Recipe Card Maker

The cards print at 5×7 inches, which is the most common size for recipe cards with full instructions. It fits standard recipe card boxes and photo sleeves. To print at this size, set your printer to 5×7 paper (or select "Actual size" when printing on letter paper to get a card-sized printout you can trim).

Yes. Click "Print recipe card," then in your browser's print dialog choose "Save as PDF" instead of a printer. This works in Chrome, Safari, Firefox, and Edge. The PDF preserves the exact layout and template styling, so you can email it, store it, or print it later.

For cards that last, use 80lb+ matte cardstock. It's stiff enough to stand in a recipe box and won't curl from humidity. Glossy cardstock looks nice but is harder to write notes on.

For kitchen use, laminate the cards after printing. A laminated card resists water, grease, and flour dust. You can wipe it clean and it'll last years. Most office supply stores offer self-seal laminating pouches in 5×7 size.

At minimum: recipe name, ingredients, and instructions. Beyond that, the most useful additions are:

Prep and cook time — so you know how long you're committing to
Servings or yield — so you can scale (use our recipe scaler for that)
Notes — storage instructions, substitutions, or tips from experience
Attribution — where the recipe came from ("Grandma Rose," "Chef Dan")

Restaurant kitchens use standardized recipe cards that go further than a home card. They include exact weights (grams, not cups), portion sizes, equipment needed, plating instructions, allergen warnings, and food cost per serving.

The goal is consistency — any cook on any shift should produce the same dish. For costing, pair your recipe card with our recipe cost calculator to track ingredient costs and food cost percentage per dish. For a deeper dive, read our guide on how to calculate food cost and see our picks for the best restaurant inventory management software.

You can choose from three templates: Classic (serif font, centered title, clean borders), Modern (sans-serif, left-aligned, minimal), and Rustic (warm cream background, traditional feel). Each template styles your content differently but uses the same fields.

Switching templates doesn't erase your recipe — try all three and print whichever you prefer.

The classic method: a recipe card box with tabbed dividers (appetizers, mains, desserts, etc.). 5×7 cards fit standard recipe boxes sold at kitchen stores.

For digital organization, save each card as a PDF and sort them into folders. Some people print multiple copies — one for the kitchen and one filed away clean. If you're scaling recipes for different batch sizes, our recipe scaler can help you create cards for each variation.

No. The recipe card maker runs entirely in your browser — no account, no login, no data sent to a server. Your recipe stays on your device until you print or save it. If you close the page, the content is gone, so print or save as PDF before leaving.