TheMealDB

About TheMealDB

TheMealDB is a JSON API providing access to a database of recipes, including meal details, ingredients, categories, and areas of origin. It supports searching meals by name or first letter, looking up full meal details or a random meal by ID, listing categories/areas/ingredients, and filtering meals by ingredient, category, or area. Meal and ingredient thumbnail images are available in multiple sizes via URL parameters.

The API offers a free test key for development and educational use. A paid supporter tier, obtained by signing up via PayPal, provides an upgraded key with additional capabilities: multi-ingredient filtering, adding custom meals and images, listing the full database instead of a 100-item limit, and access to premium V2 endpoints such as a random selection of meals and a latest-meals listing. Apps released publicly on an app store must use a supporter key rather than the test key.

The site also publishes machine-readable resources for AI agents and developers, including an AI agent guide, a reusable AI skill file, and OpenAPI V1 and V2 specifications for the JSON endpoints.

Key features

• Search meals by name or first letter
• Lookup full meal details by ID or get a random meal
• Filter meals by ingredient, category, or area
• List all meal categories, areas, and ingredients
• Access meal and ingredient thumbnail images in multiple sizes
• OpenAPI V1/V2 specs plus AI agent and skill guides for integration

Frequently asked questions