The Good
- Thousands of vegan recipes
- User ratings
The Bad
- A little slow
Purchase at iTunes
Most iPhone recipe apps contain at least some vegetarian recipes, but vegans have a tougher task identifying recipes that don’t contain any animal ingredients. With over 13,000 vegan recipes, the VegWeb Vegan Recipe Finder app ($2.99) is a good resource for vegans and vegetarians.
Read More:Top 14 iPhone Recipe Apps
Lots of content for vegans
The Vegan Recipe Finder app was designed by VegWeb.com, a vegan website and community that features recipes, forums, and articles. The recipes included in the app are submitted by VegWeb users, who also provide the ratings and reviews. From the homepage you can browse recipes, view your recipe book and grocery list, or take a look at top-rated and new recipes. When browsing recipes, the content is divided into categories and I was happy to see that these are pretty detailed -- there are categories for dips, kid-friendly recipes, raw food, and crock-pot meals. There are subcategories as well, which helps you drill down even further.
When the app is first launched, it prompts you to install the recipes. The process only takes a few seconds over WiFi, so it’s not a big deal. The recipe detail pages include a list of ingredients and instructions; unlike some iPhone recipe apps, you can add individual ingredients to your shopping list instead of adding them all, which is a nice touch.
You can also add recipes to your recipe box for quick viewing later.
Glitchy, glitchy, glitchy
I have to admit I was a little overwhelmed by the VegWeb Vegan Recipe Finder app. It would be challenging for any app to organize 13,000 recipes, and VegWeb has only partially succeeded. Under the Top Recipes tab, for example, the recipes are categorized alphabetically or by rating, so on the first page you’ll see everything from a risotto to potato salad to hot chocolate. It would make much more sense if the top recipes were sorted by category first and then by rating -- same with the new recipes page as well.
The app is also plagued by an annoying glitch. When browsing through the recipes, I checked out the fried appetizer section and then went back to the main menu. When I then went to view the crock-pot recipes, the Vegan Recipe Finder app showed me the same recipes I had just seen in the appetizer section. Update 7/20/10: The latest update fixes this glitch, and you can now view recipes in their appropriate category.
The Bottom Line
Now that the category glitch is fixed, I feel comfortable upgrading the rating for the VegWeb Vegan Recipe Finder app. For those who often have trouble finding animal-free recipes in other apps, the VegWeb app is a good resource. It still feels a little slow at times and it can be hard to sort through all the recipes, but vegans and vegetarians will find it worth a download. Overall rating: 3.5 stars out of 5.
What You’ll Need
The VegWeb Vegan Recipe Finder app is compatible with the iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch. It requires iPhone OS 3.1.3 or later.
Purchase at iTunes