Free Recipe Schema Generator - JSON-LD | OneStepToRank

Recipe Schema Generator

Generate valid Recipe JSON-LD structured data for your recipes. Enable rich recipe cards in Google search with ingredients, cook times, ratings, and nutrition information.

Build Your Recipe Schema

e.g. 01:30 = 1 hour 30 minutes
Note: Only add aggregate rating data if your site collects genuine user reviews. Fabricating ratings violates Google's structured data guidelines and can result in a manual action penalty.

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What is Recipe Schema?

Recipe schema is structured data markup built on the Schema.org Recipe type that tells search engines your page contains a recipe. It provides machine-readable details about the dish: the name, ingredients, step-by-step instructions, cooking times, nutritional information, and user ratings. When Google reads this markup, it can display your recipe as a rich result with an image, star rating, cook time, and calorie count directly in search results -- and in the highly visible recipe carousel that appears for food-related queries.

Without Recipe schema, Google has to guess what your recipe contains by parsing raw HTML. It often gets details wrong or misses them entirely, meaning your recipe never appears in carousels or rich result cards. Structured data removes that guesswork and gives Google exactly the information it needs to feature your recipe prominently.

How Recipe Rich Results Appear in Google

Recipe rich results are among the most visually striking search features Google offers. They appear in multiple formats depending on the query. The recipe carousel is a horizontally scrollable row of recipe cards that appears at the top of search results for queries like "pasta recipes" or "easy dinner ideas." Each card shows a thumbnail image, the recipe title, star rating, total cook time, and calorie count. Individual recipe rich results also appear as enhanced listings with star ratings, prep time badges, and calorie information displayed below the title.

Recipes with proper schema can also appear in Google Images with recipe badges, in Google Discover feeds, and in Google Assistant guided cooking experiences where users can follow your recipe step-by-step on a smart display or phone. These additional surfaces significantly expand your recipe's reach beyond traditional organic search results.

Essential Fields for Recipe Schema

While only the recipe name is technically required, Google recommends including as many fields as possible for the best chance of earning rich results. The most impactful fields to include are:

  • image -- A high-quality photo of the finished dish. Google strongly prefers images that are at least 1200px wide. Recipes without images rarely appear in carousels.
  • recipeIngredient -- A complete list of ingredients with quantities. Each ingredient should be a separate item in the array, not combined into a single block of text.
  • recipeInstructions -- Step-by-step directions using HowToStep objects. Breaking instructions into individual steps allows Google to display them as numbered steps in rich results and enables voice assistants to read them aloud.
  • prepTime / cookTime / totalTime -- Time values in ISO 8601 duration format (e.g., PT30M for 30 minutes). Google displays these as badges in recipe cards.
  • nutrition -- Calorie count is the most commonly displayed nutritional value. Include it using the NutritionInformation type with calories specified as a string like "350 calories."
  • aggregateRating -- Star ratings from genuine user reviews. Only include this if your site actually collects ratings. Fabricated ratings violate Google's guidelines.

Adding Recipe Schema to Your Website

On WordPress, many recipe plugins like WP Recipe Maker, Tasty Recipes, and Recipe Card Blocks automatically generate Recipe schema. For manual implementation, paste the generated JSON-LD script into your post's custom HTML or use the Insert Headers and Footers plugin. If you use a page builder, add the script via a custom code widget on each recipe page.

On Shopify or custom sites, paste the JSON-LD script tag directly into the page's <head> section or before the closing </body> tag. For dynamic recipes, use your platform's template variables to populate the schema fields automatically. Always validate your live pages using the Rich Results Test and monitor the Enhancements report in Google Search Console for ongoing issues. Use this generator alongside our Local Rank Checker to see how structured data affects your search visibility.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Recipe schema markup?

Recipe schema markup is structured data using the Schema.org Recipe type that tells search engines your page contains a recipe. It provides machine-readable details like the recipe name, ingredients, step-by-step instructions, cooking times, nutrition facts, and ratings. When Google reads this markup, it can display your recipe as a rich result with images, star ratings, cook time badges, and calorie counts directly in search results and in the Google recipe carousel.

What fields are required for Recipe schema?

Google requires the recipe name as a minimum for Recipe schema. However, for the best chance of appearing as a rich result, Google strongly recommends including image, author, description, prepTime, cookTime, totalTime, recipeIngredient (list of ingredients), and recipeInstructions (step-by-step directions). Including recipeYield, recipeCategory, recipeCuisine, and nutrition information further improves your chances of enhanced display in search results.

How do recipe rich results appear in Google?

Recipe rich results appear in several formats in Google search. The most common is the recipe carousel, a horizontally scrollable row of recipe cards at the top of search results for food-related queries. Each card shows the recipe image, title, star rating, cook time, and calorie count. Recipes also appear as individual rich snippets with enhanced information. Additionally, recipes with proper schema can appear in Google Images, Google Discover, and Google Assistant voice search results.

Can I add nutrition information to Recipe schema?

Yes. Recipe schema supports a nutrition property using the NutritionInformation type. You can include calories, fat content, saturated fat, cholesterol, sodium, carbohydrate content, fiber, sugar, protein, and serving size. While nutrition information is optional, Google may display calorie counts directly in recipe rich results, making your listing more informative and clickable. The calories field is the most commonly displayed nutrition value in search results.