The Recipezaar website was bought by Scripps Network in 2007 and became Food.com. See below for a more complete history and how to find Zaar recipes.
History of Recipezaar
1999: Two ex-Microsoft technologists and a husband-and-wife team, Gay Gilmore and Troy Hakala, created Recipezaar.
2007: Scripps Network bought the recipe site for $25 million. At the time Recipezaar was generating 30 million monthly page views on 2.5 million uniques. Gilmore and Hakala remained at Recipezaar as part of the deal but quit three months later.
2010: Scripps changed the domain name from Recipezaar.com to Food.com.
2017: Scripps Network changed the domain name again to GeniusKitchen.com which was intended to be a "multiplatform digital-media brand aimed at young adults (ages 21-35) who are passionate about food, cooking and culture."
2019: Scripps again reversed course and shuttered the Genius Kitchen brand and returned to using Food.com as the domain.
How to Find Recipezaar Recipes
Maybe you weren't aware, but Kittencal ended up creating RecipeZazz.com for those members who wanted all those old features back. That was back around 2011 or 2012. Her and her partners worked on it and grew a very helpful and loyal community there for the last 10+ years.
Many people still miss their Zaar account and all the wonderful recipes they collected. While you can't get that there are still ways to find Zaar recipes. Here are a few ways.
- Search Food.com. The Zaar recipes were moved to food.com and can still be found today, if you know what you're looking for. Here are a few ways.
- Search by the recipe name.
- Search by the user name: The original recipe submission is credited to the Zaar user who posted it. Looking at a users profile where the activity is pre-2010 indicates that the user and recipe came from Zaar. Food_Lush and Kittencal are good examples of an old Zaar account with recipe submissions.
- There are also numbers at the end of the URL. The lower the number the more likely it was a Zaar recipe.
- Search the Wayback Machine: The wayback machine archives websites over time. It's clunky and a specific recipe/url isn't always in their database but some can be found.
- Check out this Pinterest account with a collection of Zaar recipes.
You can also check out Recipezaar's Twitter account which is still live although no posts since 2010.
Examples of former Recipezaar recipes now on Food.com
- Homemade Poultry Seasoning - 23966
- Kittencal's Famous Caesar Salad - 116849
- "One Bowl" Perfect Pound Cake - 26835
Why I Love(d) Recipezaar
This was published in 2009 when the Recipzaar site was still live.
If you've read my About page, then you're pretty much caught up on my personal life as well as the history of how I came to love cooking. I told you how I watched FoodTV to learn different techniques, discover great recipes and learn valuable tips - but I neglected to mention the other major influence during this time of my life: Recipezaar.
I stumbled upon 'zaar quite by accident one chilly winter evening. I needed a recipe for soup and was coming up zilch. I didn't have many ingredients in my cupboard and it was beginning to look as if I'd never find the recipe I was looking for.
Then I clicked on Google's link to Recipezaar, and it was love, love, LOVE at first click. So many recipes, so many reviews, and so much great advice for a novice cook like me.
Games like 'zaar tag, food friends & fun, pick-a-chef, and 'zaar world tour had me hooked. Looking up recipes by ingredient? Being able to ask questions to seasoned chefs in the forum? I knew it would never get better than this!
Recipezaar has gone through many changes over the past few years. They've added new features and changed the look of the site several times. In 2007, Recipezaar was purchased by Scripps, the company that owns Food Network, HGTV and DIY, among others.
When I first learned of this I was not happy at all. I was convinced that the small community feel that I - and many others - loved about our beloved 'zaar would be lost forever. 'Zaar assured us that nothing would change, not to be alarmed. And I'm happy to say that once again they didn't let me down; there have been no noticeable changes in the way they operate, and it remains my top go-to recipe site for just about every occasion.
(Updated to add: Recipezaar no longer exists. But read on to find out why this site was so special and how the big food and recipe sites can learn from it.)
So what makes this place so darn special? Here is a list of the top ten reasons I love it so much:
- The Recipe Sifter Tool - need a breakfast dish with meat, that's good for kids but you don't like pork? I just used the sifter tool and found 62 recipes for you - in about 20 seconds. I once found a recipe for muffins using cantaloupe - that's right, cantaloupe muffins - using this tool, and they were some of the best I've ever made. I should post that recipe here soon! Wait, you don't need me - you've got the recipe sifter tool!
- The camaraderie between 'zaar members. This cannot be stressed enough. Whenever I've needed a question answered, a recipe suggestion, or even support with something completely unrelated to cooking, my 'zaar friends have always been there.
- The GAMES!! There are so many of them and anyone can jump in at any time. Sometimes I'm too busy to play (and truth be told, it's been a long time since I've had time and I miss it!), but I highly suggest taking a look around and joining in the fun. It's a great way to make friends and expand your cooking repertoire!
- The recipes! There are currently 355,000 recipes to choose from!
- The ability to review recipes. This feature is certainly not unique to Recipezaar, but what is unique is the number of reviews you'll find. 'Zaar members take pride in their site and most members love seeing their recipes reviewed and almost always return the favor. I've often changed the way I've prepared a recipe solely based on posted reviews, and I've picked up some great tips, too!
- The ability to read through the most recently reviewed recipes. I love this feature! It's so much fun to read through what other members have recently made and if they enjoyed it. I've prepared food I otherwise never would have, and it's really improved my cooking.
- The ability to save my recipes in "cookbooks". I can't possibly make all the delicious recipes I find all at once, so being able to organize them for future reference is really nice. When I need something that's fun for kids or I'm just craving Chinese, all my favorites are right there for me whenever I need it.
- Post photos of your recipes for everyone to admire and enjoy! Not only that, but you can sort recipes to show only those recipes with photos first. Nice!
- Plan a menu, post it for public viewing if you desire, and browse other member's public menus, too. A great way to find inspiration if you have a special dinner or event coming up.
- Chef of the Day - formerly called Featured Chef. Yes, that's me below in the summer of 2007 on the "cover" of Recipezaar. I was pretty darn excited to see my mug up in lights! It's a lot of fun to read the profile for the current Chef of the Day, and I've found some great 'zaar friends that way!
The bottom line is that you really need to check out Recipezaar for yourself. They've been an amazing resource for me and I have a serious soft spot for them. No matter how much experience I gain over the years to come, I know that I will always return to my 'Zaar. Nothing else will ever compare!
Here's a picture of my most recent dinner creation from 'Zaar, borrowed from Kittencal (who always has fantastic recipes):
I'd love to hear about your favorite recipe site and why you love it!
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Pat says
I sorely miss my ZAAR and refer to food as food.crap. I honestly feel they ruined a wonderful site.
Melinda says
I printed out a recipe from Recipezaar back in 2009. Made lovely white dinner rolls for Christmas that year. THIS year (2024) a friend wanted the recipe. Thanks to this article, I was able to go to Food.com, find it, and sent her the link. I did NOT want to retype the entire thing for her. Thank you so much.
My favorite recipe software for online recipes is Repibox, and it is being sunsetted by Google as of the new year. I'm so sad, because it cut right through the endless pictures I didn't want 99% of the time. Truly helpful. I'll be back to cut and paste for a lot of them.
Tucson Gal says
Thank you so much for posting this update. I had saved a link from way back to the original Recipezaar link, and, of course, it's gone. You helped me find what I was looking for ... and then some!
Brian B says
Thank you for the review. I loved RecipeZaar too. I was going through a divorce at the time and fell in love with cooking as I had to prepare meals for my kids. So many great recipes by Kittencal and others. So many recipes that were tested and you could count on to come out right and taste great. The feature I loved the most was the recipe sifter. If I had some vegetables I needed to use up before they went bad, I could type them in and up would pop recipes that had those ingredients. Many ideas I never would have thought of on my own. I don’t know why they disabled that feature. It seemed like a simple database query, but when that went away, so did I. I only go back if I’m looking for a recipe that I saved or reviewed there. I wish they’d care about us loyal, former users.
Susan says
I was so glad to find your post today about Recipezaar but sad to hear it's been "compromised" by its purchasers. I always loved everything I found there, especially recipes by KittenCal! I did find RecipeZaaz which makes me very happy because there are some great recipes there I found in the first five seconds of browsing the site. Thank you for the history and the information!
Sheri says
I to loved recipezaar I miss it dearly! Thank you for this info!!!
Dave says
Hi Kristy,
I really enjoyed this post as I was learning a bit of history about Zaar and RecipeZazz.
Maybe you weren't aware, but Kittencal ended up creating RecipeZazz.com for those members who wanted all those old features back. That was back around 2011 or 2012. Her and her partners worked on it and grew a very helpful and loyal community there for the last 10+ years.
Erica Copeland says
I am absolutely devasted I can't get back to my cookbooks from the zaar. Life hasn't been great for awhile and now that I'm thinking of maybe cooking again. I don't have any of my go tos.
Elizabeth Renzetti says
As I find this post in the wee hours, the tears are running down my face for what our beloved 'zaar once was. Scripps killed the site when they took away our forums. I'm elmotoo and I was a founding member of the 'Zaar World Tour along with several others and a host in the NA/ME (North Africa/Middle East forum. Thank you for your glorious review of Recipezaar! Many of us have maintained friendship through Facebook groups. ❤️❤️
Kristy says
Oh, this is such a bittersweet comment! I would still give anything to have the old 'zaar back. They clearly didn't realize the goldmine they were sitting on. Now the site is just like any other, and there's no more of the charm and camaraderie it once had. I'd love to reconnect with more former 'zaar members. If you happen to come back and read this comment, would you mind sharing the groups?
Thanks, Elizabeth. Feels really nice to have this connection! xo - Kristy
Stephanie H says
RecipeZaar was such a lifeline for me for several years. I loved playing the games and chatting in the forums. Made a lot of friends that way and added a lot of great recipes to our regular rotation. I'm curious about what Facebook groups are out there for Zaar ex-pats. Where might I find those?
Celia Whitehead says
@Stephanie H, I would also like to know how I would get my recipes back from Recipizaar, I used to be a member on there a few years back before it changed over to Food.com.I went under Chef Teri
LisaM says
Dear 'the wicked noodle', please ask Food.com if we can get our old Recipezaar recipes back? Then I would love and use their site almost exclusively.
Kristy Bernardo says
Hi Lisa, what do you mean by "get our old recipes back"? I'd be happy to pass the request along for you!
Karen Goodman says
It's been a while since I played the games at 'Zaar (then Food.com), but I was really upset when I popped into my account today and saw that I could no longer leave or edit private notes on my recipes and the My Cookbooks tag is even gone. I happen to have the URL to them so I'm in the process of moving every recipe I wanted to my Pinterest boards as I assume they will shut these down at some point. I'd love to get back to playing games. Do you have any idea if the tag games have migrated to another website?
(I was so glad when I found this post and hoping you know more than I do!)
the wicked noodle says
Gosh Karen, I haven't played those games in forever either so I'm not sure. But I do happen to have a contact at food.com and could ask her if she knows anything? Let me know if you'd like me to do that and I'll fire her off an email.
Ben says
I've used Recipezaar a few times - they're really good!
Nancy says
Thank you for telling me about Recipezaar. I had never heard of it but will definitely check it out. And that photo of the cookbook at the top of your post --- surely, surely that's Marion Cunningham's Fannie Farmer (1986), isn't it? My copy looks just like it, and is about as worn, too. In fact it's the book in the picture on my blog's header.
Sara says
I definately agree!!! I've been a paying member at Recipezaar for over three years now. It's awesome.
Karen Felstein says
Thanks to you I have tried 'Zaar and I love it too! You are opening my eyes to so many new and interesting recipes and sites. Love your blog!
the wicked noodle says
That's awesome, Karen, I'm so happy you like it! You'll find tons of crockpot recipes (I know you like those!). I know you'll fit right in!
Julie-Ann says
I love recipezaar I go there first when I can't find what I'm looking for in any of my books.
Chowhound a.k.a. Pin says
Hey The Wicked Noodle! I am also a member of RecipeZaar. I first stumbled into it last 2006 and I'd been a member ever since. It helped me a lot when I was starting to really learn how to cook. That's where I got a lot of the recipes I practiced on. I't really awesome, I even participated in some of their games like the cookbook swap and reviews where you actually make the recipes you promised to review. Sadly I have been inactive for a while since I decided to go back to school and discovered blogging. I still post recipes now and then and still pop up to the community forums now and then.
the wicked noodle says
Hey Chowhound! I haven't been as active on 'zaar since I started blogging either, there's just not enough time for everything. But I do make it there at least a few times a week to browse. I'll keep an eye out for you!
Chef John says
Hey, what about best "video recipe" site?? maybe foodwishes.com? Sorry, I'm a little prejudice... 😉
Nancy says
As a host over there, I'm there quite a bit. I LOVE it! I have gotten some of my best recipes and ideas from there. Feel free to look me up ~ my screen name is Lvs2Cook 🙂
Great write up, the wicked noodle!!!!
the wicked noodle says
Nancy, I do recognize your screen name and I think I may have made a few of your recipes! I'll have to go through my reviews to see which ones are yours!
Regina says
I like the 'zaar too. It gives me great inspiration. But I have to be honest I never knew it had so much. I might have to check that out a little further.
Jennifer says
I love Recipezaar. It's the first place I look when I'm looking for something specific, and it's also where I go when I'm bored and looking for inspiration.
the wicked noodle says
Jeff, you're so welcome! I'm so glad you checked it out! I've spent literally hours (days!) on that site and I still couldn't possibly make all the great recipes. Thanks so much for the shout out on FB, too!
Jeff Young says
Great post, Kristy! Thank you so much for recommending Recipezaar.
Thanks to your wonderful post, I signed up for an account, and I have had lots of fun exploring the site!
I also posted a link to your post on The Catholic Foodie page on Facebook. I figured my readers would want in on the fun too.
Thanks again for a great post, Kristy!
Jeff Young
The Catholic Foodie
http://www.catholicfoodie.com
RC says
I enjoy Recipezaar as well!
jenn says
Recipezaar is pretty awesome. I go there once in a while for inspiration.