# TheMealDB Recipe Scraper (`crawlerbros/themealdb-recipe-scraper`) Actor Browse and search recipes from TheMealDB - filter by ingredient, category, or world cuisine area. Get full ingredients, instructions, and images. Free, no API key required. - **URL**: https://apify.com/crawlerbros/themealdb-recipe-scraper.md - **Developed by:** [Crawler Bros](https://apify.com/crawlerbros) (community) - **Categories:** Developer tools, Integrations, MCP servers - **Stats:** 1 total users, 0 monthly users, 0.0% runs succeeded, NaN bookmarks - **User rating**: No ratings yet ## Pricing from $3.00 / 1,000 results This Actor is paid per event and usage. You are charged both the fixed price for specific events and for Apify platform usage. Since this Actor supports Apify Store discounts, the price gets lower the higher subscription plan you have. Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#pay-per-event ## What's an Apify Actor? Actors are a software tools running on the Apify platform, for all kinds of web data extraction and automation use cases. In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours, and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store. In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server. Actors are written with capital "A". ## How to integrate an Actor? If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects. You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready. The best way to integrate Actors is as follows. In JavaScript/TypeScript projects, use official [JavaScript/TypeScript client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js.md): ```bash npm install apify-client ``` In Python projects, use official [Python client library](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python.md): ```bash pip install apify-client ``` In shell scripts, use [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): ````bash # MacOS / Linux curl -fsSL https://apify.com/install-cli.sh | bash # Windows irm https://apify.com/install-cli.ps1 | iex ```bash In AI frameworks, you might use the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/platform/integrations/mcp.md). If your project is in a different language, use the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md). For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below. For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt). # README ## TheMealDB Recipe Scraper Browse and search **global recipes from TheMealDB** — the world's largest open recipe database. Find meals by ingredient, cuisine area, or category. Get full recipe details including ingredients, step-by-step instructions, and images. No API key required. Data sourced from [TheMealDB](https://www.themealdb.com/) — a free, open meal database. ### Features - Browse recipes by ingredient (e.g. chicken, pasta, salmon) - Browse by cuisine area (Italian, Japanese, Mexican, Indian, and 20+ more) - Browse by category (Chicken, Beef, Seafood, Vegetarian, Dessert, and more) - Search by recipe name keyword - Returns full ingredients list with measures - Includes step-by-step cooking instructions - Links to YouTube tutorial videos when available - No proxy required — free public API - Retries on rate limits and server errors ### Input Parameters | Parameter | Type | Description | |-----------|------|-------------| | `mode` | select | Browse mode: byIngredient, byCategory, byArea, or search | | `query` | string | Ingredient, category, area, or search term (e.g. chicken, Italian, pasta) | | `fetchDetails` | boolean | Fetch full recipe details including instructions (default: true) | | `maxItems` | integer | Maximum recipes to return (1–200, default 20) | ### Browse Modes | Mode | Query Example | Description | |------|---------------|-------------| | `byIngredient` | chicken | Find meals containing a specific ingredient | | `byCategory` | Beef | Browse meals by TheMealDB category | | `byArea` | Italian | Browse meals from a world cuisine | | `search` | pasta | Search meals by name keyword | ### Supported Areas (Cuisines) American, British, Canadian, Chinese, Croatian, Dutch, Egyptian, Filipino, French, Greek, Indian, Irish, Italian, Jamaican, Japanese, Kenyan, Malaysian, Mexican, Moroccan, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Thai, Tunisian, Turkish, Ukrainian, Vietnamese ### Supported Categories Beef, Breakfast, Chicken, Dessert, Goat, Lamb, Miscellaneous, Pasta, Pork, Seafood, Side, Starter, Vegan, Vegetarian ### Output Fields | Field | Type | Description | |-------|------|-------------| | `mealId` | string | TheMealDB meal ID | | `name` | string | Meal name | | `category` | string | Meal category | | `area` | string | Cuisine area/country | | `instructions` | string | Step-by-step cooking instructions | | `ingredients` | array | Ingredient list with measurements | | `ingredientCount` | integer | Number of ingredients | | `tags` | string | Comma-separated tags | | `youtubeUrl` | string | YouTube tutorial URL | | `imageUrl` | string | Meal photo URL | | `sourceUrl` | string | TheMealDB meal page URL | | `recordType` | string | Always "meal" | | `scrapedAt` | string | ISO 8601 timestamp | ### Example Input ```json { "mode": "byIngredient", "query": "chicken", "fetchDetails": true, "maxItems": 10 } ```` ### Example Output ```json { "mealId": "52772", "name": "Teriyaki Chicken Casserole", "category": "Chicken", "area": "Japanese", "ingredients": ["3/4 cup soy sauce", "1/2 cup water", "1/4 cup brown sugar"], "ingredientCount": 13, "imageUrl": "https://www.themealdb.com/images/media/meals/wvpsxx1468256321.jpg", "sourceUrl": "https://www.themealdb.com/meal/52772", "recordType": "meal", "scrapedAt": "2026-06-10T12:00:00+00:00" } ``` ### FAQ **Is this free to use?** Yes — data comes from TheMealDB public API, which is free and requires no authentication. **What's the difference between modes?** - `byIngredient` finds all meals containing a specific ingredient - `byCategory` lists all meals in a TheMealDB category (Chicken, Beef, etc.) - `byArea` lists all meals from a specific world cuisine (Italian, Japanese, etc.) - `search` finds meals whose name matches a keyword **How many recipes are available?** TheMealDB contains hundreds of recipes across 20+ world cuisines and 14 categories. **Are instructions available?** Yes — set `fetchDetails: true` (the default) to include full step-by-step instructions and ingredients with measurements. ### Data Source Data is retrieved from [TheMealDB API](https://www.themealdb.com/api.php) — a free, open meal database with hundreds of recipes from around the world. No scraping is performed; this actor calls the official REST API directly. # Actor input Schema ## `mode` (type: `string`): How to find meals: by ingredient, category, area, or name search. ## `query` (type: `string`): Value for the selected mode: ingredient name (e.g. chicken), category (e.g. Beef), area (e.g. Italian), or search term (e.g. pasta). ## `fetchDetails` (type: `boolean`): Fetch full recipe details including instructions and ingredients (recommended). Set to false for faster summary-only results. ## `maxItems` (type: `integer`): Maximum number of recipes to return. ## Actor input object example ```json { "mode": "byIngredient", "query": "chicken", "fetchDetails": true, "maxItems": 20 } ``` # Actor output Schema ## `meals` (type: `string`): Dataset containing all scraped meal records. # API You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup. ## JavaScript example ```javascript import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client'; // Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token // Replace the '' with your token const client = new ApifyClient({ token: '', }); // Prepare Actor input const input = { "mode": "byIngredient", "query": "chicken", "fetchDetails": true, "maxItems": 20 }; // Run the Actor and wait for it to finish const run = await client.actor("crawlerbros/themealdb-recipe-scraper").call(input); // Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any) console.log('Results from dataset'); console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`); const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems(); items.forEach((item) => { console.dir(item); }); // 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs ``` ## Python example ```python from apify_client import ApifyClient # Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token # Replace '' with your token. client = ApifyClient("") # Prepare the Actor input run_input = { "mode": "byIngredient", "query": "chicken", "fetchDetails": True, "maxItems": 20, } # Run the Actor and wait for it to finish run = client.actor("crawlerbros/themealdb-recipe-scraper").call(run_input=run_input) # Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any) print("💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/" + run["defaultDatasetId"]) for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items(): print(item) # 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start ``` ## CLI example ```bash echo '{ "mode": "byIngredient", "query": "chicken", "fetchDetails": true, "maxItems": 20 }' | apify call crawlerbros/themealdb-recipe-scraper --silent --output-dataset ``` ## MCP server setup ```json { "mcpServers": { "apify": { "command": "npx", "args": [ "mcp-remote", "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=crawlerbros/themealdb-recipe-scraper", "--header", "Authorization: Bearer " ] } } } ``` ## OpenAPI specification ```json { "openapi": "3.0.1", "info": { "title": "TheMealDB Recipe Scraper", "description": "Browse and search recipes from TheMealDB - filter by ingredient, category, or world cuisine area. Get full ingredients, instructions, and images. Free, no API key required.", "version": "1.0", "x-build-id": "O95fXiav4ziugP46T" }, "servers": [ { "url": "https://api.apify.com/v2" } ], "paths": { "/acts/crawlerbros~themealdb-recipe-scraper/run-sync-get-dataset-items": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-get-dataset-items-crawlerbros-themealdb-recipe-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for its completion, and returns Actor's dataset items in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } }, "/acts/crawlerbros~themealdb-recipe-scraper/runs": { "post": { "operationId": "runs-sync-crawlerbros-themealdb-recipe-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor and returns information about the initiated run in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK", "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/runsResponseSchema" } } } } } } }, "/acts/crawlerbros~themealdb-recipe-scraper/run-sync": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-crawlerbros-themealdb-recipe-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for completion, and returns the OUTPUT from Key-value store in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } } }, "components": { "schemas": { "inputSchema": { "type": "object", "properties": { "mode": { "title": "Browse Mode", "enum": [ "byIngredient", "byCategory", "byArea", "search" ], "type": "string", "description": "How to find meals: by ingredient, category, area, or name search.", "default": "byIngredient" }, "query": { "title": "Search Query / Filter Value", "type": "string", "description": "Value for the selected mode: ingredient name (e.g. chicken), category (e.g. Beef), area (e.g. Italian), or search term (e.g. pasta)." }, "fetchDetails": { "title": "Fetch Full Recipe Details", "type": "boolean", "description": "Fetch full recipe details including instructions and ingredients (recommended). Set to false for faster summary-only results.", "default": true }, "maxItems": { "title": "Max Items", "minimum": 1, "maximum": 200, "type": "integer", "description": "Maximum number of recipes to return.", "default": 20 } } }, "runsResponseSchema": { "type": "object", "properties": { "data": { "type": "object", "properties": { "id": { "type": "string" }, "actId": { "type": "string" }, "userId": { "type": "string" }, "startedAt": { "type": "string", "format": "date-time", "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z" }, "finishedAt": { "type": "string", "format": "date-time", "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z" }, "status": { "type": "string", "example": "READY" }, "meta": { "type": "object", "properties": { "origin": { "type": "string", "example": "API" }, "userAgent": { "type": "string" } } }, "stats": { "type": "object", "properties": { "inputBodyLen": { "type": "integer", "example": 2000 }, "rebootCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "restartCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "resurrectCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "computeUnits": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } }, "options": { "type": "object", "properties": { "build": { "type": "string", "example": "latest" }, "timeoutSecs": { "type": "integer", "example": 300 }, "memoryMbytes": { "type": "integer", "example": 1024 }, "diskMbytes": { "type": "integer", "example": 2048 } } }, "buildId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultKeyValueStoreId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultDatasetId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultRequestQueueId": { "type": "string" }, "buildNumber": { "type": "string", "example": "1.0.0" }, "containerUrl": { "type": "string" }, "usage": { "type": "object", "properties": { "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 1 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_SERPS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } }, "usageTotalUsd": { "type": "number", "example": 0.00005 }, "usageUsd": { "type": "object", "properties": { "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": { "type": "number", "example": 0.00005 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_SERPS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } } } } } } } } } ```