# TheMealDB Recipe Scraper (`crawlergang/themealdb-scraper`) Actor

Scrape recipes from TheMealDB - search by name, filter by category, cuisine area or main ingredient, or look up by ID. Returns full recipe details with ingredients, measurements, instructions, thumbnail images, and YouTube links.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/crawlergang/themealdb-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [Crawler Gang](https://apify.com/crawlergang) (community)
- **Categories:** Automation, Developer tools, Integrations
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 11 bookmarks
- **User rating**: 5.00 out of 5 stars

## 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 web data automations that power AI and operations. They run on the Apify platform to scrape websites, process data, connect APIs, and automate workflows.
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.

- **AI agents and MCP clients** — the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/integrations/mcp.md) at `https://mcp.apify.com` (remote, streamable HTTP, OAuth on first use).
- **Agentic workflows and local Actor development** — [Agent Skills](https://apify.com/.well-known/agent-skills/index.json) with the [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): `npm install -g apify-cli`, then `apify login`.
- **JavaScript/TypeScript projects** — the official [JS/TS client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md): `npm install apify-client`.
- **Python projects** — the official [Python client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md): `pip install apify-client`.
- **Any other language** — 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

Extract recipes from [TheMealDB](https://www.themealdb.com) — a free, open-source meal and recipe database. Search by name, browse by cuisine category or area, filter by main ingredient, or look up specific recipes by ID.

### Features

- **6 scraping modes** — search, category browse, area browse, ingredient filter, ID lookup, random
- **Full recipe details** — ingredients with measurements, instructions, thumbnail images, YouTube links
- **195+ cuisine areas** — from Italian to Japanese to Indian
- **14 categories** — Beef, Chicken, Seafood, Vegetarian, Dessert, and more
- **No authentication required** — uses the free public TheMealDB API

### Input

| Field | Type | Description | Default |
|-------|------|-------------|---------|
| `mode` | Select | Scraping mode | `search` |
| `searchQuery` | String | Recipe name to search (mode=search) | `pasta` |
| `category` | Select | Meal category (mode=byCategory) | `Seafood` |
| `area` | String | Cuisine area (mode=byArea) | `Italian` |
| `ingredient` | String | Main ingredient (mode=byIngredient) | `chicken` |
| `mealIds` | Array | TheMealDB meal IDs (mode=byIds) | `[]` |
| `randomCount` | Integer | Random meals count 1–50 (mode=random) | `5` |
| `maxItems` | Integer | Max recipes to return | `50` |

#### Modes

| Mode | Description |
|------|-------------|
| `search` | Search by recipe name keyword |
| `byCategory` | Browse all recipes in a category (e.g. Seafood, Dessert) |
| `byArea` | Browse all recipes from a cuisine area (e.g. Italian, Japanese) |
| `byIngredient` | Browse all recipes using a main ingredient (e.g. chicken, salmon) |
| `byIds` | Look up specific recipes by their TheMealDB ID |
| `random` | Fetch random recipes from the database |

#### Example Input

```json
{
  "mode": "byArea",
  "area": "Japanese",
  "maxItems": 20
}
```

### Output

| Field | Type | Description |
|-------|------|-------------|
| `mealId` | String | TheMealDB unique meal ID |
| `name` | String | Recipe name |
| `category` | String | Meal category |
| `area` | String | Cuisine area/origin |
| `instructions` | String | Full cooking instructions |
| `thumbnailUrl` | String | Recipe image URL |
| `youtubeUrl` | String | YouTube tutorial link |
| `sourceUrl` | String | Original recipe source |
| `tags` | Array | Recipe tags |
| `ingredients` | Array | Ingredients with measurements `[{name, measure}]` |
| `mealUrl` | String | Link to meal on TheMealDB |
| `recordType` | String | Always `"meal"` |
| `scrapedAt` | String | ISO timestamp |

#### Example Output

```json
{
  "mealId": "52772",
  "name": "Teriyaki Chicken Casserole",
  "category": "Chicken",
  "area": "Japanese",
  "thumbnailUrl": "https://www.themealdb.com/images/media/meals/wvpsxx1468256321.jpg",
  "youtubeUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4aZr5hZXP_s",
  "ingredients": [
    {"name": "soy sauce", "measure": "3/4 cup"},
    {"name": "water", "measure": "1/2 cup"},
    {"name": "brown sugar", "measure": "1/4 cup"}
  ],
  "recordType": "meal",
  "scrapedAt": "2026-06-04T12:00:00+00:00"
}
```

### FAQ

**Is there a rate limit?**
TheMealDB is a free public API with generous rate limits suitable for normal scraping.

**How many recipes are available?**
TheMealDB contains hundreds of recipes across 14 categories and 195+ cuisine areas.

**Can I get recipes by a specific ingredient?**
Yes, use `mode=byIngredient` with `ingredient=chicken` (or any ingredient name).

**Are ingredient measurements included?**
Yes, each recipe includes up to 20 ingredients with their corresponding measurements.

**What cuisine areas are available?**
American, British, Canadian, Chinese, Dutch, Egyptian, Filipino, French, Greek, Indian, Irish, Italian, Jamaican, Japanese, Kenyan, Malaysian, Mexican, Moroccan, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Thai, Tunisian, Turkish, Ukrainian, Vietnamese, and more.

# Actor input Schema

## `mode` (type: `string`):

How to find recipes.

## `searchQuery` (type: `string`):

Recipe name to search for.

## `category` (type: `string`):

Meal category to browse.

## `area` (type: `string`):

Cuisine area to browse (e.g. Italian, Japanese, American).

## `ingredient` (type: `string`):

Main ingredient to search by (e.g. chicken, salmon).

## `mealIds` (type: `array`):

List of TheMealDB meal IDs to look up.

## `randomCount` (type: `integer`):

Number of random meals to fetch (1–50).

## `maxItems` (type: `integer`):

Maximum number of recipes to return.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "mode": "search",
  "searchQuery": "pasta",
  "category": "Seafood",
  "area": "Italian",
  "ingredient": "chicken",
  "mealIds": [],
  "randomCount": 5,
  "maxItems": 50
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `recipes` (type: `string`):

Dataset containing all scraped recipes.

# 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 '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "mode": "search",
    "searchQuery": "pasta",
    "category": "Seafood",
    "area": "Italian",
    "ingredient": "chicken",
    "mealIds": [],
    "randomCount": 5,
    "maxItems": 50
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("crawlergang/themealdb-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 '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {
    "mode": "search",
    "searchQuery": "pasta",
    "category": "Seafood",
    "area": "Italian",
    "ingredient": "chicken",
    "mealIds": [],
    "randomCount": 5,
    "maxItems": 50,
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("crawlergang/themealdb-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": "search",
  "searchQuery": "pasta",
  "category": "Seafood",
  "area": "Italian",
  "ingredient": "chicken",
  "mealIds": [],
  "randomCount": 5,
  "maxItems": 50
}' |
apify call crawlergang/themealdb-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "mcp-remote",
                "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=crawlergang/themealdb-scraper",
                "--header",
                "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR_API_TOKEN>"
            ]
        }
    }
}

```

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/jQTJNCfOANIA63YVk/builds/sse8XWt9a1yUb9Yem/openapi.json