HowToCook
Enables AI assistants to recommend recipes, plan weekly meals, and solve the 'what to eat today' problem by providing access to a comprehensive Chinese recipe database with smart filtering by categories, allergies, and dietary restrictions.
What is HowToCook?
HowToCook is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that allows AI assistants like Claude, Cursor, and VS Code to enables ai assistants to recommend recipes, plan weekly meals, and solve the 'what to eat today' problem by providing access to a comprehensive chinese recipe database with smart filtering by categori...
Enables AI assistants to recommend recipes, plan weekly meals, and solve the 'what to eat today' problem by providing access to a comprehensive Chinese recipe database with smart filtering by categories, allergies, and dietary restrictions.
This server falls under the Search & Data Extraction category on MCPgee, the world's largest MCP server directory with 33,000+ servers.
Features
- Enables AI assistants to recommend recipes, plan weekly meal
Use Cases
Maintainer
Works with
Installation
Manual Installation
npx howtocook-mcp-serverConfiguration
Configuration Details
claude_desktop_config.json
Performance
Response Metrics
Resource Usage
How to Set Up and Use HowToCook
The HowToCook MCP Server gives AI assistants access to a comprehensive Chinese recipe database, enabling them to recommend dishes, retrieve step-by-step cooking instructions, and generate full weekly meal plans tailored to dietary restrictions, allergies, and the number of diners. It wraps the popular open-source HowToCook recipe collection (focused on practical home cooking) into MCP tools that filter by food category (seafood, breakfast, meat, vegetarian, and more) or specific ingredients. Home cooks and meal-preppers use it to answer the daily 'what should I eat?' question with structured, personalized recommendations.
Prerequisites
- Node.js 16.0.0+ and npm installed
- An MCP client such as Claude Desktop, Cursor, or Claude Code
- No API keys required — the recipe database is bundled with the package
Install the package globally (optional)
Install howtocook-mcp globally for faster startup, or skip this step and let npx download it on demand.
npm i -g howtocook-mcpConfigure Claude Desktop
Add the HowToCook MCP server to your Claude Desktop configuration using npx for zero-install setup.
{
"mcpServers": {
"howtocook-mcp": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "howtocook-mcp"]
}
}
}Configure Cursor or other MCP clients
For Cursor or other MCP-compatible editors, add the same configuration using the npx command.
{
"mcpServers": {
"howtocook-mcp": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "howtocook-mcp"]
}
}
}Alternative: run from a local clone
If you prefer to run from source, clone the repository, install dependencies, and build the project.
git clone https://github.com/worryzyy/howtocook-mcp.git
cd howtocook-mcp
npm install
npm run build
npm startTest with a recipe query
Ask Claude to query all available recipes or filter by category to verify the server is running and the recipe database is accessible.
HowToCook Examples
Client configuration
Claude Desktop configuration for the HowToCook MCP server using npx.
{
"mcpServers": {
"howtocook-mcp": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "howtocook-mcp"]
}
}
}Prompts to try
Example prompts for finding recipes, planning meals, and working with dietary restrictions.
- "Find seafood recipes I can make for dinner tonight"
- "Plan a week of meals for 3 people — we are allergic to shrimp and don't like cilantro"
- "Suggest a dinner menu for 4 people using mainly vegetables"
- "What breakfast recipes are available in the HowToCook database?"
- "Give me a complete recipe for mapo tofu including ingredients and step-by-step instructions"Troubleshooting HowToCook
npx command hangs or takes very long to start
Install the package globally first with 'npm i -g howtocook-mcp' to avoid repeated downloads. Then change the command in your config to 'howtocook-mcp' with no args.
No recipes returned for a category search
The database uses Chinese category names internally. Try broader terms like 'seafood', 'meat', or 'breakfast' as the server README lists these as supported filter values.
MCP server not found in Claude Desktop
Restart Claude Desktop after editing the config file. On macOS, fully quit (Cmd+Q) and reopen — reloading the window is not sufficient to pick up server changes.
Frequently Asked Questions about HowToCook
What is HowToCook?
HowToCook is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that enables ai assistants to recommend recipes, plan weekly meals, and solve the 'what to eat today' problem by providing access to a comprehensive chinese recipe database with smart filtering by categories, allergies, and dietary restrictions. It connects AI assistants to external tools and data sources through a standardized interface.
How do I install HowToCook?
Follow the installation instructions on the HowToCook GitHub repository. Clone the repo, install dependencies, and add the server config to your AI client.
Which AI clients work with HowToCook?
HowToCook works with all major MCP-compatible AI clients including Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code (GitHub Copilot), Windsurf, and Cline.
Is HowToCook free to use?
Yes, HowToCook is open source and available under the ISC License license. You can use it freely in both personal and commercial projects.
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Set Up HowToCook in Your Editor
Choose your AI client for step-by-step setup instructions.
Quick Config Preview
Add this to your claude_desktop_config.json or .cursor/mcp.json
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