Scale it to your table
Change the servings and every quantity follows. Tick ingredients off as you go.
The modern culinary journal
Dad, what’s for dinner?
— Paprika chicken & wedges. Chicken souvlaki. Bacon carbonara. Cheddar melt schnitzel. Garlic butter chicken. Southern fried chicken.
South African recipes, a week of meals planned in minutes, and a shopping list priced at Checkers, Pick n Pay, Woolworths and Spar. Know what’s for dinner, and where it’s cheapest.
Free to download and browse. First week free on iPhone for new subscribers.
Step 11 · Fry the chicken 3:59
Paprika chicken for 4, priced in the app on 7 October
- Pick n PayBest R115.45
- Spar R170.94
- Checkers R188.95
- Woolworths R286.49
- Bobotie
- Pap & Wors
- Lamb Sosaties
- Cape Malay Chicken Curry
- Durban-Style Bean & Potato Curry Bunny Chow
- Tomato Bredie with Potatoes
- Apricot Braai Snoek
- Braai Mieliebrood
- Chakalaka Samosas
- Crispy Pap & Cheese Bites
- Boerewors in Tomato & Onion Gravy
Six o’clock, every night, the same question. Dad’s Dinner answers it with a recipe worth cooking, a plan for the rest of the week, and a shopping list that knows where the groceries cost less.
How it works
Find it. Plan it. Shop it. Cook it.
01Find
Find tonight’s dinner
South African recipes with real prep and cook times. Search by name or ingredient, or filter by what tonight needs.
- Quick
- Budget
- Air fryer
- One-pot
- Kid-friendly
- Lunchbox
- Freezer-friendly
- Braai
02Plan
Plan the week in one sitting
Put recipes on breakfast, lunch or dinner for any day. Flip between the whole week and a single day, and tick meals off as you cook them.
03List
The shopping list writes itself
Everything you plan lands in the Fridge tab. Mark what you need and what you have, sort by category or by recipe, add your own extras, and clear recipes out once they’re cooked.
04Compare
Know where it’s cheapest
Price a recipe, or your whole list, at Checkers, Pick n Pay, Woolworths and Spar, and see the cheapest shop or the cheapest mix. Salt, pepper, water and small amounts of oil and vinegar stay off the bill.
05Cook
Cook without the chaos
Cooking mode takes you one step at a time. Start a step timer and walk away from the pot: it keeps going as a notification on Android and a Live Activity on iPhone.
Screens recreated from the app, with real recipes and the app’s prices on 7 October 2026. The food photos are stand-ins.
Price check
Four shops. One answer.
See what a recipe, or your whole shopping list, costs at Checkers, Pick n Pay, Woolworths and Spar. Go with the cheapest single shop, or mix and match for the lowest total.
- Your servings, and anything you’ve already ticked off, are taken into account.
- Salt, pepper, water and small amounts of oil and vinegar are left off the bill.
- Prices come from the shops’ own listings. They change, so treat them as a guide.
4 servings · priced in the app Paprika Chicken with Oven Potato Wedges
Cheapest at Pick n Pay: R115.45 for Paprika Chicken with Oven Potato Wedges.
- Pick n Pay R115.45
- Spar R170.94 +R55.49
- Checkers R188.95 +R73.50
- Woolworths R286.49 +R171.04
Real prices from the app on 7 October 2026, for the recipe’s own servings. Prices change, so check the app for today’s.
The details
Small things that make weeknights easier
Step 11 · Fry the chicken 3:59
Timers that follow you
Step timers keep going when you leave the app: a notification on Android, a Live Activity on iPhone.
Save it. Share it.
Heart the recipes your family asks for again, and send any recipe on with the share sheet.
Sign in your way, or don’t
Use Apple, Google or email. Or skip sign‑up and continue as a guest.
Set it up how you like
Dark mode, metric or imperial units, and an opt-out for analytics.
Dad’s Dinner Next week’s meals aren’t planned yet. Pick a few now?
Nudges, only if you want them
A weekly reminder to plan, and a heads-up when new recipes land. Both stay off until you switch them on.
Help from a real person
Email us and someone from the team will reply. We aim to answer within two business days.
Snap it, we’ll type it
Photograph a page from a cookbook or a handwritten card and it becomes a recipe you can plan meals with. Google’s Gemini does the reading, so give it a quick check before you save. Your recipes are private to you, and the page photos are deleted within 30 days. For subscribers, with a set number of imports each month.
A diary, for the grown-ups
Adults can turn on the nutrition diary: a daily ring, your own goals, a week view and insights. Log a meal straight from a recipe or your plan. It asks for your consent first, and you can delete your health data any time in Settings.
Filter Braai
From Tuesday’s curry
to Saturday’s braai.
Quick weeknight one-pots, lunchbox fillers and meals for the freezer, with a filter of its own for when the fire is lit.
Pricing
One subscription. Everything in it.
Free to download and browse. Subscribe when you want the planner, the list and the prices.
Free
R0
Look around before you subscribe.
Always included
- Download the app
- Browse the recipes
- Continue as a guest, no account needed
R799.99 / year
About R66.67 a month. Save R399.89 compared with paying monthly.
On iPhone, your first week is free if you haven’t subscribed before.
Subscription
- Full recipes, with servings, ingredients and steps
- Cooking mode with step timers
- The weekly planner
- The Fridge shopping list
- Price comparison at four shops
- Recipe import from photos and files
- The nutrition diary, for adults
Billed in rand by the App Store or Google Play, and renews automatically until you cancel in your store account. Cancel at least a day before a free trial or billing period ends and you won’t be charged for the next one; you keep access until the end of the period you’ve paid for.
FAQ
Questions, answered
Something else? Email nico@dadwhatsfordinner.co.za or visit our Support page.
What is Dad’s Dinner?
Dad’s Dinner is a recipe and meal planning app for South African families. Browse local recipes, plan the week’s meals, and see what your shopping costs at Checkers, Pick n Pay, Woolworths and Spar before you leave home.
How much does it cost?
The app is free to download, and you can browse recipes without paying. A subscription, which unlocks full recipes, cooking mode, the planner, the shopping list and price comparison, costs R99.99 a month or R799.99 a year. It’s billed by the App Store or Google Play. On iPhone, new subscribers get the first week free.
How do I change or cancel my subscription?
Subscriptions are billed by Apple or Google, so you manage them in your store account. On iPhone: Settings → your name → Subscriptions → Dad’s Dinner. On Android: the Google Play app → Payments & subscriptions → Subscriptions → Dad’s Dinner. You can also start from Manage subscription in the app. Uninstalling the app or deleting your account does not cancel a subscription.
What happens when my subscription ends?
You keep access until the end of the period you’ve already paid for. Your account isn’t deleted, so you can subscribe again at any time.
Which shops do you compare?
Checkers, Pick n Pay, Woolworths and Spar. You can see the cheapest shop for a recipe or for your whole shopping list, and the cheapest way to split the basket between shops. Prices are gathered from the retailers and refreshed regularly, but they can lag behind the shelf, so treat them as a guide.
How does the meal planner work?
Add recipes to breakfast, lunch or dinner on any day of the week, and their ingredients go onto your shopping list in the Fridge tab automatically. There you can mark what you need and what you already have, sort by category or recipe, and add your own items.
Can I add my own recipes?
Yes, if you subscribe. Photograph a page from a cookbook or a handwritten card, or pick a photo or file, and Google’s Gemini AI reads it into a recipe for you to check before saving. Your recipes live in My Recipes and are private to you, and we delete the page photos within 30 days. There’s a monthly limit on imports, which resets on the first of the month.
Does the app track nutrition?
Adults (18 and over) can turn on the nutrition diary, which asks for your consent first. It shows a daily ring, your goals, a week view and insights, and you can log meals from recipes and from your meal plan. You can delete your health data at any time from Settings.
Do I need an account?
No. You can continue as a guest, or sign in with Apple, Google or email.
How do I get help?
Email nico@dadwhatsfordinner.co.za and a real person will get back to you. We aim to reply within two business days. Our Support page answers the most common questions.
Dinner, sorted.
South African recipes, a plan for the week and the cheapest shop for your list. Free to download on iPhone and Android.
Or scan with your phone’s camera