Overview

The Edamam Recipe Search API lets you search a database of over 2 million recipes filtered by ingredients, diet labels such as vegan or keto, meal type, and cuisine. Authentication uses an app ID and app key, both obtained free from the Edamam developer portal. It is a great starting point for food apps that need rich, filterable recipe data with nutritional information included.

Beginner Tip

Use the diet and health query parameters (e.g., &diet=balanced&health=vegan) to narrow results — without filters you may get thousands of matches.

Available Data

The kind of data this API exposes, based on its documentation. We could not call the endpoint to confirm the exact field names.

recipe name and ingredients
nutritional values
calorie count
serving size
preparation time
Use case: Integrate recipe search data into web and mobile applications

Example Response

Illustrative shape only — we were not able to call this endpoint (it requires credentials or exposes no public sample URL), so the fields below show the kind of data this API returns rather than a recorded response.

JSON Response · Illustrative
{
  "recipe": "Chicken Stir Fry",
  "calories": 380,
  "protein_g": 32,
  "carbs_g": 28,
  "fat_g": 14,
  "ingredients": [
    "chicken breast",
    "bell pepper",
    "soy sauce",
    "garlic"
  ],
  "prep_time_minutes": 20
}

Field Reference

label Name of the recipe.
image URL to the recipe thumbnail image.
source Name of the website or publication that published the recipe.
url Link to the full recipe on the source website.
calories Total calories for the entire recipe.
ingredientLines List of ingredient strings exactly as written in the original recipe.

Implementation Example

Calls a real endpoint of this API. Replace any placeholder credentials with your own key.

Request
const url = "https://api.edamam.com/api/recipes/v2?type=public&q=pasta&app_id=YOUR_APP_ID&app_key=YOUR_APP_KEY&diet=balanced&to=5";
// Replace headers or query params with the values required by this API.
const response = await fetch(url, {
  headers: {
  "X-API-Key": "YOUR_API_KEY"
  }
});
if (!response.ok) throw new Error(`Request failed: ${response.status}`);
const data = await response.json();
console.log(data);

What Can You Build?

Note: These code examples are AI-generated and unverified. Always refer to the official API documentation for accurate usage.

Common Errors & Troubleshooting

Generated guidance based on this API's documentation, not observed by us. Treat it as a starting point and check against the provider's own error reference.

401 Unauthorized app_id and app_key are missing or swapped.
Add both &app_id=YOUR_APP_ID&app_key=YOUR_APP_KEY to the query string — both are required.
type parameter missing error The v2 endpoint requires a type=public parameter that the v1 endpoint did not need.
Always include &type=public in your request URL when using the v2 endpoint.
Empty hits array for a common ingredient Strict diet or health filters combined with a narrow ingredient search can yield zero results.
Remove health and diet filters one at a time to identify which constraint is too restrictive.

Metadata Score Breakdown

Estimated from metadata — endpoint not independently tested

This score is estimated from observable metadata — HTTPS support, authentication model, declared CORS, and documentation reachability — because the API requires authentication or exposes no publicly testable endpoint. The five-signal breakdown is only shown for live-tested APIs.

Metadata estimate · endpoint not independently tested

Technical Specifications

Auth API Key
HTTPS REQUIRED
CORS UNKNOWN
Category Food & Drink
Difficulty Intermediate
Listing details not endpoint-verified

Recipes Using Edamam recipes

Build something with this API. Each recipe includes step-by-step instructions and code outlines.

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