---
title: "Submit a Recipe (reader submissions)"
description: "Let readers send you recipes through a form on your site. You review each one before it's published."
url: https://scrumptiouswp.com/help/submit-a-recipe/
site: "ScrumptiousWP"
---

# Submit a Recipe (reader submissions)

The **Submit a Recipe** block adds a form where readers can send you their recipes, with a photo. Nothing goes live on its own: every recipe waits for you under **Recipes**, where you check it, tidy it and publish it.

It’s part of the **Studio** and **Agency** plans (see [Installing Scrumptious Pro](https://scrumptiouswp.com/help/pro-license/)).

## Add the form

1. Create a page, e.g. *Share your recipe*.
2. Add the **Submit a Recipe** block.
3. Publish the page.

In the block’s sidebar you can turn off:

- **“Paste the whole recipe” box** — readers paste a recipe and the form fills itself in.
- **Photo upload**
- **Course menu** — lists your existing courses.

Without a Studio or Agency license the form is hidden from visitors. Administrators see a note instead.

## What readers fill in

- **Recipe name**, **Ingredients** and **Instructions** (required).
- Short description, prep and cook minutes, servings, course, notes and tips, and a photo (JPG, PNG or WebP).
- **Your name** (shown on the recipe as *Recipe by …*) and **Email** (never shown).
- A permission checkbox: *I created this recipe (or have the right to share it) and the photo is mine.* You can change the wording.

Ingredients and instructions are one per line. A line ending in a colon, like *For the sauce:*, starts a group.

## Reviewing submissions

New submissions arrive as **Pending** recipes. The **Recipes → Submissions** menu shows how many are waiting.

1. Go to **Recipes → Submissions → Review submissions** (or **All Recipes → Pending**).
2. Open a recipe. The **Submitted by** box shows who sent it, with their email.
3. Check and tidy it like any recipe: fix ingredients, add a course or diet, replace the photo.
4. Click **Publish**. To show it on your blog, add it to a post with the [Recipe Card block](https://scrumptiouswp.com/help/recipe-card-block/), or turn on [recipe pages](https://scrumptiouswp.com/help/recipe-pages/).

Don’t want it? Move it to the trash.

The cook’s name appears on the card as **Recipe by …**. Change it under **Details → Author name**.

## Emails

- **You** get an email for each new submission, with a link to review it. It goes to the site’s admin email unless you set another address.
- **The cook** gets an email when you publish their recipe (you can turn this off).

Emails use WordPress’s normal mail. If you don’t receive them, set up an SMTP plugin.

## Settings

**Recipes → Submissions**:

| Setting | Default |  |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Who can submit** | Anyone | Or **Only logged-in users** (others see a log-in link). |
| **Email new submissions to** | Admin email |  |
| **Email the cook when their recipe is published** | On |  |
| **Require a photo** | Off |  |
| **Largest photo** | 8 MB |  |
| **Thank-you message** | *Thanks! Your recipe was sent…* | Shown after sending. |
| **Permission checkbox** | *I created this recipe…* |  |
| **Cloudflare Turnstile** | Off | Optional “I’m human” check. |

## Spam protection

Always on:

- A hidden trap field that bots fill in and people don’t.
- A speed check: forms sent within 3 seconds of loading are refused.
- At most 5 recipes per hour from one visitor.
- Your review before anything is published.

Optional:

- **Akismet** — if the Akismet plugin is active with a key, every submission is checked automatically.
- **Cloudflare Turnstile** — a free, usually invisible “I’m human” check. In Cloudflare, go to **Turnstile → Add widget**, add your domain, then paste the **Site key** and **Secret key** into **Recipes → Submissions**.

The “paste the whole recipe” box uses the built-in parser only, never AI, so visitors can’t run up your AI bill.

## Privacy

Submissions store the cook’s name and email with the recipe (to credit them and email them). The visitor’s IP address isn’t stored with the recipe; a scrambled (hashed) version is kept for one hour for the hourly limit. Mention recipe submissions in your privacy policy.

## For developers

- Override the form: copy `templates/submit-recipe.php` from Scrumptious Pro to `{your-theme}/scrumptious/submit-recipe.php`.
- Hooks: `scrumptious_submission_data`, `scrumptious_recipe_submitted`, `scrumptious_submission_handled`, `scrumptious_submission_admin_email`, `scrumptious_submission_published_email`, `scrumptious_submit_form_context`. The form fires a `scrumptious:submitted` DOM event. See [Developers](https://scrumptiouswp.com/help/developers/).

## Related

- [Installing Scrumptious Pro](https://scrumptiouswp.com/help/pro-license/)
- [Recipe Card block](https://scrumptiouswp.com/help/recipe-card-block/)