The Benefits Of Using A Blank Recipe Journal

Having a blank recipe book to write in can change your habits, get you organized, and make cooking so much easier!
A blank recipe journal is a cookbook with blank pages that allows you to create your own personal cookbook. Blank recipe journal layouts typically have headings for the ingredients, cooking instructions, and space for taking notes. Some even allow you to give the recipe a rating. Personal recipe journals provide a simple and convenient way of accessing your favorite recipes. They’re different from regular cookbooks in that you fill them with your most treasured recipes rather than having recipes dictated to you by a publisher.

The Problem With Traditional Cookbooks

I have plenty of cookbooks on my bookshelf (if you ask my husband, he’ll say I have too many). Yet, when it came time to make my favorite meals, it always seemed like a chore just to find the recipes I wanted. Sometimes it felt like I spent more time searching through cookbooks for a recipe than I did preparing the actual meal.

That is, until I got smart and started saving my favorite recipes in blank recipe journals. Being able to save recipes from various websites and cookbooks in one location has made cooking easier and more fun. Many are familiar with recipe cards, but using the right blank recipe book to write in can provide a much better experience. Premade books offer a wealth of benefits over old-fashioned recipe cards.

Yes, you can use a regular notebook for this, but DIY cookbooks include recipe templates that make recording the ingredients and directions a breeze. Most even come with a table of contents that makes it easy to find the recipe you’re looking for!

Easily Manage Internet Recipes

Some of my favorite recipes are ones I found online. Since I’ve started using blank recipe journals, I’ve been easily able to record any of my favorite recipes from Pinterest, Facebook, or anywhere around the internet. Having to read a recipe from my phone when I cooked was a pain. Having a blank recipe book to write in has been a tremendous help. I just flip through my DIY cookbook to find the recipe I want and get cooking!

Find Favorite Recipes with Ease

I always keep a blank recipe journal on hand so that when I find a new recipe I like, I can save it right away. 

After I make a dish, I’ll rate it and make notes on any substitutions, corrections, or changes I made. If my family and I liked it enough, I’ll later copy it to a personal recipe journal where I record my favorites. I keep a blank recipe book to write in right in my kitchen so that when it comes time to cook a favorite dish, I know exactly where to find it.

Plenty of Room for Your Recipes

I’ve tried using recipe cards, but it’s easy to lose or misplace them. Often, I found they didn’t have enough space to write the entire recipe, either. 
I find it’s easier to use a blank recipe book to write in because they’re larger and can handle recipes with more ingredients and steps. The larger size also allows me to write out the steps using complete sentences.

Consistently Get Good Results

Using a blank recipe journal gives me more flexibility and lets me take notes on what works and what doesn’t. Have you ever found a recipe that was almost perfect but needed more salt, more water, or even an additional ingredient? You can easily store that information in a blank recipe journal and make your next attempt at making it perfect. I’ve converted several of my recipes over to the Instant Pot. Being able to read off how much water to use, the correct pressure level, and cooking times has made making our favorite recipes quicker and easier.

Months from now, when I want to make the same meal, I’ll know exactly where to look for it. Plus, when my daughters get older, I can give them a personal recipe journal with all of their favorite meals in the front to get them started in their new homes. They will be able to cook those same recipes for their children and grandchildren. To me, this is priceless and makes keeping a blank recipe journal worth it.

Get More Out of Your Recipes

The idea behind a personal recipe journal is to save time and get the best results when you cook, which is something we all want to do. I find most recipes are a little too vague. They rarely give enough details, and they can fail to explain all the nuances involved in making a recipe. By keeping a blank recipe book to write in, you can recreate a recipe in your own kitchen, capture those missing details, and make a truly special dish.

Cook Healthful Meals

In an age of freezer meals and fast-food chains, being able to cook delicious and healthful meals has become more important than ever. Having a collection of easily accessible recipes can make an enormous difference in the quality of your family’s diet. 

So get out your pen, dust off your old cookbooks, and begin filling in your blank recipe journal. You may soon find that keeping a collection of favorite recipes is the best thing you ever did for yourself, your family, and your health.

Final Thoughts

I love my personal recipe journals. Unlike traditional cookbooks, they’re more than just a collection of recipes. They’re my personal archive for all my favorite recipes from around the internet, as well as from friends and family. I can record recipes I’ve adapted for my family and have them all in one place. I highly recommend finding the right blank recipe journal for storing your favorite recipes.

I hope you’ll add a blank cookbook to your cookbook library just like I did. Blank recipe journals are perfect for anyone who loves cooking or who wants to enjoy cooking more.