Can Someone Steal Your Recipe? How to Protect Your Ideas and Use Other Recipes Ethically

If you’ve ever shared a recipe online, posted a tutorial, or even just emailed a baking idea to a friend, you might have had that sinking feeling: what if someone copies it?

With so many food blogs, cookbooks, and TikToks flying around, it’s easy for recipes to get reused — sometimes by accident, and sometimes... not so accidentally. And lately, there’s been a bit of chatter online about recipe plagiarism and whether home bakers can actually protect their creations.

So, let’s talk about it.

Can someone really steal your recipe? Can you actually prove that it’s yours? And how do you share someone else’s recipe without stepping on any toes?

This post will walk you through the basics of recipe ownership, how to protect your own ideas, and how to use other people’s recipes in a way that’s fair, respectful, and won’t land you in hot water. Let’s clear it up — because originality matters, but so does giving credit where it’s due.

Can Recipes Be Copyrighted?

Short answer? Kind of — but not really in the way most people think.

In most countries, including Australia and the U.S., a list of ingredients by itself can’t be copyrighted. That means if you publish a recipe that says “2 cups flour, 1 egg, 1/2 cup sugar…” — technically, someone else can copy and paste that exact list without breaking any copyright laws.

But the way the recipe is written — your method, instructions, descriptions, tips, and the personality you add — that can be protected.

Think of it like this: two people might make the same chocolate cake, but one writes “Mix all ingredients in a bowl and bake,” while the other writes, “Whisk until glossy and smooth, then pour lovingly into a greased tin.” Same outcome, different expression. That expression is what copyright protects.

It’s also worth noting:

• Recipes published in cookbooks, magazines, and blogs usually fall under copyright law as part of the overall work.
• A full recipe book or food blog post often includes creative elements — stories, photos, layout — all of which are protected.

So while you can’t lock down your ingredient list like a secret formula, you can protect the unique way you write and present your recipes.

How to Protect Your Recipes (and How to Handle it if it Happens)

If you’re developing your own recipes — even if it’s just for fun or to share on socials — it’s worth taking a few simple steps to protect your work. While you might never run into issues, having a record of your process can give you confidence and help you defend your originality if needed.

Part 1: Protecting Your Work from the Start

If you’re experimenting in the kitchen and creating your own recipes — or even tweaking existing ones until they feel like yours — it’s worth setting up a simple system to track what you’re doing. Not only does it help protect your ideas, but it also makes life easier when you want to revisit or refine a recipe down the track.

Here’s how to make that process easy and low-effort:

Start documenting early.
As soon as an idea starts to take shape — maybe it’s just “chocolate chip cookies but with miso?” — write it down somewhere with the date. It doesn’t need to be fancy. A note on your phone, a scribble in a notebook, a Google Doc... anything is better than trying to remember what you did two weeks later when the cookies turned out amazing and you have no clue how.

Save the messy versions.
Your best ideas often come from trial and error, so don’t delete the ones that didn’t work. Write down what you changed, what flopped, and what surprised you. It builds a clear picture of how you got from “idea” to “keeper,” and it shows your recipe evolved through real testing.

Use tools with built-in timestamps.
Cloud-based platforms like Google Drive, Notion, or Dropbox automatically save the time and date for every version of your files. Screenshots of your notes or draft recipes (especially if they include handwritten pages or messy edits) can also help — just keep in mind that a photo of a finished dish won’t prove much on its own. One chocolate cake tends to look a lot like another.

Post it somewhere — even privately.
You don’t have to share your secret recipe with the world, but posting it in an email to yourself, a private blog, or a locked Google Doc creates a digital footprint. That timestamp could be helpful down the line if you ever need to show when the recipe was first created.

And if you’re working on recipes regularly, it helps to have a dedicated spot to track it all.

→ That’s exactly why I created The Home Baker’s Test Kitchen — a clean, structured journal for logging your bakes, tweaks, and breakthroughs. It’s like your own personal archive of delicious experiments. If it’s sold out on our site or you’d prefer free shipping with Prime, you can also grab it on Amazon.

Part 2: What to Do If Someone Copies Your Recipe

So let’s say it happens — you’re scrolling and come across a recipe that looks uncannily like one you created. Same ingredients, same structure, maybe even the exact quirky tip you posted in your stories a few weeks back. It's a punch to the gut.

Your first instinct might be to let it go — but that instinct, while understandable, might not always be the right one.

As Nagi from RecipeTin Eats recently pointed out in her public statement on recipe plagiarism, staying silent can unintentionally protect unethical behaviour. When creators don’t speak up, it sends the message that copying is okay — and that doesn’t just affect you. It chips away at the trust and integrity of the entire food and creative community.

So if you do notice your work being used without credit, here’s how you can approach it with confidence and clarity:

1. Look closely before jumping in.
Recipes can overlap by coincidence — especially classics like banana bread or ANZAC biscuits. But if the method, wording, and structure are all strikingly similar, there’s a good chance your work’s been lifted.

2. Gather your documentation.
This is where your notes, journals, drafts, or blog post timestamps come in. You don’t need to make them public, but having proof gives you confidence if you decide to speak up.

3. Choose how to respond — and own your voice.
If the other person is profiting from your recipe, or clearly passing it off as their own, you’re absolutely within your rights to reach out. A calm message can be as simple as:
"Hey! I noticed your post looks really similar to a recipe I shared last month. Would you mind adding credit to me as the original source? I’ve got some time-stamped notes if helpful.”

4. Speak up — for yourself and others.
Even if you don’t get a response, saying something helps draw a line in the sand. It reminds others — especially your own audience — that original work matters. And if you’re someone with a platform, your words might empower others to do the same.

5. Let your community reinforce the message.
If your audience sees the issue too, they’ll often back you up — whether that’s in comments, DMs, or quietly unfollowing the copycat. That kind of support sends a strong message, even without confrontation.

Standing up for yourself doesn’t mean causing drama. It just means recognising your work as something worth protecting — not just for you, but for the baking and creative community as a whole.

How to Use Other People’s Recipes Ethically

There’s nothing wrong with being inspired by someone else’s recipe. That’s how most of us learn to cook in the first place — by reading, following, tweaking, and experimenting. But when you start sharing those recipes with an audience (even a small one), it’s important to understand where the line is between “inspired by” and “copied.”

As Nagi from RecipeTin Eats pointed out in her recent statement, profiting from someone else’s uncredited work doesn’t just hurt the original creator — it undermines the integrity of the entire cookbook and food community. And when it happens repeatedly, it sends the message that originality and hard work don’t matter.

So here’s how to use someone else’s recipe ethically and respectfully:

1. Always credit your source.
If a recipe inspired you, changed the way you cook, or served as your starting point — say so. Phrases like “adapted from,” “inspired by,” or “based on” are clear and honest, and they tell your readers that you value transparency.

2. Don’t just rewrite — make it your own.
Changing a measurement or swapping one ingredient doesn’t make a recipe original. If you're going to share it as your own, make real changes. Test them. Explain why you made those choices. Share how the flavour or method has shifted.

3. Share your process, not just the end result.
Audiences love hearing how a recipe evolved — the flops, the fixes, the final version. That kind of storytelling not only builds trust, but shows you’ve put in the work to make the recipe yours.

4. When in doubt, ask.
If you're unsure whether your changes are significant enough, or you're planning to publish the recipe in a book or on a blog — reach out to the original creator. A quick message asking for permission or guidance can go a long way.

At the end of the day, giving credit doesn’t diminish your work — it strengthens it. It shows you’re part of a creative community that values respect, effort, and integrity. And when you're generous with credit, you’re also building trust with your audience — which is worth more than any viral recipe ever will be.

Support Creators — Without Tearing Others Down

Calling out plagiarism is important — but let’s not lose our humanity in the process.

It’s one thing to stand up for a creator whose work has been used without credit. It’s another to attack everyone who interacts with the person who posted it — including people who just left a kind comment or shared the recipe without knowing the backstory.

The goal of calling out bad behaviour should always be to encourage better behaviour — not to humiliate, cancel, or punish everyone in the creator’s orbit.

Not everyone knows the full context. Not everyone means harm. And a lot of the time, what someone needs isn’t a pile-on — it’s a polite message, a clear boundary, or just a chance to do better.

So yes — stand up for originality. Call out copying when you see it. But don’t forget to lead with the same kindness and respect we’re all asking for in return. You can protect creative work without turning it into a witch hunt.

Final Thoughts

Recipe creation is a messy, creative, trial-and-error-filled process — and that’s exactly what makes it so rewarding. Whether you're baking for fun, developing your own cookbook, or sharing your creations online, your ideas deserve to be respected and protected.

While you can’t stop people from copying, you can take steps to protect your work, speak up when it matters, and lead by example in how you use and credit others. The more we normalise transparency and respect in the kitchen, the stronger our creative community becomes.

And if you’re ready to start documenting your own recipe journey — whether you’re a seasoned baker or just starting to experiment — grab a copy of The Home Baker’s Test Kitchen. It’s a simple, structured way to log your ideas, track your tweaks, and keep a dated record of every delicious win (and learning curve).
→ Available on our website, or via Amazon with free Prime shipping (and a bit cheaper!) if that’s easier for you.

Keep creating, keep testing, and don’t be afraid to take up space in the baking world. Your work matters.