How to Choose the Best GLP-1 Recipe App (2026)

If you're on Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro, or Zepbound and searching for recipes, you've probably noticed that most cooking apps and websites weren't built for you. They assume a normal appetite, push calorie-cutting, and bury the one number that matters most on GLP-1 medication: protein. This guide explains what actually makes a recipe app useful on GLP-1 medication, and how to choose one.

Basilino makes this app, so we have a point of view — but the criteria below are what we'd tell a friend to look for regardless of which tool they pick.

The three types of tool people try

1. General recipe sites and apps. Huge libraries, beautiful photos — but built around full-size appetites and "comfort food." Portions are large, protein is an afterthought, and nothing flags the rich or greasy dishes that trigger GLP-1 nausea. Great for ideas, poor for daily eating on medication.

2. Calorie-counting / macro trackers. Strong at logging, weak at cooking. They'll tell you that you ate 38g of protein, but they won't tell you what to cook tonight that's gentle on your stomach and protein-dense. You end up eating less without eating better.

3. GLP-1-specific food apps. Purpose-built around smaller appetites, high protein, and side effects like nausea. This is the category that actually fits — and it's where Basilino sits.

At a glance: how the categories compare

Feature	General recipe apps	Calorie / macro trackers	GLP-1-specific apps
Protein shown per serving	Rarely	Yes (you log it)	Yes (built in)
Gentle-day / nausea-aware options	No	No	Yes
Portions sized for a smaller appetite	No	No	Yes
Recipe clipping with nutrition worked out	Sometimes	No	Yes
Built-in shopping list	Sometimes	No	Yes
Free tier	Usually	Usually	Yes

What to look for in a GLP-1 recipe app

Use this checklist whatever you choose:

• Protein shown per serving, prominently. Protein is the priority on GLP-1 medication; if you have to do the maths yourself, the app is working against you.
• Portions sized for a smaller appetite, not 4-person family dinners you'll never finish.
• "Gentle day" or nausea-aware options — and clear flags for fried, greasy, rich, or spicy dishes that commonly upset GLP-1 stomachs.
• Protein tracking against a daily goal, so cooking and logging live in one place.
• The ability to save and organise the meals that actually work for you.
• Bring-your-own recipes — can you clip a recipe you found elsewhere and have its nutrition worked out?
• Honest about medical limits — a good app supports your care team, it doesn't pretend to replace them.

How Basilino measures up

Basilino was built specifically for life on GLP-1 medication:

• Every recipe shows protein, fibre, and calories per serving.
• Gentle-day recipes and automatic flags for nausea-triggering ingredients.
• Protein tracking against a daily goal tuned to a smaller appetite.
• Recipe clipping — paste any recipe URL and we extract the ingredients, steps, and calculate the protein.
• A cookbook and aisle-organised shopping list to plan around the meals you love.
• UK/US units that convert both ways automatically.

It's free to start, with a 14-day trial of Plus and no card required.

The bottom line

A general recipe site will give you inspiration; a calorie tracker will give you numbers. But if you're eating less because of your medication, you need a tool that makes the little you eat count — protein-first, gentle when you need it, and built around how GLP-1 medications actually change your appetite. That's the test to apply to any app you try.

See for yourself — start free, no card needed.