Can a craft tutorial use Google's Recipe rich result markup?

Definition: Google's Recipe structured data guideline is for content about preparing a particular dish. A craft tutorial does not meet that subject requirement unless the page is actually about preparing a dish.

Key facts

• Google says to use Recipe structured data for content about preparing a particular dish. Its examples of invalid dish names include “facial scrub” and “party ideas.” Google's Recipe documentation
• Google says the Recipe rules apply alongside its general structured data guidelines. A policy violation can prevent a recipe from appearing as a rich result while the content remains in Search results. Google's Recipe documentation
• Google's general policy calls a woodworking site labeling instructions as recipes an example of irrelevant data. Google's structured data policies
• Google says structured data describes the page it is on, and it should not describe information that is not visible to the user. Google's structured data introduction
• Schema.org defines Recipe as “A recipe.” Its recipeInstructions property describes a step in making the recipe or an ordered list with HowToStep or HowToSection items. Schema.org's Recipe definition

Why a craft tutorial falls outside the Recipe rule

The decisive question is what the page teaches. Google describes the Recipe type around a dish: the name property is the name of the dish, recipeIngredient is an ingredient used in the recipe, and recipeInstructions contains the steps to make the dish. A tutorial about woodworking, sewing, paper crafts, or another non-food project has instructions, but those instructions do not become recipe instructions because they are arranged as steps.

Google's general relevance policy makes the boundary concrete by naming “a woodworking site labeling instructions as recipes” as an example of irrelevant data. The Recipe page gives the same kind of boundary through its examples of “facial scrub” and “party ideas” as names that are not valid names for a dish. Those examples support leaving Recipe markup off a craft tutorial.

What the Recipe markup represents

The Schema.org vocabulary gives Recipe properties for recipe-specific information. recipeIngredient can represent ingredients and quantities, while recipeInstructions can represent a single step or an ordered list. Google's implementation guidance describes recipeInstructions as the steps to make the dish and recommends HowToStep; HowToSection can group steps when a recipe has sections.

Google's example uses a dish and recipe-specific fields:

{
  "@context": "https://schema.org/",
  "@type": "Recipe",
  "name": "Non-Alcoholic Piña Colada",
  "recipeInstructions": [
    {
      "@type": "HowToStep",
      "name": "Blend",
      "text": "Blend 400ml of pineapple juice and 100ml cream of coconut until smooth."
    }
  ]
}

The example is a dish page. It shows why copying the type and replacing the dish fields with craft steps would misdescribe the page.

How to check a page before adding Recipe markup

First read the visible page content and identify whether it explains how to prepare a particular dish. Then compare the proposed type and properties with the page: Google says structured data must be a true representation of the page content, and its general policy says not to mark up irrelevant or misleading content. For an actual recipe, the Recipe documentation lists required and recommended properties and directs site owners to validate the code with the Rich Results Test.

If the page is a craft tutorial, the Recipe condition is not met by the presence of ingredients in a metaphorical sense, a project materials list, or numbered instructions. The page's subject remains the deciding fact under Google's particular-dish guideline.

Related terms

• Structured data
• JSON-LD
• HowTo structured data

FAQ

Can a step-by-step craft tutorial qualify for Recipe markup?

No. Google limits the Recipe type to content about preparing a particular dish, and its general policy gives woodworking instructions labeled as recipes as an example of irrelevant data.

Are “facial scrub” and “party ideas” valid Recipe names?

No. Google's Recipe documentation uses both as examples of names that are not valid names for a dish.

Does valid JSON-LD make a craft page a recipe?

No. Google requires the markup to describe the page and to follow both the general and Recipe-specific guidelines. Syntax alone does not change a craft tutorial into content about preparing a dish.

What belongs in recipeInstructions?

For a recipe page, Google says to include only text about how to make the dish. It recommends HowToStep and allows HowToSection to group steps when the recipe has sections.

Sources

1. Google Search Central, "Recipe structured data", 8 September 2026
2. Google Search Central, "Structured data general guidelines", 10 July 2026
3. Google Search Central, "Intro to How Structured Data Markup Works", 10 December 2025
4. Schema.org, "Recipe", undated

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