HTML Recipe Markup: Ingredients, Directions, and Notes

A recipe is easier to follow when ingredients and steps are separate. Ingredients are usually an unordered list, while directions are an ordered list because sequence matters.

What You Need to Know

Include quantities in the ingredient text. Add notes or warnings near the step they affect instead of burying them at the bottom.

The goal is not to collect as many tags as possible. Pick the element that best describes what the content really is.

Example: See It in Action

Take a look at this small piece of HTML. You can use it in a practice document and change the text to make it your own.

This is a short HTML fragment. To try it as a webpage, put it inside the body element of a complete HTML document.

<article>
    <h1>Fruit Salad</h1>
    <h2>Ingredients</h2>
    <ul>
        <li>Apple</li>
        <li>Banana</li>
    </ul>
    <h2>Instructions</h2>
    <ol>
        <li>Wash the fruit.</li>
        <li>Cut the fruit.</li>
    </ol>
</article>

Let’s Understand the Example

• Article marks a piece that could make sense on its own, such as a news post or recipe.
• An h1 introduces the main subject of the page. Use the heading level for structure rather than font size.
• An h2 starts a major section beneath the page topic.

You should see distinct list items. Ask whether their order carries meaning: if the order matters, use an ordered list; otherwise use an unordered list.

What Should You See?

The page should display “Fruit Salad” as a heading, followed by its related content. Change the heading text and refresh the browser to see the result.

Read only the headings, from top to bottom. Do they tell a sensible story? If not, move sections or choose levels that match the content.

Try It Yourself

1. Add one ingredient and one numbered instruction to the fruit salad.
2. Save your changes, open or refresh the page, and compare the result with the original example.
3. Tell a friend what your change did. If you are not sure, undo it, refresh the page, and compare.

Common Beginner Mistakes

• Using a plain paragraph for a long list of steps that must be completed in order.
• Avoid picking tags just for their default bold, italic or spaced appearance. Use CSS for presentation.

Key Takeaways

• A recipe is easier to follow when ingredients and steps are separate.
• Article marks a piece that could make sense on its own, such as a news post or recipe.
• Include quantities in the ingredient text. Add notes or warnings near the step they affect instead of burying them at the bottom.