01. Find your starting point
Choose Explore to browse Chili Lab Classics. Search by recipe name or ingredient, or lower the Max heat slider to find a milder bowl. Open any recipe to see its ingredients and instructions.
Classics are read-only originals. Use Make it mine to create your own editable copy. Want something new? Start with Create, or try Surprise me for a randomized combination.
02. Create your chili
The builder walks you through ten steps. Use Next and Back to refine your choices before generating.
- Style, protein & beans: choose the foundation of your bowl.
- Heat & flavor: pick your spice level and the flavors you enjoy.
- Method & portions: choose how you’ll cook, how many people you’ll serve, and your bowl size.
- Diet & secret ingredient: add dietary preferences, exclusions, and a personal twist.
- Cook! Review your choices and generate the recipe. Keep the page open while it finishes.
03. Adjust portions & units
On the recipe page, use the serving controls to set your headcount. Ingredient quantities update from the original recipe, so changing portions repeatedly won’t compound rounding errors.
Switch between US and Metric for your preferred measurements. For a large batch, pay attention to the cookware and seasoning warnings. Taste as you go—more portions do not mean the cooking time should multiply.
04. Edit & add a photo
For a recipe you own, use Edit to change the name, description, ingredients, or instructions, then select Done editing. Automatically saved recipes keep your changes as you edit; cookbook recipes also need Save changes. Temporary drafts remain in the current browser session until you save or share them.
Choose a photo style—Rustic Homestyle, Gourmet Restaurant, Backyard Cookout, Competition Chili, or Food Magazine—then generate a photo. You can generate another if you’d like a different look. Photos are AI illustrations of the recipe, not pictures of a cooked or tested dish.
Someone else’s shared recipe is view-only. Use Make it mine before changing it. Guest ownership is remembered in the browser that created the recipe; clearing browser data or using another device won’t carry those editing permissions over.
05. Keep your recipes
Newly generated recipes are automatically saved to a link, even without signing in. Bookmark that address or use Share to keep it somewhere you can find it. If automatic saving fails, the recipe stays as a temporary draft—try Share to save a link before closing the tab.
Sign in to save a recipe to My Cookbook, your personal collection. In your cookbook you can search, filter by style, cooking method or heat, show favorites, and rename, duplicate or delete recipes.
An automatically saved link is not the same as a private cookbook entry. Anyone with a shared link can view it, so leave private information out of recipes you share.
07. Cook with confidence
AI-generated recipes are a starting point, not a guarantee of dietary suitability or kitchen-tested results. Check every ingredient and product label for allergies, follow safe cooking temperatures for your proteins, and use your judgment with substitutions.
Handle hot peppers carefully, avoid touching your eyes, and keep your kitchen ventilated. Start conservatively with salt and heat—you can always add more.