How should ingredients and quantities be written in Recipe markup?

Definition: recipeIngredient is the Recipe property for recording the ingredients used in a dish, including quantities. In Google's documented Recipe form, each ingredient is written as text, with the quantity and ingredient name together in the value.

Key facts

• Google's Recipe structured data documentation lists recipeIngredient as a recommended property with the type Text.
• Google's example places entries such as "3/4 cup sugar" and "2 tablespoons all-purpose flour" in a recipeIngredient array.
• Google says to include only the ingredient text necessary for making the recipe.
• Google says to leave out unnecessary information, including a definition of the ingredient.
• Schema.org describes recipeIngredient as an ingredient or ordered list of ingredients that can include quantities, represented as free text or more structured values.

What belongs in a recipeIngredient string?

The documented Google pattern is one text value for each ingredient. The value can combine the amount, unit, ingredient name, and a preparation detail needed to identify what the recipe uses. Google's example includes a package quantity, a cup measurement, tablespoons, teaspoons, and qualifiers such as “thinly sliced, peeled” and “6 medium”.

"recipeIngredient": [
  "1 (15 ounce) package double crust ready-to-use pie crust",
  "6 cups thinly sliced, peeled apples (6 medium)",
  "3/4 cup sugar",
  "2 tablespoons all-purpose flour",
  "3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon",
  "1/4 teaspoon salt",
  "1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg",
  "1 tablespoon lemon juice"
]

The example shows that the quantity is part of the string alongside the ingredient name. It does not split 3/4, cup, and sugar into separate Google Recipe properties. The page identifies the value type as Text, so a JSON-LD implementation using Google's documented form keeps each entry as a string.

How much descriptive text should be included?

Google's additional guidance is narrow: “Include only the ingredient text that is necessary for making the recipe.” The same documentation says, “Don't include unnecessary information, such as a definition of the ingredient.” A preparation qualifier belongs in the value when it changes what the recipe calls for, as in the documented thinly sliced, peeled apples example. A dictionary-style explanation of an ingredient does not belong there.

The examples show several quantity styles, including 1 (15 ounce) package, 3/4 cup, 2 tablespoons, and 1/8 teaspoon. Google gives these examples and the inclusion rules, but it does not define a required punctuation order, unit vocabulary, or separate quantity grammar for the strings.

Does Schema.org allow structured quantities?

Schema.org describes recipeIngredient as “An ingredient or ordered list of ingredients and potentially quantities used in the recipe, e.g. 1 cup of sugar, flour or garlic.” It also states that “The ingredients can be represented as free text or more structured values.” The property page lists ItemList, PropertyValue, and Text as expected value types.

That broader vocabulary explains why a structured representation can exist in Schema.org. Google's Recipe page, however, documents the property as Text and illustrates a string array. For markup intended to follow Google's Recipe guidance, the example above is the directly documented notation, while any structured quantity model should be checked against the properties and formats supported by the target consumer.

How should the emitted markup be checked?

Inspect the generated Recipe object and confirm that recipeIngredient contains the ingredient text used by the recipe. Google's table places this property among the recommended Recipe properties and labels its type Text; each documented example is a complete string containing the quantity and ingredient name. The Google page was last updated 8 September 2026.

Related terms

• Structured data
• JSON-LD
• How do I mark recipe cooking time and servings?
• How should a recipe separate steps into sections?

FAQ

Should the quantity and ingredient name be separate properties?

Google's documented Recipe form uses a Text value and shows the quantity and ingredient name together, such as "3/4 cup sugar". Schema.org also permits more structured values, including PropertyValue, but that is a broader vocabulary than the Google example.

Can a string include an ingredient definition?

No. Google says to include only the text necessary for making the recipe and specifically gives a definition as unnecessary information.

Sources

1. Google Search Central, "Recipe structured data", 8 September 2026
2. Schema.org, "recipeIngredient - Schema.org Property", August 2026

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