How to Export Your Saved Instagram and TikTok Recipes Into One Cookbook
Short answer: neither Instagram nor TikTok has an “export to recipe app” button, and no app can read your saved folder for you. What works is getting your saves out as a list of links, then handing that list to a recipe app that accepts links in bulk. Both apps will give you that list if you ask for a download of your data.
I built the bulk import in ReelsMeals for exactly this, so the steps below use it. Getting the list out works the same whichever tool you hand it to.
Why there is no one-click export
Instagram never gave apps access to saved posts. The Basic Display API was shut down in December 2024, and the Graph API is for business accounts and does not include saves. Inside the app you cannot select several saved posts and share them at once, so the only built-in way out is opening each Reel and sharing it, one at a time.
That is why a folder of 300 saved recipes stays where it is. Nobody is going to share-sheet 300 posts.
Instagram: the data export
Instagram will give you a file listing everything you saved. It works on a phone or a computer, and it covers the whole folder in one go.
- In Instagram, open Accounts Center → Your information and permissions → Export your information. Older versions of the app call it “Download your information”.
- Choose Create export, pick your profile, then Export to device.
- Under the information to include, select only Saved. Pick JSON or HTML as the format and start the export. You do not need the rest of your account data.
- Instagram emails you when the zip file is ready. That is usually within the hour, though Meta allows itself longer.
- Unzip it and find the
saved_postsfile. - In ReelsMeals, open Add Recipe → Import many and upload that file. It picks out every Reel and post link in it.
Instagram: your most recent saves, without waiting
If you are on a computer and only want your latest saves, the Save to ReelsMeals extension for Chrome does it from the page itself. Open your saved collection on instagram.com and click Import all saved on this page. It imports the 50 most recent posts in that collection. For the whole folder, use the data export above.
TikTok: favorites from the data download
TikTok has the same kind of download. In the app, go to Profile → Menu → Settings and privacy → Account → Download your data and request it as TXT. TikTok says the file can take a few days, and the download link expires a few days after that.
The download lists your Favorite videos as dates and links. Copy that list and paste it into Import many. The links look different from the ones in the app, and ReelsMeals accepts both. Paste only the Favorites: the same download also holds every video you have watched.
Anything else: paste the links
Import many also takes a pasted list, which is the quickest route for YouTube videos, recipe sites, or links you kept in a notes app. One per line is tidy, but it finds the links in messy text too.
What happens to each link
Each link becomes a recipe card with ingredients, steps, the creator, and the link back to the original. ReelsMeals reads the caption, the spoken audio, and the text shown on screen, so a recipe that is only narrated still comes across. If the creator never says or shows an amount, it will not be on the card.
Three things to expect:
- You submit the whole list once. It is sent in batches of 50 for you, and one progress page shows every link.
- Not everything you saved is a recipe. ReelsMeals scans an uploaded export and unticks posts that are clearly not food. For a pasted list, press Scan. You can review the list before the import starts, and an import that still fails does not count against you.
- Deleted or private posts cannot be read. If a creator removed the video or their account is private, there is nothing to import.
What it costs
A free account includes 3 imports of your own links, with no card, which is enough to check the result on your own saves. Moving a whole folder needs a plan: €7.99 per month, €79.90 per year, or €159 once as a Founding Member while spots last. Every plan has a 30-day money-back guarantee. Details are on the pricing section.
Common questions
Does Instagram's data download include saved posts?
Yes. Choose Saved when you pick what to download. The file lists your saved posts and Reels as links. It does not contain the videos themselves.
Can an app log in and read my saved folder?
Not through any official route, and I would not give a recipe app my Instagram password. The data export keeps your account in your hands: you hand over a list of links and nothing else.
Will my saved posts be removed from Instagram or TikTok?
No. Importing only reads the links. Your saved folder stays as it is.
Can I do this on my phone?
Yes. Request the export in the app, then upload the file from your phone's browser.
Once the folder is across, you can search it by ingredient and plan a week from it with Claude or ChatGPT, which is the point of moving it in the first place.