Chefkoch Recipe Scraper

Extract complete German recipe data from Chefkoch.de including ingredients, step-by-step instructions, cooking times, ratings, and more. Designed for food researchers, recipe app developers, and culinary analysts who need structured recipe data at scale.

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Features

• Complete Recipe Data - Collect ingredients with quantities, preparation steps, cooking times, and serving sizes
• Fast Collection - Gather hundreds of recipes in minutes with parallel processing
• Smart Search - Search by keyword or target specific recipe URLs directly
• Detailed Metadata - Includes ratings, review counts, difficulty level, author info, and publish dates
• Automatic Pagination - Handles multi-page results so you can focus on analysis
• Reliable Output - Clean, structured data ready for immediate use
• Flexible Limits - Control exactly how many recipes to collect per run

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Use Cases

Culinary Research

Analyze popular recipes and dietary trends across thousands of German recipes. Understand ingredient combinations, cooking techniques, and regional variations.

Recipe App Development

Build and maintain a rich database of German recipes for your cooking application. Keep your content fresh with regular data updates.

Market Analysis

Track recipe popularity through ratings and review counts. Identify emerging food trends and ingredient preferences based on user engagement data.

Nutrition Studies

Collect ingredient lists and serving sizes from a large recipe corpus for nutritional analysis and dietary pattern research.

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Input Parameters

Parameter	Type	Required	Default	Description
keyword	String	No	-	Search term for recipes (e.g., "Pfannkuchen", "Pasta")
startUrls	Array	No	-	Specific Chefkoch URLs to scrape [{"url": "..."}]
results_wanted	Integer	No	100	Maximum recipes to collect (0 for unlimited)
max_pages	Integer	No	20	Maximum search result pages to scan
proxyConfiguration	Object	No	-	Proxy settings for production use

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Output Data

Each recipe in the dataset includes:

Field	Type	Description
name	String	Recipe title
description	String	Short summary or subtitle
ingredients	Array	Ingredients with amounts and units
instructions	Array	Step-by-step preparation steps
cookTime	String	Cooking duration
prepTime	String	Preparation duration
totalTime	String	Total time from start to finish
servings	Number	Portion count
image	String	Recipe photo URL
author	String	Recipe creator name
rating	Number	Average user rating (1-5)
ratingCount	Number	Total rating votes
reviewCount	Number	Total reviews or comments
difficulty	Number	Difficulty level
url	String	Link to the original recipe
datePublished	String	Publication date

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Usage Examples

Keyword Search

Collect pancake recipes by search term:

{
    "keyword": "pfannkuchen",
    "results_wanted": 50
}

URL-Based Collection

Target specific recipe pages or search result URLs:

{
    "startUrls": [
        {"url": "https://www.chefkoch.de/rs/s0/pasta/Rezepte.html"}
    ],
    "results_wanted": 100
}

Large-Scale Run

Collect 500 main dish recipes with proxies:

{
    "keyword": "hauptspeise",
    "results_wanted": 500,
    "max_pages": 15,
    "proxyConfiguration": {
        "useApifyProxy": true,
        "apifyProxyGroups": ["RESIDENTIAL"]
    }
}

Targeted Recipe Details

Extract full information for specific recipes:

{
    "startUrls": [
        {"url": "https://www.chefkoch.de/rezepte/847831193524937/Omas-bester-Apfelkuchen.html"},
        {"url": "https://www.chefkoch.de/rezepte/1211981226999757/Pfannkuchen.html"}
    ],
    "results_wanted": 2
}

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Sample Output

{
    "name": "Pfannkuchen",
    "description": "ohne Zucker - schmeckt allen Kindern gut",
    "author": "DagJan",
    "rating": 4.72,
    "ratingCount": 210,
    "difficulty": 1,
    "servings": 2,
    "url": "https://www.chefkoch.de/rezepte/1211981226999757/Pfannkuchen.html",
    "cookTime": "PT1M",
    "prepTime": "PT5M",
    "totalTime": "PT6M",
    "ingredients": [
        "1 Ei(er)",
        "1 Prise(n) Salz",
        "140 ml Milch",
        "80 g Mehl",
        "Butter"
    ],
    "instructions": [
        "Das Ei uber einer Ruhrschussel aufschlagen. Salz und Milch dazugeben und mit einer Gabel verquirlen. Das Mehl essloffelweise mit einem Schneebesen unterruhren, damit keine Klumpen entstehen.",
        "In einer Pfanne ein Stuck Butter oder Butterschmalz erhitzen. Nun den Teig in der Pfanne portionsweise ausbacken.",
        "Den fertigen Pfannkuchen beliebig fullen und servieren."
    ],
    "datePublished": "2008-11-18T20:53:28+05:00"
}

Times use ISO 8601 duration format (PT5M = 5 minutes, PT1H30M = 1 hour 30 minutes).

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Tips for Best Results

Start with Test Runs

Begin with a small results_wanted value (5-10) to verify your keyword or URLs work as expected before scaling up.

Use Specific Keywords

German recipe terms work best. Try "Vegane Lasagne" instead of "vegan" for more targeted results.

Enable Proxies for Production

• No proxies needed for small test runs (under 10 recipes)
• Datacenter proxies work well for moderate collection (10-100 recipes)
• Residential proxies recommended for large-scale runs (100+ recipes)

Monitor Collection Progress

Check the output dataset during collection to verify data quality. Adjust your search terms or URLs if too many recipes have incomplete data.

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Integrations

Connect your data with:

• Google Sheets - Export recipe data for collaborative analysis
• Airtable - Build searchable recipe databases
• Webhooks - Send recipes to your backend in real time
• Make / Zapier - Create automated culinary workflows

Export Formats

• JSON - For developers and API integration
• CSV - For spreadsheet analysis
• Excel - For business reporting

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Frequently Asked Questions

How many recipes can I collect?

There is no hard limit. You can collect all available results for your search term. Use results_wanted to control the batch size.

What if a recipe has missing data?

Some recipes may have incomplete information on Chefkoch. Fields like cook time or rest time may be empty for certain dishes.

Can I scrape specific recipes instead of searching?

Yes. Provide direct recipe URLs in the startUrls parameter and set your desired count. The actor will collect only those recipes.

How do I avoid rate limits?

Use Apify Proxy with residential groups for large collections. Start with smaller batches and increase gradually.

Does it handle German recipe search terms?

Yes. Chefkoch is a German platform, so German keywords produce the best results.

What if I get zero results?

Verify your keyword is a valid German recipe term. Check that startUrls contain correct Chefkoch.de URLs. Test by visiting the site directly.

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Support

For issues or feature requests, reach out through the Apify Console.

Resources

• Apify Documentation
• API Reference
• Scheduling Runs

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Legal Notice

This actor is designed for legitimate data collection purposes. Users are responsible for ensuring compliance with Chefkoch's terms of service and applicable laws. Use data responsibly and respect rate limits.