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All About Planners

Printable planners to organize your home, business and life!

May 3, 2017

How to make a DIY Recipe Book (plus free printables)

One of my friend’s has just gotten into baking and wanted a way to organize her recipes. I suggested a binder but she thought this would be too bulky and doesn’t have a lot of recipes (binders can hold 200+ recipes). So I made some printables and turned them into a recipe book for her!

diy recipe book free printable rainbow editable cookbook organization cheap planner hack recipe card a5 half letter a4 gift

I made the recipe book at A4 (the page size we use here in Australia). However, you can print printables at any size you like including A5, half letter size, US page size etc.

If you want more flexibility in the order of the pages as well as the ability to add more and remove them later, use a discbound system such as Arc or the MAMBI Happy Planner – both brands sell the discs separate to their planners.

Related: How to choose a binding system for your planner (comparison and which one I like the most) 

free printable recipe sheet card page recipe book cover DIY recipe organization recipe sheet recipe card how to organize recipes notebook album cookbook rainbow free printable

To enlarge the screen of the video, click the square icon in the bottom right hand corner of the video (it will say ‘full screen’ when you hover your mouse over the icon).

For more tutorials, check out the free graphic design video tutorials library and subscribe to my YouTube channel.

Tips for making a recipe book:

  • To make the rainbow colors POP, see this post with printing tips: 7 Ways to make colors POP when printing using an Inkjet printer 
  • Print the front and back covers onto cardstock (I used 280GSM) from Officeworks. eBay is a good place to start for smaller quantities
  • The clear cover I used was from Officeworks in the binding section
  • I have a GBC comb binding machine but you could also take the pages to your local office supply store and have them spiral bind it for you, or use a discbound system such as the ARC or MAMBI

DIY recipe book cover recipe organization recipe sheet recipe card how to organize recipes notebook album cookbook rainbow free printable-min

diy recipe book tutorial free printable instructions simple easy quick gift handmade all about planners

diy recipe book tutorial free printable instructions simple easy quick gift handmade all about planners coil binding gbc binding machine

The printables can be printed at any size you like including: A5, half letter size, 7 x 9″ etc.: step by step printing instructions.

Click the image below to download the recipe book printables. If you’re an existing subscriber, you can login here (the password was sent in the initial subscription confirmation email).

how to make a recipe book binder organization free printable planner cover binder cover recipe card sheet editable a4 a5 us

This recipe book is in a similar style to the meal planning and planner covers I shared previously.

Other pages you may want to add to your recipe book:

  • Kitchen conversions & cooking tips
  • Print 2 recipes per page (see this page for printing tips)
  • Pages with space for a photo (these are included in the recipe binder printables in my shop
  • Favorite recipe websites
  • Recipe index
  • Recipes to try
  • Family favorites
  • 30 minute meals
  • 60 minute meals

Because tabs / divider can get damaged in a recipe book if you put it on a shelf, here are a couple of ideas for keeping your recipes organized:

  1. Write each recipe category in a different color (you may want to add an index to the front of the recipe book) e.g. cake recipes in pink, slices in blue, cookies in green etc. I previously shared my favorite pen brands (and which colors I recommend using if you want to color code).

favorite planner pen brands rainbow multi-colored color coding how to choose a planner pen review papermate

Related: Ultimate list of the best planner pen brands and how to choose colors for color coding 

2. If you have a lot of recipes, make a different recipe book for each category and use a different color/and or pattern for each recipe book. I have tons of printable recipe sheets and planner covers in my shop!

printable recipe binders allaboutthehouse editable recipe card page template cookbook album how to organize recipes

3. Add a colored dot or a small page flag to the top or bottom corner of the recipe book for each category (chicken recipes, slow cooker, cupcakes, 30 minute meals etc.)- you may want to add a legend/key/index to the front of the recipe book. Then when you’re flipping through your recipes it’ll make it easier to find the one you’re looking for

4. Add a strip of washi tape to the side of the recipe pages – sticking with the same color scheme and use all different types of patterns – or using the same pattern in different colors (I recommend the Doodlebug washi collections for this – they’re my favorite type of washi!)

color coded notes pages using washi tape school subject category how to use blank note paper

Related post: Planner Organization: How to color-code your planner (so you’ll actually use it effectively)

Want recipe pages in rainbow that match this cover? I shared some in this post.

Don’t forget to download the recipe printables here.

how to make a recipe book binder organization free printable planner cover binder cover recipe card sheet editable a4 a5 us

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DIY recipe book notebook album organization rainbow color coded editable recipe template card pdf recipe sheet a5 half size binder personalised free printable cooking cookbook

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Posted In: FREE, Planning Tips & Inspiration · Tagged: color coded recipes, diy baking binder, diy cookbook, diy recipe binder, free printable, free recipe binder printables, organizing recipes, quick way to organize recipes, recipe album, Recipe Binder, recipe book, recipe card, recipe organization, Recipe Sheet, Recipe template

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Welcome to All About Planners! I’m Rachael, a 20-something Aussie addicted to graphic design and all things planning. On the blog you’ll find more than 1,000 posts about all things planning including planner reviews, tips, favorite supplies and some of my past weekly spreads.

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