Here’s a collection of recipe card templates I’ve gathered from around the web, all are free printables.
There are hundreds available online (thousands maybe?), but I think these are some of the best designs I’ve across and there should be something here for everyone.
This hand curated selection (freshly updated March, 2022) focuses on the following:
- Immediate, hassle-free downloads (no emails or memberships required)
- Lovely enough for gift-giving while also practical enough to contain all the info required
- Basic ink-savers (black & white templates) as well as richly designed, full color options included (and everything in-between)
- Variety of sizes to choose from (including 3×5; 4×6; full page)
Quick Tips:
- Print onto different colors of cardstock according to which food category the recipe belongs to (ie. Casseroles; Baking; Homemade Soups; Meat; etc.). You’ll be able to see at a glance where to find & file it.
- After filling out all the details, laminate them to extend their lifespan–they will last a good, long time (easy to wipe clean too).
Note: Nearly all the downloads offered are in pdf format but there are a few .doc and image files also (jpg, png, etc.). If any of the files are printing wonky, try downloading to your computer desktop first and then print from there.
Don’t Miss It: If your collection of recipes is getting too large and disorganized, here are some ideas for getting it all tidy and organized.
I’m frequently adding new goodies to this page so you may want to bookmark it for future reference. Now on to the goodies…Enjoy!
Free Recipe Card Printables & Templates
*Click images to visit source & download, a new browser tab will open so your spot here won’t be lost
Pretty Watercolors
Here’s another gorgeous set that has three different files to download:
- Recipes (Main Card)
- Ingredients
- Methods
Notice how charming they look when organized in a clear box!
Source: thecreativityexchange.com
Here’s a nice treat, the card is lovely on its own (two versions: a simple black & white design & the other has splashes of yellow).
Included is a quick DIY tutorial for making a fabric covered paper mache book box to hold all your cards.
Source: abeautifulmess.com
There are two different downloads available, each folder with two files (.doc):
Lunch / Dinner
Dessert / Crock Pot
They are image based so not editable (meant to be filled by handwriting).
Source: operationvictoria.blogspot.com
A sweet vintage look, three different versions available:
- Includes Titles: Ingredients; Directions
- Above removed, just has the Title, Serves, From
- No headings or titles (just ruled)
Mix & match according to your needs.
Source: callmevictorian.com
How’s this for a bright & cheery bunch! Ideal for bridal shower keepsake gifts, this 11 page pdf is packed with goodies:
- Main cover
- Tabbed dividers in an array of colors (greens; yellows; oranges; hot pink). Categories: Breakfast; Appetizers; Side Dishes; Soups & Salads; Entrees; Desserts; Cocktails
- Ruled cards featuring different citrus fruits: Lime; Lemon; Orange; Grapefruit.
Delightful!
Source: somethingturquoise.com
Farmhouse Style
I really like this set, basic yet elegant with a simple black & white design. The font used resembles handwriting.
Includes spaces for prep time & total time.
Double sided: ingredients are on front, directions & notes on back.
Colorful floral dividers are included, categories are:
- Appetizers
- Sides
- Breakfast & Bread
- Dessert
- Soup & Salad
- Entreees
Source: ourhandcraftedlife.com
Full page size in two formats (both pdf):
Editable (no lines as seen in image on the left) for Name; Ingredients; Instructions; Notes.
Non-editable ruled sections to keep handwritten details tidy.
Source: domestifluff.com
Now here’s a clever project that includes the booklet template (prints 4 per page).
Materials required:
- Screwball key ring
- 4″ x 6″ vinyl covers
- 8.5″ x 11″ cardstock
- One-hole punch
You could also just laminate them instead of buying the vinyl covers, but it would be permanent & you wouldn’t be able to update them or swap them out. This would be quite handy for regular go-to dishes.
Source: curbly.com
I can’t find the original web page for this file so I’m linking directly to the pdf.
As you can see there are three different designs: Strawberries, Grapes, Spoon & Fork.
Fully ruled (one-sided), backs are blank.
Source: marthastewart.com
This is a nice template, example shown at left is printed on a brown paper bag (tutorial is provided).
Template is mainly black & white but there are a couple teal decorative elements. Both sides of the card included (full back, ruled: “Directions continued…”).
Source: craftingagreenworld.com
The example shown is 1 of 6 vintage beauties available, 4 are ruled (white backgrounds), the other 2 are unruled.
Each features a center graphic and a brown aged paper look for the background.
Source: shoregirlscreations.com
There are two, two-sided layouts, with and without title and three versions of a single 4″ x 6″ card.
Source: audreyjeannesblog.com
(Dividers) Two different sets available: 3×5 and 4×6 (pdf).
These are editable (the top tabs) so you can type the category headers you want to use.
Each set is assorted colors: Orange; Yellow (2); Red; Gold; Brown; Green; Blue.
Source: wildolive.blogspot.com
How cute are these!
Perfect for gifts-in-a-jar and pantry mixes, these Mason Jar recipe cards (pdf) print two to a page (one “clear” and one “blue”).
Includes a section “From the Kitchen of” so the recipient will always have a convenient way to remember the source (sometimes clarification or advice is needed).
Source: ishouldbemoppingthefloor.com
This is a fully customizable .doc template file that is designed especially for bakes sales & other promotions though its certainly lovely for home use too!
Source: bakesaleflyers.com
Nice! Two layouts provided:
Full Page with room for nutrition info (Calories; Carbs; Fat; etc.).
Two/Page: Ruled, Tips & Tricks section; Bullets for Ingredients list.
Source: crazylaura.com
Fully editable template (pdf) in a nice variety of sizes. Spaces provided for prep & cooking times; oven temp; servings. The back is lined for notes.
Sizes available: 3″ x 5″; 4″ x 6″; 5″ x 8″; 6″ x 8″
Source: kraftyplanner.com
A fun retro/mod design in blues & greens.
Comes with a matching Weekly Meal Planner (sidebar Shopping List) & Kitchen Labels (prints 6 per page).
Files are available in both pdf & image (png).
Source: annsentitledlife.com
10 Beautiful Cards
There’s a lovely bunch here to choose from including vintage, florals, farmhouse rooster, baking, veggies, Spring, Summer, Fall (great for Thanksgiving recipes), Winter, Christmas.
Source: tasteofhome.com
More Freebies To Download
Quick Tip: If you’re giving away home baking or food items, attaching a pretty recipe card is a nice finishing touch (and they’re lovely for personal use too!).
P.S. This is a fabulous blog!
Thanks for these great sources for recipe cards. I’d love to put together a handmade booklet of family favorite recipes for my college-aged kids. Has anyone done such a project? Any tips? You’ve given me a great place to start. Thanks!
I am currently working on a recipe book for my kids. They are in their 30’s and requested that I do something like this 10 years ago. I am making a master copy for myself and photocopying each page 3 times so I can give a book of my recipes to each of my 3 sons. It is work in progress and they look forward to getting their pages as I complete them.
My mother had a black notebook from her high school cooking class. Over the years many new recipes were added. Due to lack of money one year I decided to copy it for my 6 brothers. It was a smaller 3-ring binder that took 6″ x 9″ lined paper (Goodwill often has these notebooks). They all said “The Black Notebook Cookbook” was the best thing they ever got!
For Christmas one year, I made little family recipe books together for my daughters. I used the thick 4X6 photo books and recipe cards. They loved them. I’m going to do the same thing for my granddaughters.
I made a recipe book for my sister years ago. I put in all the old family recipes and used regular sized paper and put them in page protectors. I did this because it allowed her to make notes in wipe off marker right on the recipes and it could be removed later if she wanted. On recipes that came from past generations I tried to include a picture of that person on the page and I used scrapbooking stickers to decorate. It turned out great and she loved it. I had a blast making it.
Oh yes, I must say again………what would we do without you?! Such a wonderful collection & YOU did all the work! Yet another page of your’s saved in my favorites…….you’re the best!
Its good interneting with tipnut members.What will we do if not for this website.Thanks
Hi,
Gather recipes from various family members and friends of your recipients. Try to get 2-3 from each person. Maybe include a photo of the person who submitted the recipes at the beginning of the section for that persons recipes. I have a friend that did this. This would be complicated as you would almost need a table of contents or index so people could find what they wanted. But it makes a beautiful book. My mom’s recipe book I made for her got so long that I needed a table of contents AND index even though there was no photos in it.
Thanks so much for the wonderful recipe cards. I spent an entire evening trying to make something that would work for recipes in a jar, ended up very frustrated. I got back online and tried again, and came across this website. I can’t thank you enough! I can neatly type the recipe on a card and put it with the jars…no messy handwriting or taped/glued pictures. lol
I can’t wait to use the retro recipe cards when I write my favorites down for friends:)
I put my recipes that I use most often in a small photo album (Grandma’s Brag Book type). They are protected from spills and splatters. These cards are perfect for that. Thank you–and thank you for making them free!
I love it…!!! Thanks for sharing 🙂
I want to make a company recipe collection. Our office has some talented cooks! How can I create a company recipe collection that will be stored on our shared drive? I would like to place some blank recipe card templates with pretty designs in a place where we can all access them and add recipes to the collection as we discover a new one. That way, the company collection can grow over the years. Can you give me instructions?
Thanks!
I’ve done this for my home computer, and don’t know why it wouldn’t work on a shared drive. I created a folder and called it RECIPES. I opened the Recipe folder and created several sub-folders, i.e., Deserts, Cookies, Italian, etc. I either typed my recipes in Word or even scanned recipes as PDF’s then saved them in the appropriate folder. If I didn’t know where to save it, I temporarily saved into the main folder “Recipes”. I created a shortcut to the RECIPE folder on my desktop. When I open the icon I see my various sub-folders. I select which folder I want and double click on it. I have my explorer set up so I can view the various recipes if clicked on. There is also a search feature if you forget the name of a recipe and can only remember an ingredient (like ‘zuchinni’). I scan the Recipe folder and a list of recipes that include zuchinni will be listed. Hope this helps.
Thank you for featuring me!
Thanks for the feature! I love all the other recipe cards! Such a nice collection!
I love to have things neat and organized , you have made my life so easy,i will share these with my daughter who will be getting married soon.Thanks a million,all the best to you.
Thank you!!!
Thanks for sharing our recipes cards!!
This is the best issue yet. I want to put together a cookbook on my computer and give it to my family for Christmas any ideas you have come across? Thank you for all the work you do. blessings diana
One year as a gift to my mom we hijacked her cook book and took all the scribbled on, food covered recipies and typed them into microsoft word and made a cookbook. We printed out all the pages and had them laminated and hole punched to fit into her betty crocker cookbook. When I moved out I took out the pages scanned them all in on my printer to a PDF file on the computer which I am now able to email the whole thing or what pages I want to friends.
Thank you for this compilation of wonderful recipe cards. There are so many to choose from I get so excited just trying to decide which one to pick. 🙂
I am working on a Family cookbook for 2 reasons, One all of my older female relatives are passing away, and I want to make something for the younger ones to have. Also I chose to make a Family cook book for my collage Graduation project. My question is…. I would like to be able to put the woman’s picture that belongs to the recipe. Has anyone tried this???? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
The designs look really cute. Just looking at it will inspire anyone to start cooking.