Easy Pantry Cooking App

During my UX Short Course at UAL, I worked on a project called Easy Pantry, a super user-friendly app that makes home cooking simpler and healthier. The idea is to help people make the most of the ingredients they already have at home. You just add what’s in your pantry, and the app comes up with quick, nutritious recipes tailored to what you’ve got—no need to run to the store or waste food!

Software used: Figma, Sketch, Miro and Zoom

My Role: UX Design, UX Research

Problem

Users were coming home after a long day and struggling to figure out what to cook without spending extra time or effort. They needed a simple way to turn the ingredients they already had at home into quick, healthy meals. Many also found meal planning stressful and wanted a solution that was easy to use and accessible, no matter their level of comfort with technology.

Solution

To design an app where users can input the ingredients they already have at home, and it generates tailored, quick, and healthy recipes. To address accessibility for a wide user age range, the interface includes intuitive navigation, large icons, and clear instructions. Advanced features like voice input and adjustable text sizes ensure the app is easy to use for those who may not be tech-savvy. This approach simplifies meal planning, reduces decision fatigue, and supports users in creating meals efficiently with minimal effort.

Research

Online Survey

To better understand user needs, I conducted an online survey focusing on cooking habits and preferences. The results revealed that 86% of users cook at home daily, primarily for dinner after work. Additionally, 90.2% check their home inventory before cooking and often search online for recipes based on what they have. Users tend to prefer healthy, tasty recipes that are simple to follow, with a clear, visual, and concise app design. They also prioritize affordable ingredients and straightforward instructions. Lastly, most users check their pantry weekly for missing ingredients and maintain a shopping list.

Easy Pantry. Survey Summary of Findings.jpg

Empathy Map

I created an empathy map to clearly show what users experience when cooking, combining their actions, thoughts, feelings, and needs. The map revealed what users say, think, do, and feel during their cooking routines. For example, they often talk about wanting simple and affordable recipes, focus on health and taste, check their pantry before starting, and feel excited to try new dishes but frustrated by overly complicated or time-consuming instructions. This helped us better understand users and guided the app's design to meet their needs and improve their overall experience.

Analysis

Costumer Journey Map

Meet Laura, our main persona! She’s a 38-year-old university lecturer who goes through a mix of emotions while using the app. When she’s hungry, she’s stressed and unsure if she has the right ingredients or needs to hit the grocery store. Once home, she feels curious as she checks what’s in her pantry and starts exploring recipe options, wondering if they’ll be healthy and tasty. Picking a recipe excites her, though she’s still thinking about how long it’ll take and if it’s good for her. While cooking, she gets a bit impatient but also creative, thinking of ways to tweak the recipe and looking forward to the meal. Finally, when eating, she feels relieved and satisfied but already imagines trying a new version next time for variety. This shows how important it is for the app to reduce stress, provide healthy and tasty recipes, and make cooking smooth and fun!

User Persona

To make Easy Pantry work for its audience, I came up with Laura, a detailed user persona based on our research. Laura is 38, a fashion technician, and lives with her boyfriend in a cozy rented flat. She’s creative, outgoing, and loves cooking, trying new flavors, staying healthy, and working out. She’s also into Mediterranean food and reading. Being tech-savvy, Laura’s comfortable with apps, social media, and anything online.

Her main goal? To whip up healthy meals after work without spending too much time or needing a grocery run. She loves recipes with clear steps, nice visuals, and even options for drinks or desserts. The idea of “mood food” – picking recipes based on her cravings – excites her. But she often gets stuck on meal ideas and finds long, complicated recipes annoying.

This shows how Easy Pantry can shine by offering quick, healthy, and tasty recipes with simple instructions and great visuals, making cooking fun and stress-free for Laura.

Design

Interaction Design

For the first step in designing, I sketched out the app's screens using pen and paper, keeping the ideas of "visual, healthy, and easy" in mind. The app starts by asking if you’re vegan or have any dietary restrictions to make sure everything feels personal. Then, you either sign in or create an account.

From there, you get to the main screen with a search bar where you can look up ingredients or recipes. It also suggests dishes based on what you’ve searched before and your dietary preferences. There’s a 'pantry' section too, where you can list the ingredients you have, and the app will suggest recipes that match.

Each recipe is packed with helpful details like photos, a description, prep time, serving sizes, and even comments (with pictures!) from other users who’ve tried it.

Prototype

I then prototyped my interaction design to bring these ideas to life. The app simplifies meal planning and cooking with features like:

Personalized Onboarding: It kicks off by asking if users follow a vegan diet or have dietary restrictions. This ensures a tailored experience that fits individual needs.
Simple Sign-In: A quick sign-up process follows, with options to log in using Facebook, Google, or Apple. This lets users save their preferences, favorite recipes, and history for easy access.
Search & Recommendations: The search feature allows users to find ingredients or recipes. It also suggests dishes based on dietary preferences and past searches, making it easier to discover new favorites.
Pantry Section: Users can add ingredients they already have at home, and the app suggests recipes using those items. This promotes efficient cooking and helps reduce food waste.
Recipe Details: Each recipe includes clear instructions, prep times, serving sizes, and vibrant images. A comments section allows users to share tips and photos, creating a community feel.

Conclusion

To make sure the app worked well and felt great to use, I ran a usability test to get feedback. Users said they wanted the app to be even more visually immersive, so I stepped up the design. I added richer visuals, like more engaging images, graphical cues, and a layout that puts recipe pictures front and center. As you can see in my final prototype above. This project shows how focusing on user feedback and constant improvement can create something both practical and fun to use!