get disorganized.

Most importantly, I wipe down any page protectors that need it and clean out the binder pockets. The pockets tend to catch lots of recipes I never used and crumbs.

What Tips do You Have to Create a Cookbook You Love?

Let us know in the comments down below what cookbook tips and categories that you use that make your recipe system amazing!

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