How to save recipes from Instagram — and actually cook them

You tap the bookmark on a Reel, and you never see it again. Instagram's Saved folder is a graveyard of good intentions. Here is a better way.

Why the Instagram Saved folder doesn't work for recipes

• You can't search it. Finding "that chickpea thing from March" means scrolling through hundreds of thumbnails.
• The recipe is buried in a caption — or only spoken in the video, so you're pausing and rewinding with flour on your hands.
• Posts disappear. When a creator deletes or archives a post, it vanishes from your saves.
• It's not a shopping list. There's no clean list of ingredients to check against your fridge.

Save an Instagram recipe in three taps

1. Tap Share. On the Reel or post, tap the share (paper plane) icon.
2. Choose Table. In the iPhone and Android apps, Table sits right in your share sheet — no copying links, no switching apps. On the web, choose Copy link, open Table, tap Add recipe and paste it.
3. Review and save. Table reads the caption and — when the caption is incomplete — the spoken instructions in the video, then writes out a proper ingredient list and numbered steps. Check it, add your own tags like weeknight or date night, and save.

The recipe now lives in your own collection, with the original photo and a link back to the creator. It stays there even if the post is taken down.

What Table does with the recipe

• Structures it into ingredients with quantities and step-by-step instructions.
• Converts units — cups to grams and back, with one tap.
• Translates it if the creator posts in another language, and keeps the original available.
• Makes it findable with search, categories and your own labels.
• Lets you share it in a cookbook with your partner or family.

Tips for better Instagram imports

• Posts where the creator writes the full recipe in the caption import most accurately.
• If the creator says "recipe in bio" or links to a blog, import the blog link instead — you'll get the exact recipe they published.
• Always glance over the quantities before you cook. That's why Table shows you the recipe to review before it's saved.
• Private accounts can't be imported, because the post isn't publicly readable.

Does it work for TikTok, Facebook and Pinterest too?

Yes. The same flow works for TikTok videos, Facebook videos and Pinterest pins — and for almost any recipe website.