Vanilla Cookbook vs What To Cook?
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted recipe managers options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
Vanilla Cookbook
Recipe manager designed with complexity under the hood, keeping the
VS
What To Cook?
Get a recipe to cook today, based on the ingredients you have at home
| Feature | Vanilla Cookbook | What To Cook? |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Recipe Managers | Recipe Managers |
| License | GPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | JavaScript | Java |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker | docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 153 | ★ 67 |
| First released | 2026 | 2025 |
| Replaces | — | — |
Why pick each one
Choose Vanilla Cookbook if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in JavaScript
- Lightweight — runs in 512 MB RAM
Choose What To Cook? if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in Java
- Lightweight — runs in 512 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Vanilla Cookbook or What To Cook? better?
Neither is universally better. Vanilla Cookbook has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Vanilla Cookbook and What To Cook? free and open-source?
Yes. Vanilla Cookbook is licensed under GPL-3.0 and What To Cook? under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Vanilla Cookbook and What To Cook? with Docker?
Vanilla Cookbook: yes. What To Cook?: yes.