• naturalLiving
  • activitiesfor kids
  • Easyrecipes
  • yourhome
  • just formoms
  • Start Here
  • About
  • Start Here
  • About
  • Contact
  • Blog
  • Shop
  • Natural Living
    • Essential Oils
    • Natural Homemade Ideas
    • Natural Solutions
  • Activities for Kids
    • Arts and Crafts
    • Playdough and Slime
    • Sensory Activities
  • Recipes
  • For Your Home
    • Backyard Chickens
    • Easy DIY Projects & Crafts
    • Organizing Tips
    • Tips and Hacks
  • For Moms
    • Caring for Yourself
    • Parenting
    • Product Reviews
    • Travel
  • About
  • Start Here
  • Contact
  • Blog
  • SHOP
↑

Living Well Mom

Simple, easy, and natural ways to care for your family.

  • naturalLiving
  • activitiesfor kids
  • Easyrecipes
  • yourhome
  • just formoms
  • Start Here
  • About
  • Home
  • Seasonal
  • Essential Oils
  • Natural Solutions
  • Autism

DIY Recipe Binder to Organize Your Recipes {Free Printable!}

By Erika in Home

featured your home free printableThis post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Everyone has their own way of organizing their recipes. My favorite way is a recipe binder. I know that may seem counter-intuitive during these digital times, but I love being able to organize and flip through my recipes. Plus, my kids like it took and anything that helps them feel more confident in the kitchen is a win in my book.

In fact, I created a simple version a few years ago and I’ve used it ever since. Of course, I had to share all about it with my friends here, and I think you all must love recipe binders too. It’s one of the most popular posts here at Living Well Mom!

I figured it was time we all get an upgrade on our recipe binder so I had a brand new set of recipe binder graphics created for you and me!

gray recipe binder to organize recipes this idea now...

What is a Recipe Binder?

A recipe binder is just what it sounds like—a binder filled with recipes! Rather than keeping a hundred printed recipes all over your kitchen, or stacks of dog-eared cookbooks, you can easily corral your favorite foods in one simple spot.
If you’re anything like me, you use printed recipes just about every day now and find more almost as often. A recipe binder is perfect because you easily add/remove recipes whenever you want. You can also change or move categories around too.

In short, this is the most convenient way to sort the recipes many of us print online.

And ya’ll, I can’t get enough of this one! It’s such a clean pretty design and it looks so fabulous in my kitchen!

How to Put Together a DIY Recipe Book

Have I convinced you that you need a recipe binder yet? If so, you’ll be thrilled to know that setting up a DIY recipe book of your own is super simple.

What You’ll Need for Your DIY Recipe Binder:

  • 1-3″ white binder with a clear pocket (I have a 2″)
  • heavyweight sheet protectors
  • scissors
  • Printable recipe binder sheets (grab them below)

Optional, but recommended supplies:

  • laminator
  • laminating pouches
  • hot glue gun & glue gun sticks

Don’t let the hot glue gun scare you. This is NOT a major project. Trust me, I’m not crafty at all and this was super easy. If I can do this, so can you!

How to Set Up the Recipe Book Binder

First, you’ll need to get your Printable Recipe Binder pages.

You can get them for free here when you join my Living Well Mom email list. It’s my gift to you.

sign up form for printable recipe binder

There are 7 sheets – the cover page, 3 category pages, 1 tabs page, and 2 simple design-only pages. These last two can be used for the side of the binder just to make it look pretty.

Need to organize all those recipes you've printed out? Find out how to make a pretty DIY recipe binder with these gorgeous FREE PRINTABLE recipe binder graphics! Get your free downloads here....

There are two ways to do this. You can download, print, and write in your category names by hand into each of the category pages and recipe tabs.

OR you can save the JPG files of the recipe tabs and category pages listed here, upload the full file sizes into an editing tool, like PicMonkey, and add text.

This is a great option if you want something nicer than your handwriting. Just make sure you save in full resolution to ensure you keep the quality.

You’ll need to print out multiple copies of pages 3, 4, and 5 (the category pages) depending on how many categories you choose to include. I highly recommend that you list out the categories you wish to include in your DIY recipe binder before you start.

I chose to add the text online so my recipe binder would be nice and pretty (I don’t have gorgeous handwriting like some of you.) In case you’re wondering, I used League Gothic as the font.

Need to organize all those recipes you've printed out? Find out how to make a pretty DIY recipe binder with these gorgeous FREE PRINTABLE recipe binder graphics! Get your free downloads here....

How to Make your DIY Recipe Binder:

Once your recipe binder pages are printed, you can start putting it all together. For the edge of the binder, choose your favorite graphics page and cut it to fit. Then carefully slide it in.

Need to organize all those recipes you've printed out? Find out how to make a pretty DIY recipe binder with these gorgeous FREE PRINTABLE recipe binder graphics! Get your free downloads here....

Next insert the cover page into the clear pocket of your binder.

Need to organize all those recipes you've printed out? Find out how to make a pretty DIY recipe binder with these gorgeous FREE PRINTABLE recipe binder graphics! Get your free downloads here....

I highly recommend laminating the cover and category pages as this gives it more protection and stability. Plus it will help your category pages stand out better compared to your regular recipe pages.

Need to organize all those recipes you've printed out? Find out how to make a pretty DIY recipe binder with these gorgeous FREE PRINTABLE recipe binder graphics! Get your free downloads here....

Once you laminate the pages, just trim the extra from around the edges and slide each category page into a sheet protector.

Need to organize all those recipes you've printed out? Find out how to make a pretty DIY recipe binder with these gorgeous FREE PRINTABLE recipe binder graphics! Get your free downloads here....

 Then, cut out each of the recipe tabs that you’ll be using and fold them in half. Insert them into a laminating pouch folded, then laminate.

Need to organize all those recipes you've printed out? Find out how to make a pretty DIY recipe binder with these gorgeous FREE PRINTABLE recipe binder graphics! Get your free downloads here....

Cut each tab from the laminating sheet, leaving just a little around the edges. This extra step will help ensure your beautiful recipe binder will last for a long time!

Next, line up each tab according to how many category pages you have.

Need to organize all those recipes you've printed out? Find out how to make a pretty DIY recipe binder with these gorgeous FREE PRINTABLE recipe binder graphics! Get your free downloads here....

Carefully hot glue a small line at the very edge of each category page. (Your category pages must be inserted into a protector first.)

printable recipe binder pages with text that says dinner beef

Now we’ll get to the really fun part – putting the category pages into your binder…

Need to organize all those recipes you've printed out? Find out how to make a pretty DIY recipe binder with these gorgeous FREE PRINTABLE recipe binder graphics! Get your free downloads here....

Now just add your recipes! You can slide them into the clear protective sheets (my recommendation) or simply use a 3-hole punch to add the recipes directly to your binder.

layout of printable recipe binder pages

It’s completely up to you. I prefer using the protective sheets because I tend to be pretty messy when I cook, but you may not need them.

Now that you’ve got the basics, you’ll want the rest. This add-on pack was designed with feedback from thousands of women who downloaded this pretty recipe binder cover.

Get your complete recipe binder system by clicking here.

layout of printables included in complete recipe binder system

And that’s how you make your very own DIY recipe binder!

Pin this:

Need to organize all those recipes you've printed out? Find out how to make a pretty DIY recipe binder with these gorgeous FREE PRINTABLE recipe binder graphics! Get your free downloads here....

Dear mom, I have so much more I’d love to share with you…

Fill out this form to join the Living Well Mom email community and receive the best of the best for your family’s journey to living well!
    *Note: ↑ this form does not give you a freebie. If you are looking for a free printable or other freebie, scroll back up to the rest of the post and use the other form.

    Filed Under: Home, Organizing Tips Tagged With: featured your home, free printablePublished on July 31, 2020

    You May Also Love

    How To Organize School Work Easily And Effectively
    Tired of not being able to find what you need late at night when you have a sick child? Here are 4 simple steps to organizing your medicine cabinet QUICKLY and easily! Plus a fun DIY idea for the inside of your cabinet!
    4 Smarter Ways to Organize Your Medicine Cabinet (With Stuff Around the House)
    The Super Simple Way to Make a Home Command Center (+17 Variations)

    About Erika

    Erika Bragdon is a second-generation homeschooling mom with 3 kids at home and 1 in college. She lives in the beautiful hills of New Hampshire on a small farm and loves writing, baking, nature, and sharing flower essences and more natural solutions with moms.

    Comments

    1. valmg @ Mom Knows It All says

      February 26, 2016 at 6:31 am

      This is a terrific idea! I have seen systems that aren’t as nice as this one being sold online and they’re a lot of money so this would be a good way to save by making it.

      Reply
      • Erika says

        February 26, 2016 at 4:21 pm

        That’s why I paid someone to make this for me. I wanted something really pretty for me AND my readers. 🙂 I’m glad you like it!

        Reply
    2. Heather Johnson says

      February 26, 2016 at 11:19 am

      I keep my recipes in a binder too. I print mine out and put them in plastic sleeves.

      Reply
      • Erika says

        March 2, 2016 at 2:55 pm

        I’ve found that quite a few people do this. That’s why this printable is so fun – you can spruce up what you already have!

        Reply
    3. Kristi says

      February 28, 2016 at 6:55 am

      That looks soooo much nicer than the random sheets of paper that are floating around my cupboard and drawer right now. My husband would sure love this too as he complains when he wants to find something to make.

      Reply
      • Erika says

        March 2, 2016 at 2:56 pm

        Thanks, Kristi! I love how easy this binder is to maintain too. 🙂

        Reply
    4. Shannon Bell says

      April 6, 2016 at 1:15 am

      The JPG links are not working for me. Is there anyway you could email the downloads to me? Or fix the links? Thanks, Shannon B.

      Reply
      • Erika says

        April 6, 2016 at 11:53 am

        Hi Shannon! I’m sorry you’re having trouble with the links. The JPEGS are coming up for me. Can you describe what’s happening so I can help?

        Reply
        • Donna says

          April 12, 2016 at 3:58 pm

          Hi Erika! The Pic-Monkey link titled Recipe Tabs- keeps coming up as the Category Page 3 divider page.
          Love these pages and cant wait to get started!
          Thanks for your help!
          Donna A

          Reply
          • Erika says

            April 18, 2016 at 11:43 am

            It’s fixed! Thanks for letting me know, Donna. Have fun making your binder!

            Reply
        • teddymom says

          April 14, 2016 at 1:43 am

          I’m not getting the tabs when I click on the tabs link, but rather another category page. Help!

          Reply
    5. John says

      April 12, 2016 at 1:03 pm

      Now that printers are even more standard than in the past, it allows for people to really customize their cookbooks/recipe books much more. Having all the important recipes (especially seasonal ones that come around every year) in the same binder makes it much easier to quickly whip up a delicious meal for family and guests alike. Thanks for sharing!

      Reply
    6. Gilly says

      April 28, 2016 at 10:13 pm

      Do you have a list of contents under each tab or do you just flip through? I’ve made many recipes from pinterest once and then forget about them. Not because they are forgettable but just because there are SO many. Thanks for these. I’m working on a whole home organization and this is one of them!

      Reply
    7. MessyScraper says

      June 1, 2016 at 1:55 am

      Thanks a lot!

      Reply
    8. Erika says

      September 13, 2016 at 9:33 am

      Yes, it’s been great. I haven’t had any issues with it peeling off.

      Reply
    9. Patricia June says

      September 15, 2016 at 3:56 pm

      If you dont want to print all those sheets of patterns you can buy shelf paper , & then hand print on plain paper lay it on top & glue it in place, cutting it out in a nice shape. Cheaper than in , for those on a budget

      Reply
    10. Martha Pulido says

      October 20, 2016 at 10:34 pm

      This seems like a great idea. I’ve been able to follow all the steps except for the title page. Can you save that one individually? Or, perhaps email that 1 page as a pdf? When I download all of the pages, and try to print the title page, it does not print correctly.
      Thanks so much!

      Reply
      • Erika says

        October 24, 2016 at 10:06 am

        Hi Martha, I’m sorry you’re having issues with printing this. How is it not printing correctly? Saving a single PDF page isn’t likely to change how it prints vs the whole file.

        Reply
    11. Kristen says

      January 5, 2017 at 1:21 pm

      Any idea on what to do with newspaper or magazine clipped recipes? I want to save them — thought about flying several down to a page and inserting in a page protected — but what if it has a backside? Thoughts?

      Reply
      • Erika says

        January 5, 2017 at 4:11 pm

        Great question, Kristen!
        I’ll often take a quick photo with my phone of a magazine recipe so I don’t have to keep the hard copy. (I’m all about simplifying that way!) Then I can print out the recipe photo later or look up the recipe on the magazine’s website, etc. and print and add to my recipe binder that way.

        Reply
    12. Dori says

      July 22, 2017 at 3:32 pm

      This is awesome! It’s my weekend project 🙂 I have so many recipes just kept haphazardly so this is much needed. Only thing, what’s the trick to getting the decorative piece of paper down the spine of the binder? I cannot do it for the life of me lol

      Reply
      • Erika says

        April 26, 2021 at 12:50 pm

        Hi Dori, first you want to use a binder that has a clear pocket for the spine. You may need to get a 1.5″ or larger size binder. Then print out one of the full-page designs (without the title space) then cut it to match the spine. Slide it in and you’re all set. 🙂

        Reply
    13. Johanna Eck says

      May 3, 2018 at 6:59 am

      Dear Erika,
      thank you very much for these templates. I searched for a while for recipe cards, and your design is exact what I imagine!
      Johanna

      Reply
    14. Deb Fett says

      July 22, 2018 at 6:01 pm

      I have terrible handwriting so I was going to use your PicMonkey idea. I decided that I didn’t want to get into a “free trial” that I would have to remember to cancel. I bought AVERY Clear Address Labels 18660, printed my category sheets and tabs labels and stuck them on the print outs. Looks like they were printed right on the page. I love my newly organized binder. Thanks for sharing!

      Reply
    15. Jackie Houlberg says

      August 24, 2018 at 8:53 am

      Hi!! Thanks so much for sharing your talent with us!! I am in the process of making this recipe book and am excited to complete it!! I was wondering if you could provide an editable version of the cover page and of the blank pages for the side of the binder. Thanks so much! I really appreciate it!

      Reply
      • Erika says

        August 26, 2018 at 9:31 am

        I don’t have an editable version of this, sorry, Jackie! Glad you love the design. 🙂

        Reply
    16. Brenda Abramson says

      November 17, 2018 at 3:36 pm

      Hi, love this, but one question – is it possible to change the color of mint green to a baby pale pink?
      Most of my stuff is grey and pink!

      Thanks
      Brenda A.

      Reply
    17. Joyce says

      February 27, 2020 at 8:12 pm

      I typed up a “category” in Word, for example “Main Dishes” (I made sure it was lined up in the right place) and fed a category page (printed from this site) into my printer. No need to pay for labels and printing up labels. I played around with the font size and placement till I got it right with a blank piece of paper first. My two daughters and I shared our recipes and I made 3 recipe binders! I used Avery 11293 tabs because they have pockets for loose recipes that I haven’t tried yet. They are also extra wide so that the tabs extend beyond the sheet protectors. Staples has beautiful binders in assorted colors, they are labeled as “Better” binders. Thank you so much for sharing the pages.

      Reply
      • Erika says

        March 2, 2020 at 11:00 am

        Great idea, Joyce. I’m so glad you could make this your own. And you’re welcome! 🙂

        Reply
    18. Deirdre says

      May 1, 2020 at 1:06 pm

      Hi Erika, thank you for these great ideas! I am trying to download the free prinable receipe binder. when I click on “here” it brings me back to this page again. Am I missing
      Something? LOL? Can you send me a link to print them?
      Thank you!
      Deirdre

      Reply
      • Erika says

        May 1, 2020 at 4:16 pm

        There is a form in the post where you can sign up to receive the binder for free. Keep scrolling down in the post – let me know if you have any more issues. 🙂

        Reply
    19. Katherine A Strong says

      July 23, 2020 at 9:18 am

      I can’t wait to get this to make a recipe book for my future daughter in law for her bridal shower.

      Reply
    20. Guylaine Leroux says

      February 27, 2021 at 11:48 am

      My Email was wrong is not (.com) but is (.net)

      Reply
      • Erika says

        March 1, 2021 at 3:53 pm

        Hi, you will have to subscribe again with the correct email. The system won’t allow me to fix it on my end.

        Reply

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Erika Bragdon sitting on a bench drinking a drink out of her mug

    Welcome! I’m Erika and I’m the creator behind Living Well Mom.

    More About Erika

    The Latest

    • Homemade Peanut Butter Cup Recipe | The Easy No-Bake Recipe
    • Easy DIY Coffee Face Scrub with Essential Oils
    • Easy Pumpkin Chili Recipe
    • The 12 Best Essential Oils for Dry Skin
    • Seven Layer Bars | Magic Cookie Bars

    Trending now…

    • playdough in a container How to Make the Easiest Homemade Playdough Recipe {Lasts for Months!}
    • Taco Pizza is a great as an easy family dinner (you can even make it the night before) or a tasty appetizer. Kids love this recipe and the cream cheese/sour cream “sauce” and spicy taco flavor are a hit with adults too.The Best Easy Taco Pizza Recipe
    • Aloha Chicken is a delicious quick-and-easy weeknight meal the whole family will love! Get the easy recipe here.Easy Aloha Pineapple Chicken
    • Chicken and rice casserole in a casserole dish on a tableTasty Chicken and Rice Casserole (Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free)
    • Hand pressed into a ball of fluffy slimeFluffy Dish Soap “Slime” (Borax Free)
    • broccoli with ground beef and rice on a white plateEasy Gluten Free Beef and Broccoli {Dairy-Free}
    • Home
    • Seasonal
    • Essential Oils
    • Natural Solutions
    • Autism

    Living well is a journey not a destination

    copyright ©2022, Living Well Mom. / Site by Pixel Me Designs
    Privacy PolicyTerms & ConditionsDisclaimer
    13.2K shares
    • 258