How to save a recipe from Facebook (Reels, videos and posts)
Facebook is full of recipe Reels, cooking videos and long recipe posts in groups, and its Save button keeps none of them in a form you can cook from. Here’s how to turn a Facebook recipe into a real, written recipe you can scale, shop for and find again.
Updated November 2, 2026
The fast way: share it to Buttter
Buttter is a recipe manager for iPhone and iPad. It works from the iOS share sheet, so you never have to leave the app you found the recipe in.
- Open the Facebook post. Find the recipe Reel, video or post in the Facebook app and tap Share.
- Open the iOS share sheet. In Facebook’s share panel, tap More options (or Share to…) to open the standard iOS share sheet. You can also tap Copy link.
- Pick Buttter. Choose Buttter from the app row (it may be under More the first time). If you copied the link, open Buttter and paste it on the Import screen.
- Check and cook. Buttter writes out the ingredient list with amounts and numbered steps, adds nutrition, and files the recipe into a cookbook. Give it a quick read, adjust anything you like, and start cooking.
Recipe only in the video? Still works
Most Facebook recipe Reels have a one-line caption and the actual recipe only in the video. Share it to Buttter anyway: you get the full ingredient list with amounts and step-by-step instructions, as if the creator had written it all down.
If a video genuinely has no recipe in it (a reaction clip, a restaurant visit), Buttter tells you so instead of inventing one. You’ll never end up with a made-up recipe in your collection.
Text posts and recipes in groups
Facebook recipe groups often share the full recipe as a long text post, sometimes with a photo of a handwritten card. Share the post to Buttter the same way and it pulls out the ingredients and steps, leaving the comments and chatter behind.
Buttter can only read what anyone with the link can open, so recipes from private groups and friends-only posts can’t be imported. For those, copy the text and paste it into Buttter instead.
Other ways to keep a Facebook recipe, compared honestly
- Facebook’s Save button. Free and instant, but it saves a link to the post, not a recipe. Posts get deleted, groups go private, and your Saved list has no ingredient search.
- Screenshots. Fine for a short text recipe, useless for a Reel, and they end up lost in your camera roll.
- Copying into Notes. Works for text posts, but Notes won’t scale servings or send ingredients to your shopping list.
After you’ve saved it
- Scale it. Change the servings and every quantity recalculates. Try the free recipe scaler to see how it works.
- Shop for it. Send the ingredients in one tap to Apple Reminders, Things 3 or Todoist.
- Cook from it. Step-by-step cook mode keeps the screen awake while your hands are messy.
- Find it again. Search everything you’ve saved by name or ingredient, and let Buttter sort new imports into cookbooks automatically.
The same flow works for Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Pinterest and any recipe website.
Questions, answered
How do I save a recipe from a Facebook Reel?
Tap Share on the Reel, then More options or Copy link, and pick Buttter or paste the link into Buttter’s Import screen. You get a written recipe with ingredients and steps.
Does it work when the recipe is only in the video?
Yes. You get the full written recipe even when nothing is written in the post. If there is no recipe in the video, it tells you instead of making one up.
Can I save recipes from Facebook groups?
Yes, from public groups and public posts. Posts in private groups or shared with friends only can’t be opened by Buttter; copy the text and paste it into the app instead.
Can I use it on a computer?
Buttter is an iPhone and iPad app (iOS 18 or later). There is no Android, Mac or web version, so save Facebook recipes from your phone or iPad.
Is it free?
Buttter is free to download. Some AI features are part of an optional subscription, and the price is shown in the app before you subscribe.
