A Smart Pantry-Based Recipe Finder App
A UX design case study focused on helping users reduce food waste and plan nutritious meals using ingredients they already have.
1. The Problem
People often struggle to plan meals with limited pantry items. Existing recipe apps lack ingredient-based search filters, clear nutritional data, and personalized diet options — leading to frustration, food waste, and poor eating habits.
2. Goal
My goal was to create a seamless meal-planning experience that reduces food waste and supports healthy living.
Design an intuitive app that allows users to:
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Input pantry items
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Receive recipe suggestions based on available ingredients
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Filter by dietary needs and nutrition goals
3. Research
Research Goal:
Understand how people manage meal planning with limited ingredients.
User Group:
Adults aged 25–45, health-conscious and familiar with cooking.
Methods:
User interviews with 3 participants.
Key Research Questions:
How do people find recipes with ingredients they already have?
What nutritional details are most important when choosing meals?
4. Insights & User Pain Points
Pain Points:
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Hard to find recipes based on pantry ingredients
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Missing nutritional information
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No clear dietary filters
Actionable Insights (from user testing):
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Add labels or icons to help identify ingredients easily.
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Include helpful prompts when the pantry is empty to guide first-time users.
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Organize pantry items by categories (e.g., Vegetables, Fruits).
5. Design Process
Use your mock-up image (D654-Task2 Mock Up.png) here.
Wireframes:
Low-fidelity sketches for the Pantry, Add-Item, and Recipe Search screens.
Prototype:
Developed mid- to high-fidelity prototype based on user feedback.
Iterations:
After testing, I incorporated clearer icons, organized item categories, and added onboarding prompts for new users.
6. Final Solution
Pantry Tracker:
Helps users add and manage ingredients.
Smart Recipe Search:
Suggests meals based on what’s available.
Health-Based Filters:
Enables filtering by diet type or nutrition goals.
Nutrition Transparency: Displays detailed information per recipe.
7. Reflection & Learnings
Through this project, I strengthened my ability to conduct user research and translate insights into actionable design decisions. Iterating based on user feedback taught me the importance of designing with clarity and accessibility in mind—especially for first-time users.