How to use AI to create recipes based on the ingredients in the fridge

The weeks between Thanksgiving and New Year’s are filled with festivities, accommodations, and events. The best part? Remains.

We’re at that time of year when normal routines disappear, as Christmas approaches. With winter break, the holidays, and that holiday vibe, we take a break from the big food shopping and meal prep. If this sounds like your home during the holidays, you’re doing it right.

But you still have to eat, and that’s where artificial intelligence can help. While AI can’t cook for you (yet), it can suggest recipe ideas based on the ingredients in your fridge… leftover takeout, plates from a Christmas party, items hidden in your pantry and everything edible.

AI is a practical tool for planning menus and transforming restaurant dishes into recipes to prepare at home. To turn what’s in your fridge into a delicious dish, we’ll use the best-known AI tool, ChatGPT.

OpenAI’s ChatGPT was released in 2022 but has received several major updates, including to the free version. There is a premium subscription for $20 per month, but the free version will give you some ideas just fine.

Yes, boss!

Turn refrigerator chaos into a meal

Step 1: Take photos of what’s inside your refrigerator, freezer, and pantry. Just be sure to check all expiration dates, as expiration dates on sauces and pantry items are easy to miss.

Step 2: ChatGPT is better at interpreting text than photos, so create a list of your ingredients to avoid any misinterpretations or hallucinations. (True story: I once used garam masala instead of cinnamon in banana bread because they have the same bottle. So mistakes happen, even with humans.)

It’s worth noting that only add ingredients to your list that you would potentially like to use. Specify cravings, food preferences, type of meal, and number of people you are cooking for in your prompt.

Step 3: Log in to ChatGPT and open a new message to add your first prompt.

Here’s what my first prompt and ingredient list looked like:

From the start, Chef ChatGPT did pretty well. He suggested a cheese, mushroom and rice frittata with arugula salad for lunch, and brioche mushroom feta sliders with hash brown chips for dinner. Yum.

It did, however, put me off with the sauce inclusions: ranch dressing And ketchup or barbecue sauce? Maybe not.

Step 4: Chat with ChatGPT about your likes and dislikes. For example, I liked the first meal suggestion, but wanted to see what else Chef ChatGPT could prepare.

Follow up with a prompt like this: “Come up with another dinner option that uses the same ingredients but adds more protein.”

The fun thing about a chatbot is that it helps spark ideas. For example, instead of running to the store just to grab a protein for the brioche slider or relying on eggs for the dinner dish, I asked if I had the ingredients for a vegetarian galette.

Step 5: Once you’ve confirmed your new ingredients, ask ChatGPT to add them to the original recipe, so you don’t create new concoctions or go off on tangents.

After replacing the “mushroom-feta pile” (you blame me?) with a vegetarian pancake, I ended up with the ingredients and detailed cooking instructions for the Cheesy Mushroom and Rice Frittata with Salad arugula, as well as brioche mushroom and feta sliders with hash brown chips. Here’s what it looked like in part:

Make sure to include the pantry staples, because if I had missed the breadcrumbs or cornstarch, ChatGPT would not have been able to generate the patty recipe.

Step 6: Do a final scan of your fridge and recipes. For example, ChatGPT forgot to add almonds and cranberries to the arugula salad, so I made note of that.

Step 7: Screenshot the final results to view on your phone while you cook, or keep the ChatGPT tab open and get cooking right away.

This time of year should not be a source of waste. Use more ingredients in your fridge, with Chef ChatGPT offering ideas.