aid: mealdb
name: TheMealDB
description: TheMealDB is an open, crowd-sourced database of recipes from around the world offering a free REST API with 669 meals, 927 ingredients, 300+ recipes complete with ingredients, step-by-step cooking instructions, categories, area cuisines, and meal images. The API and site will always remain free at point of access; a lifetime supporter upgrade unlocks premium V2 endpoints including multi-ingredient filtering, random sets, latest meals, and the ability to add custom meals and images.
url: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/mealdb/refs/heads/main/apis.yml
deliveryModel:
  model: saas
  open_source: false
  commercial: true
  callable_host: true
  label: Hosted service · you call their endpoint
  confidence: high
  source:
  - openapi
  - pricing
  generated: '2026-08-28'
  method: derived
accessModel:
  pricing: freemium
  onboarding: open
  trial: false
  try_now: true
  public: true
  label: Freemium · Open access
  confidence: medium
  source:
  - plans
  generated: '2026-07-22'
  method: derived
image: https://kinlane-images.s3.amazonaws.com/shared/apis-json/icons/mealdb.png
specificationVersion: '0.23'
created: '2026-06-13'
modified: '2026-06-13'
x-source: public-apis/public-apis
x-category: Food & Drink
x-type: open
x-tier: 2
x-tier-reason: free-open-api-with-premium-upgrade
tags:
- Food
- Recipes
- Meals
- Cooking
- Ingredients
- Cuisine
- Open Data
apis:
- aid: mealdb:mealdb-categories-php-api
  name: TheMealDB Categories.php API
  description: The Categories.php API from TheMealDB — 1 operation(s) for categories.php.
  humanURL: https://www.themealdb.com/api.php
  baseURL: https://www.themealdb.com/api/json/v1/1
  tags:
  - Categories.php
  properties:
  - type: OpenAPI
    url: openapi/mealdb-categories-php-api-openapi.yml
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://www.themealdb.com/api.php
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://www.themealdb.com/docs_api_guide.php
- aid: mealdb:mealdb-filter-php-api
  name: TheMealDB Filter.php API
  description: The Filter.php API from TheMealDB — 1 operation(s) for filter.php.
  humanURL: https://www.themealdb.com/api.php
  baseURL: https://www.themealdb.com/api/json/v1/1
  tags:
  - Filter.php
  properties:
  - type: OpenAPI
    url: openapi/mealdb-filter-php-api-openapi.yml
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://www.themealdb.com/api.php
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://www.themealdb.com/docs_api_guide.php
- aid: mealdb:mealdb-list-php-api
  name: TheMealDB List.php API
  description: The List.php API from TheMealDB — 1 operation(s) for list.php.
  humanURL: https://www.themealdb.com/api.php
  baseURL: https://www.themealdb.com/api/json/v1/1
  tags:
  - List.php
  properties:
  - type: OpenAPI
    url: openapi/mealdb-list-php-api-openapi.yml
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://www.themealdb.com/api.php
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://www.themealdb.com/docs_api_guide.php
- aid: mealdb:mealdb-lookup-php-api
  name: TheMealDB Lookup.php API
  description: The Lookup.php API from TheMealDB — 1 operation(s) for lookup.php.
  humanURL: https://www.themealdb.com/api.php
  baseURL: https://www.themealdb.com/api/json/v1/1
  tags:
  - Lookup.php
  properties:
  - type: OpenAPI
    url: openapi/mealdb-lookup-php-api-openapi.yml
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://www.themealdb.com/api.php
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://www.themealdb.com/docs_api_guide.php
- aid: mealdb:mealdb-premium-api
  name: TheMealDB Premium API
  description: Premium-only endpoints requiring a paid lifetime supporter API key
  humanURL: https://www.themealdb.com/api.php
  baseURL: https://www.themealdb.com/api/json/v1/1
  tags:
  - Premium
  properties:
  - type: OpenAPI
    url: openapi/mealdb-premium-api-openapi.yml
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://www.themealdb.com/api.php
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://www.themealdb.com/docs_api_guide.php
- aid: mealdb:mealdb-random-php-api
  name: TheMealDB Random.php API
  description: The Random.php API from TheMealDB — 1 operation(s) for random.php.
  humanURL: https://www.themealdb.com/api.php
  baseURL: https://www.themealdb.com/api/json/v1/1
  tags:
  - Random.php
  properties:
  - type: OpenAPI
    url: openapi/mealdb-random-php-api-openapi.yml
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://www.themealdb.com/api.php
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://www.themealdb.com/docs_api_guide.php
- aid: mealdb:mealdb-search-php-api
  name: TheMealDB Search.php API
  description: The Search.php API from TheMealDB — 1 operation(s) for search.php.
  humanURL: https://www.themealdb.com/api.php
  baseURL: https://www.themealdb.com/api/json/v1/1
  tags:
  - Search.php
  properties:
  - type: OpenAPI
    url: openapi/mealdb-search-php-api-openapi.yml
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://www.themealdb.com/api.php
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://www.themealdb.com/docs_api_guide.php
- aid: mealdb:mealdb-discovery-api
  name: TheMealDB Discovery API
  description: The Discovery API from TheMealDB — 4 operation(s) for discovery.
  humanURL: https://www.themealdb.com/api.php
  baseURL: https://www.themealdb.com/api/json/v1/1
  tags:
  - Discovery
  properties:
  - type: OpenAPI
    url: openapi/mealdb-discovery-api-openapi.yml
- aid: mealdb:mealdb-filter-api
  name: TheMealDB Filter API
  description: The Filter API from TheMealDB — 1 operation(s) for filter.
  humanURL: https://www.themealdb.com/api.php
  baseURL: https://www.themealdb.com/api/json/v1/1
  tags:
  - Filter
  properties:
  - type: OpenAPI
    url: openapi/mealdb-filter-api-openapi.yml
- aid: mealdb:mealdb-lists-api
  name: TheMealDB Lists API
  description: The Lists API from TheMealDB — 2 operation(s) for lists.
  humanURL: https://www.themealdb.com/api.php
  baseURL: https://www.themealdb.com/api/json/v1/1
  tags:
  - List
  tags_raw:
  - Lists
  properties:
  - type: OpenAPI
    url: openapi/mealdb-lists-api-openapi.yml
- aid: mealdb:mealdb-lookup-api
  name: TheMealDB Lookup API
  description: The Lookup API from TheMealDB — 1 operation(s) for lookup.
  humanURL: https://www.themealdb.com/api.php
  baseURL: https://www.themealdb.com/api/json/v1/1
  tags:
  - Lookup
  properties:
  - type: OpenAPI
    url: openapi/mealdb-lookup-api-openapi.yml
- aid: mealdb:mealdb-search-api
  name: TheMealDB Search API
  description: The Search API from TheMealDB — 1 operation(s) for search.
  humanURL: https://www.themealdb.com/api.php
  baseURL: https://www.themealdb.com/api/json/v1/1
  tags:
  - Search
  properties:
  - type: OpenAPI
    url: openapi/mealdb-search-api-openapi.yml
common:
- type: CapabilityMap
  url: capabilities/mealdb-capability-edges.yml
  name: TheMealDB Business Capability Map
- type: AgenticAccess
  url: agentic-access/mealdb-agentic-access.yml
- type: DomainSecurity
  url: security/mealdb-domain-security.yml
- type: Website
  url: https://www.themealdb.com
- type: Documentation
  url: https://www.themealdb.com/api.php
- type: Pricing
  url: https://www.themealdb.com/api.php
- type: TermsOfService
  url: https://www.themealdb.com/terms_of_use.php
- type: PrivacyPolicy
  url: https://www.themealdb.com/privacy_policy.php
- type: Plans
  url: plans/mealdb-plans-pricing.yml
- type: RateLimits
  url: rate-limits/mealdb-rate-limits.yml
- type: FinOps
  url: finops/mealdb-finops.yml
- type: X
  url: https://twitter.com/TheAudioDB
- type: Facebook
  url: https://www.facebook.com/TheDataDB/
- type: Discord
  url: https://discord.com/invite/pFvgaXV
features:
- name: Meal Search by Name
  description: Search for meals by full or partial name and return full recipe details including ingredients and instructions.
- name: Browse by First Letter
  description: List all meals beginning with a specified letter for alphabetical browsing.
- name: Meal Lookup by ID
  description: Retrieve full recipe details for a specific meal using its unique numeric ID.
- name: Random Meal
  description: Fetch a single random meal with complete recipe data; useful for "surprise me" features.
- name: Category Browsing
  description: Retrieve all meal categories (Beef, Chicken, Dessert, Pasta, Seafood, etc.) with thumbnail images.
- name: Filter by Ingredient
  description: Return a list of meals containing a specified main ingredient.
- name: Filter by Category
  description: Return a list of meals belonging to a specific category.
- name: Filter by Area / Cuisine
  description: Return a list of meals from a specific geographic cuisine area (Italian, Japanese, Mexican, etc.).
- name: Ingredient Catalog
  description: List all known ingredients with descriptions and images.
- name: Meal Images
  description: Meal and ingredient thumbnails with small, medium, and large size variants appended to the base image URL.
- name: Premium Multi-Ingredient Filter
  description: Filter meals by multiple ingredients simultaneously (V2, supporter key required).
- name: Premium Random Set
  description: Fetch 10 random meals in a single call (V2, supporter key required).
- name: Premium Latest Meals
  description: Retrieve the 10 most recently added meals (V2, supporter key required).
useCases:
- name: Recipe Discovery App
  description: Power a mobile or web recipe finder that lets users search, filter, and browse meals by name, category, or cuisine.
- name: Meal Planning Tool
  description: Build a weekly meal planner that suggests random meals and allows filtering by dietary category or ingredient.
- name: Cooking Education Platform
  description: Provide step-by-step instructions and ingredient lists for culinary learning apps and cooking courses.
- name: Grocery List Generator
  description: Extract ingredient lists from meal lookups to automatically populate grocery shopping lists.
- name: Cuisine Explorer
  description: Let users discover meals from specific world cuisines and learn about regional cooking traditions.
maintainers:
- FN: Kin Lane
  email: kin@apievangelist.com