Zu gut für die Tonne!
Zu gut für die Tonne!: A free recipe app focused on turning leftovers into meals and tracking food waste. Ranked #64 of 68 in Recipe Apps by our editors (3.0/10); pricing: Free plan; best for cooks using leftovers and reducing household food waste.
At a glance
- Editor score3.0 / 10
- PricingFree plan
- Best forCooks using leftovers and reducing household food waste
- Free planYes
- Paid fromNone
- Facts checked5 Oct 2026
Where it wins
- Find recipes with up to three leftover ingredients and dietary filters
- Guided instructions, substitutions, and portion adjustment support cooking
- Kitchen diary tracks household food waste alongside storage and shelf-life tips
Where it doesn't
- Focused on leftover recipes rather than broad recipe discovery
- Recipe imports, meal planning, and grocery lists are not part of its stated feature set
- The kitchen diary requires users to record household food waste
Our verdict on Zu gut für die Tonne!
Zu gut für die Tonne! is a free recipe app from Germany’s Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Regional Identity (BMLEH), aimed at cooks who want to use ingredients already on hand and reduce household food waste. Available on the web, iOS, and Android, it centers discovery on entering up to three leftover ingredients, with dietary preference settings to narrow results. Its library contains about 800 leftover-focused recipes, making it a practical fit for solo cooks and households looking for ideas from what is already in the kitchen rather than a general-purpose recipe collection.
Cooking support extends beyond finding a match. Recipes include step-by-step instructions and preparation times, while substitution suggestions and a portion calculator help adapt a dish to available ingredients and the number of servings needed. Food-storage and shelf-life tips make the app relevant before cooking as well: users can check how to keep ingredients and reduce the chance they go unused. The emphasis is on guided, ingredient-conscious cooking, not a broader workflow for collecting recipes or organizing a week of meals.
A kitchen diary lets users record household food waste and follow progress toward reducing it, tying the app’s tracking feature to its leftover-recipe focus. That makes it particularly suited to people who want both meal ideas and a way to pay attention to discarded food. Cooks seeking recipe imports, meal planning, or grocery lists should look for an alternative that explicitly includes those workflows; Zu gut für die Tonne! is most compelling for leftover discovery, cooking guidance, and waste awareness.
Zu gut für die Tonne! pricing
Zu gut für die Tonne! fact sheet
| Free plan | Yes |
|---|---|
| Paid from | None |
| Recipe import | Not verified |
| Meal planning | Not verified |
| Guided cooking | Yes |
| Recipe library size | 800 recipes |
| Platforms | web, iOS, Android |
| Grocery lists | Not verified |
| Deployment | Cloud, Mobile |
| Platforms | Web, iOS, Android |
| Built for | Solo (editorial estimate) |
| Pricing | Free plan |
| Website | zugutfuerdietonne.de |
| Facts checked | 5 Oct 2026 |
Alternatives to Zu gut für die Tonne!
- NYT CookingA paid recipe service pairing a 20,000-recipe library with guided cooking and grocery lists.9.2
- CookpadA community recipe library with searchable personal collections and optional Premium tools.9.0
- Food.comA free recipe catalog for browsing, saving favorites, and sharing cooking notes.8.8
See all Zu gut für die Tonne! alternatives →
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Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026
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