Searching Recipes

The search recipes endpoint

The search recipes endpoint performs a complex search and fetches recipes for a given query. However, we can easily use most query parameters of other recipe search endpoints for advanced filtering. The search recipes endpoint has a cost of $1$quota point while each recipe returned has a cost of $0.01$quota points. There will be an additional cost of $1$quota point if any nutrient filter parameter is used. The endpoint method and the URL are as follows:

Here are some of the request parameters we can use with the search recipes endpoint when performing a recipe search:

Note: For additional request parameters, refer to the "Additional Request Parameters" lesson. A complete list of all supported cuisine values can be found in the "Supported Parameter Values" lesson.

Let’s see how to call the API endpoint to query recipes. Click the “Run” button to execute the code.

Take a look at the following explanation of the code above:

• Line 5: We use the endpoint URL /recipes/complexSearch to make a complex search of recipes.

• Line 8: Here, we assign the API key to the apiKey variable.

• Lines 11–14: We define the header parameters for the API call. We can modify or add parameters using the headerParameters variable.

  • Line 12: We pass the apiKey variable to the x-api-key header parameter.

• Lines 17–21: We define the query parameters for the API call. We can modify or add parameters using the queryParameters variable.

  • Line 18: We fetch burger recipes using the query parameter to set the search query as Burger.

  • Line 19: We fetch recipes that are part of the American cuisine by filtering the search results using the cuisine parameter.

  • Line 20: We fetch recipes that do not contain any dairy by filtering the search results using the intolerances parameter.

The response of this endpoint is an array of recipe objects stored in the results field. Here are some of the fields from the API response:

The search recipes nutrients endpoint

The search recipes nutrients endpoint searches for recipes according to nutrients. We can set nutritional limits for both macronutrients and micronutrients. The search recipes nutrients endpoint itself has a cost of $1$quota point, while each recipe returned has a cost of $0.01$quota point. The endpoint method and the URL are as follows:

Here are some of the request parameters we can use with the search recipes nutrients endpoint when performing a recipe search:

Note: For additional request parameters, refer to the "Additional Request Parameters" lesson.

Let’s see how to call the API endpoint to query recipes by nutrients. Click the “Run” button to execute the code.

Take a look at the following explanation of the code above:

• Line 2: We use the endpoint URL /recipes/findByNutrients to search for recipes according to the nutritional limits in the dish.

• Lines 5–12: We define the query parameters for the API call. We can modify or add parameters using the queryParameters variable.

  • Line 6: We fetch recipes with a maximum carbohydrate amount of 40 grams using the maxCarbs parameter.

  • Line 7: We fetch recipes with a minimum calorie amount of 100 using the minCalories parameter.

  • Line 8: We fetch recipes with a maximum calorie amount of 400 using the maxCalories parameter.

  • Line 9: We fetch recipes with a maximum cholesterol amount of 0 milligrams using the maxCholesterol parameter.

  • Line 10: We randomize the recipe search results by setting the random parameter to true, which means that the search results are random on every API call.

The response of this endpoint is an array of recipe objects. Here are some of the response fields of the API call we can get using its default behavior without enabling any additional request parameters:

The search recipes ingredients endpoint

The search recipes ingredients endpoint searches for recipes according to available ingredients. We can prioritize fetching either the recipes with the maximum usage of ingredients or recipes with the minimum number of unavailable ingredients. The search recipes ingredients endpoint itself has a cost of $1$quota point, while each recipe returned has a cost of $1$quota point. The endpoint method and URL are as follows:

Here are the request parameters we can use with the search recipes ingredients endpoint when performing a recipe search:

Let’s see how to call the API endpoint to query recipes by ingredients. Click the “Run” button to execute the code.

Take a look at the following explanation of the code above:

• Line 2: We use the endpoint URL /recipes/findByIngredients to search for recipes according to the dish's ingredients.

• Lines 5–10: We define the query parameters for the API call. We can modify or add parameters using the queryParameters variable.

  • Line 6: We find recipes based on the ingredients we have assigned in the ingredients parameter. The ingredients we have assigned are the essential ingredients of a custard. Therefore, the search will be representative of that.

  • Line 7: We sort the recipe search results based on the minimum missing ingredients by setting the ranking parameter to 2.

  • Line 8: We instruct Spoonacular to ignore pantry items while searching for recipes by ingredients by setting the ignorePantry parameter to true.

The response of this endpoint is an array of recipe objects. Here are some of the response fields of the API call that we can get: