How I Format Recipes on My Blog — Without Plugins or Paid Tools

I love sharing recipes — whether they’re clipped from newspapers, passed down through family, or quietly torn from magazines while waiting at the dentist! If something looks good, I want to try it. And whether it turns out great or not, I’ll usually share my version — with a few notes on what worked, or what didn’t and how I fixed it.

I like my recipes to look neat, easy to follow, and printable. Since my WordPress plan doesn’t allow plugins (and I like to keep things free and simple), I started using WordPress’s built-in recipe shortcode.

It’s a great little tool — and with a few tweaks, I’ve made it my own. If you’d like your recipes to look neat and polished without paying for premium tools, this post will show you how to do it.

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🧾 Step One: The Built-In WordPress Recipe Shortcode

🔎 Best viewed on a computer — not good on mobile.

WordPress has a handy recipe shortcode you can use in any post or page. Just place it in a Shortcode block, and your recipe will be nicely formatted for readers.

Here’s the default structure (add this in a Shortcode block when you’re publishing a recipe):

[recipe title="" 
  servings="" 
  preptime="" 
  cooktime="" 
  difficulty="" 
  rating="" 
  image="" 
  description=""]
[recipe-notes]
  Enter your recipe notes here.
[/recipe-notes]
[recipe-ingredients]
  * Ingredient
  * Ingredient
[/recipe-ingredients]
[recipe-directions]
  1. Direction
  2. Direction
[/recipe-directions]
[recipe-nutrition]
  Per Serving: 580 calories; 33 g fat; 50.6 g carbohydrates;
  20.3 g protein; 50 mg cholesterol; 760 mg sodium.
[/recipe-nutrition]
[/recipe]

You can read the official WordPress guide right here.

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🖍 Step Two: How I Personalise It

That basic version is a good start, but I like to give my recipes a bit more style and structure. Here are some of the ways I personalise it:

• A short description
• Emoji dividers for visual interest
• Numbered steps with bold headings for clarity
• A “Recipe Credit” to show the source of this recipe
• A friendly tip or two
• Nutrition info in a simple one-liner
• Optional: a print option that links to a printable PDF version

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👩‍🍳 Example: My Custom Recipe Format

🔎 Best viewed on a computer — not good on mobile.

Here’s the shortcode from one of my real recipes, formatted as a Code block so you can copy and paste it into a Shortcode block as a starting point. Just update the title, ingredients, directions, and details for your own recipe:
👉 Click here to see the finished version of this recipe on my blog: scroll down and look for “Recipe Card”.

[recipe title="Golden Chicken Satay Meatballs" servings="3-4" preptime="20 mins" cooktime="30 mins" difficulty="easy" rating="★★★★★" 
image="https://lifewithjanets.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/life-with-janet-chicken-satay-meatballs.jpg" description="Juicy, flavour-packed chicken meatballs in a rich, creamy satay sauce. Perfect served over noodles or rice for a comforting, homemade meal."]

<div style="text-align: center">🍗🥜🥢🍛✨⋆ ₊˚⊹♡𓍢 ✨ ♡🍗🥜🥢🍛</div>

[recipe-notes]<strong>𝗧𝗶𝗽:</strong> Want an extra kick? Add a pinch of cayenne or fresh chopped chilli to the sauce for more heat![/recipe-notes]
[recipe-notes]<strong>𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗲 𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝘁:</strong> Adapted from Dish Magazine, with a few personal tweaks for extra flavour.[/recipe-notes]

[recipe-ingredients]
𝗙𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗯𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘀:
- 1 large egg
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon chilli flakes
- ½ cup panko breadcrumbs
- 1 thumb-sized piece fresh ginger, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, chopped
- 600g boneless, skin-off chicken thighs, roughly chopped
- ½ packed cup fresh coriander, roughly chopped

𝗙𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗮𝘁𝗮𝘆 𝗦𝗮𝘂𝗰𝗲:
- 400ml can coconut milk
- ¾ cup crunchy peanut butter
- ½ cup chicken stock
- Finely grated zest of 1 large lime
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
- 2 tablespoons kecap manis
- 1 tablespoon each brown sugar & grated fresh ginger
- 2 teaspoons soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon each ground cumin, coriander, turmeric, and hot curry powder
- ½–¼ teaspoon chilli powder (adjust for heat preference)

𝗙𝗼𝗿 𝗖𝗼𝗼𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴:
- 1 stalk lemongrass, lightly bruised with a rolling pin
- Fresh coriander, for garnish
- 2 limes, quartered
- Freshly cooked noodles or rice
[/recipe-ingredients]

[recipe-directions]
1. <strong>Make the Meatballs:</strong> In a large bowl, whisk the egg, soy sauce, and sesame oil. Stir in the chilli flakes and breadcrumbs.
2. <strong>Process the Chicken:</strong> In a food processor, blend the ginger, garlic, chicken, and coriander until finely chopped. Add to the egg mixture and mix well.
3. <strong>Shape the Meatballs:</strong> Lightly wet your hands and form about 16 meatballs. Place on a tray and set aside.
4. <strong>Preheat the Oven:</strong> Preheat to 180°C fan bake.
5. <strong>Prepare the Satay Sauce:</strong> In a large, deep frying pan, combine all the sauce ingredients. Bring to a boil, crushing the peanut butter with a fork to blend smoothly.
6. <strong>Cook the Meatballs:</strong> Add them to the pan, coating in the sauce. Nestle in the lemongrass. Bake for 30 minutes or until the chicken is fully cooked.
7. <strong>Serve:</strong> Garnish with fresh coriander and a squeeze of lime juice. Serve hot over cooked noodles or rice.
[/recipe-directions]

<div style="text-align: center">🍗🥜🥢🍛✨⋆ ₊˚⊹♡𓍢 ✨ ♡🍗🥜🥢🍛</div>

<strong>Nutritional Information (per serving):</strong>
Calories: 450, Fat: 22g, Carbs: 30g, Protein: 35g, Sugar: 8g

[/recipe]

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🧾 Free Cheat Sheet

Grab my free cheat sheet to copy-and-paste your own recipe blocks, just like I use on lifewithjanets.com. Easy to follow, no plugins needed!

👉 Click here to download the PDF

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💬 Final Tips

• Use a Shortcode block
• Save your personalised format as a Reusable Block in WordPress so you can reuse it in future posts.
• Want help formatting yours? You can always use ChatGPT to help build a custom one!

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I’m not a professional coder—just a self-taught enthusiast figuring things out as I go. If you have any tips or suggestions on how to improve my recipes or the way I share them, I’d love to hear from you. I’m always open to learning better, easier ways to do things! – ♡ Janet.