I Used NYT Cooking’s New AI-Powered Recipe Modifier, and It’s Actually Pretty Good

You can now adjust NYT Cooking recipes with AI to suit your ingredients or dietary needs without manually recalculating.

The New York Times Cooking section launched an AI-powered recipe modifier in an iOS-only beta, allowing subscribers to customize recipes. The feature faced immediate backlash from users who threatened to cancel subscriptions, with commenters questioning its necessity and how to disable it. The Times reported 514 million visits to its Cooking section and app in 2025. Initially skeptical, the author found the AI feature to be surprisingly effective. Previous attempts to integrate AI into kitchen products have often failed. The NYT Cooking AI modifies recipes based on user requests for ingredient or equipment substitutions and dietary needs. It also offers a "hard redirect" for requests outside a recipe's spirit. The AI considers the recipe itself, an ingredient substitution guide, user comments, and its own expertise. NYT Cooking states the AI is intended as a helper, not a primary tool, and that editors helped create the AI's rule set and evaluated its performance. The company also claims no intention to reduce its recipe output or editorial staff due to AI integration. Users are primarily using the feature for substitutions and dietary adjustments. The author successfully used the AI to modify recipes for chicken and dumplings, grain bowls, waffles, pasta stew, sauerkraut, and peanut noodles, noting impressive adjustments like cooking time and ingredient additions. A notable issue arose when modifying chicken thighs to breasts, resulting in a less succulent texture.

The launch of NYT Cooking's AI recipe modifier signifies a cautious yet deliberate integration of generative AI into established, high-quality content platforms. While initial user reactions were overwhelmingly negative, suggesting public skepticism towards AI in creative domains, the platform's nuanced approach—involving editorial input, visible modification markers, and a "hard redirect" for inappropriate requests—aims to mitigate these concerns. This controlled deployment may serve as a model for other content creators grappling with how to leverage AI without alienating their core audience or compromising brand integrity.

The success of this AI feature hinges on its ability to augment, rather than replace, the curated expertise of human editors and chefs. By focusing on practical user needs like ingredient substitutions and dietary adjustments, and by clearly flagging AI-generated changes, The New York Times Cooking is attempting to position AI as a helpful tool that enhances user experience. The platform's commitment to maintaining editorial output and staff levels suggests a strategy where AI supports, rather than supplants, human creativity, a balance crucial for preserving the value of meticulously crafted content.