Plan, Shop and Cook Smarter with the BigOven App

BigOven has become one of my most beloved apps. I use it to meal plan, build my grocery list, and collect recipes all in one place.

The feature that I use the most is definitely the grocery list. I choose what I want to cook for the week and BigOven builds the list from the recipes that I've selected. I can also add items individually. And, the list can be sorted by recipe or by department (produce, canned goods, etc). Sorting by recipe is a great feature for those days when you just want to purchase what you need to get dinner on the table. Sorting by department will get you through the store more efficiently.

Since the list can be accessed from all of my devices, I add things as I think of them from wherever I am. I've recently put my husband in charge of the weekly Trader Joe's shopping. BigOven allows him to access the grocery list using the app on his phone. You can share the list to whomever you'd like by adding their email address to your "Household" in the account settings.

BigOven has much more to offer than creating a grocery list. Here's a quick run down on some key features that I use, as well as areas for improvement and pricing.

Note Taking
Whenever I try a new recipe, I follow it to the letter the first time that I make it. If needed, I'll adjust it the next time to get it just right for our family's taste. The private notes feature allows me to keep track of any tweaks that I'd like to make to the recipe in the future. Sometimes I also make notes about yields or on the fly changes that I made that worked out well or fell flat.

Search Database
There are literally thousands of recipes in the database. You can search by an ingredient, a recipe name, or a meal course. Can't think of anything to cook? Start playing around in here and you can get lost for days.

Use Leftovers
Do you ever wonder what to do with a few random things in your refrigerator? Enter up to three ingredients and quickly find recipes that use those things.

Import Recipes
Type them in manually, copy / paste from a file, or use the "clip from a recipe site" feature. You can also have a scanned recipe transcribed by BigOven. When you use your allotment of free scans (number varies depending on price plan), more can be purchased for a small fee.

Create Folders
Use folders to organize your recipes in a way that makes sense to you. Folders for "Added, Favorites, Try, and Made" are created by default. However, you can create your own folders. For example, I created "Cook This Week, Guests, Smoothies, and Household Faves."

Needs Improvement

• There's a meal planning calendar that is clunky to use and needs some work. In theory, it's a great idea, but the interface leaves much to be desired. Every once in awhile I go in and play with it. But, until they make this feature easier to use, I'll stay away from it.
• Sometimes I have issues syncing between the app installed on my iPad / iPhone and the web browser interface. Logging out and logging back into the app resolves this bug. 

Pricing
At this time, there's a free version and Pro paid version ($25/year). I've been paying for the Pro version for several years now and can't imagine living without it.

Check out a feature comparison here.