The meal planner that cooks for you…

Your meals for the week or the month,
planned in minutes.
And the grocery list to match.

Popotam builds your menus in one click, or with your own AI if you'd rather, and sorts your groceries by aisle. No account, no headache.

Create my meal planTry the demo

it's 100% free.Want ideas first? Browse the weekly menus

Cook everything in one go? Popotam does your meal prep too

Get it on Google Play

Groceries ✎
  • Chickpeas
  • Zucchini
  • Parmesan
  • Basil
The recipe in 3 steps

Three steps, and you're done.

You stay in charge, the AI writes the rough draft, Popotam cleans it all up.

1your tastes

Tell it what you're craving

Your budget, what you love, what you don't eat. Popotam writes the prompt for you.

2the AI cooks

The AI builds the menu

Popotam handles it in one click, or you paste the prompt into Gemini, ChatGPT or Claude. Your call.

3let's eat!

Meal plan + sorted list

Popotam turns the answer into a weekly meal plan and a grocery list sorted by aisle.

A meal prep week in Popotam: the Tuesday session, and every dish labeled fridge or freezer
The timed run-through of a meal prep session: each step with its time, quantities and timers
Meal prep

Your whole week, cooked in one afternoon.

You keep the dishes from your week that store well, Popotam writes the plan minute by minute: what to chop first, what simmers while the oven's on, and when everything goes into containers.

  • It sorts things for you

    It spots what keeps in the fridge or freezer, and saves what's best eaten fresh for the day itself.

  • It knows your kitchen

    Two burners or four, an oven or not, a Cookeo or a Thermomix: the plan never asks for more pots than you have burners.

  • You just follow along

    Every cooking step gets its timer, every container its storage time. On the day, only the finishing touches are left.

See a meal prep planThe free meal prep app, in detail
Your kitchen, your rules

It plans for you, not for everyone.

Two people with the same budget don't eat the same things. Popotam asks what really matters to you, once, and remembers it.

What you love

Favorite cuisines, mild or seriously spicy, safe bets or up for a surprise, ingredients you want more often. And the goal you're going for: balanced, high-protein, light or comfort food.

The time you've got

Twenty-five minutes on weeknights and more on weekends, quick dinners, a Sunday that takes its time. Popotam factors in your kitchen gear, what's already in your pantry, and the meals you actually want to plan.

What's non-negotiable

Vegetarian, halal, gluten-free, lactose-free, allergies, and the foods you just don't want to see. Popotam doesn't just ask the AI: it double-checks every dish, ingredient by ingredient, and tosses the ones that break the rule.

Halloween special, until October 31

Pick a recipe off the line.

Tried-and-tested dishes, with quantities and price per serving, and in October some Halloween recipes: mummies, potions, spiderweb cakes. Flip the card!

  • for the 31st!Pumpkin pie70 minwith the kidsSee the recipeAll Halloween recipes
  • so goodCrispy tofu, broccoli and rice noodle skillet30 min≈ $3.25 per serving765 kcalAdd to meal planSee the recipe
  • for the 31st!Pumpkin ricotta lasagna with a spiderweb80 minwith the kidsSee the recipeAll Halloween recipes
  • so goodRed lentil and spinach dal40 min≈ $2.64 per serving927 kcalAdd to meal planSee the recipe
  • for the 31st!Witch's magic potion, alcohol-free15 minalcohol-freeSee the recipeAll Halloween recipes
  • budget-friendlyMushroom and potato omelet with green salad30 min≈ $2.13 per serving393 kcalAdd to meal planSee the recipe
  • for the 31st!Halloween chocolate cake with a spiderweb55 minwith the kidsSee the recipeAll Halloween recipes
  • quick & easyChickpea, tuna and avocado salad20 min≈ $4.76 per serving914 kcalAdd to meal planSee the recipe
  • for the 31st!Pumpkin hummus with veggie fingers35 minno ovenSee the recipeAll Halloween recipes
  • budget-friendlyPumpkin and chickpea soup with croutons35 min≈ $1.55 per serving493 kcalAdd to meal planSee the recipe
  • for the 31st!Witch's purple potion10 minalcohol-freeSee the recipeAll Halloween recipes
  • so goodSweet potato, chicken breast and mushroom gratin50 min≈ $3.06 per serving541 kcalAdd to meal planSee the recipe
  • so goodMushroom omelet with lamb's lettuce salad25 min≈ $2.58 per serving419 kcalAdd to meal planSee the recipe
  • so goodBaked pasta with tuna and spinach30 min≈ $4.40 per serving856 kcalAdd to meal planSee the recipe
  • budget-friendlyVegetable and egg bake55 min≈ $1.95 per serving427 kcalAdd to meal planSee the recipe
  • so goodPasta with sardines, cherry tomatoes and basil25 min≈ $2.26 per serving494 kcalAdd to meal planSee the recipe
  • so goodQuinoa salad with chickpeas and grilled chicken35 min≈ $4.68 per serving895 kcalAdd to meal planSee the recipe
  • budget-friendlyLebanese tabbouleh and homemade falafel40 min≈ $1.62 per serving590 kcalAdd to meal planSee the recipe
click a card to flip itswipe the line, tap a cardAll recipesSee the Halloween recipes
Autopilot

What if you had nothing left to do?

Popotam can plan your next week on its own, on the day you pick. You open the app, and it's already done.

1

You pick your day

Thursday before grocery day, Sunday night, whatever works for you. That's the day Popotam gets to work.

2

It plans, you chill

Fourteen meals, your budget, your restrictions, never repeating what you just ate. Plus the grocery list to match.

3

It never touches your current week

Only next week gets written. Your checked-off meals and your current list stay exactly how you left them.

4

And you can tweak it ahead of time

It opens in a tap, before the week has even started: swap a dish you're not feeling, cancel a dinner you'll miss, get a recipe written. By Monday, everything's ready to go.

How it works, and what gets sent to the AI →

Your week ✎

Every Thursday, Popotam plans the following week. Turn it off in one click, whenever you want.

Why free

Free for real, and we cook in the open.

No trial period, no surprises. A free service is bound to raise eyebrows, so everything's on the table, with the real numbers, updated automatically.

  • You can use your own AIGemini, ChatGPT or Claude, from your free account: it costs nobody a thing.
  • Or let Popotam do itOne generation costs it less than one cent: way too little to bill you for anything.
  • No ads, nothing to sellNo banners, no paid version, and no store pays to get mentioned.

The server, the AI and the domain name still cost a bit every month. Anyone who wants to fills up the pot, and we all watch the bills get stamped together.

See this month's potDonate directly

A donation doesn't unlock any feature or lift any limit (makes sense, there aren't any). Popotam stays free and complete, with or without. Promise!

And what leaves here? Your meal plan lives behind a private link, no account or password, and the AI (OpenAI's GPT-6 Luna for your weeks, Mistral AI for the rest) only gets your preferences, never who you are. It's all spelled out here.

The menu barometer

This week, across 1,984 households.

What households actually plan with Popotam, measured every Monday: totals only, never a single household.

49% of meals are vegetarian

Even though only 4% of households call themselves vegetarian.

≈ $2.20 per meal, per person

Estimated cost, for a target budget of $28 a week.

25 min for a lunch

And 30 min for a dinner, median, prep and cooking included.

The full barometer for the week, with the dishes people keep, the star ingredients, calories and how things change week after week.

The question we get asked

And compared to Jow or HelloFresh?

There's no single tool that's right for everyone. Popotam doesn't deliver anything, doesn't sell anything and doesn't order your groceries: on those fronts, others do better. Might as well tell you right here.

Popotam or Jow

Jow fills your cart at six partner retailers. Popotam lets you shop wherever you want, farmers' market included.

Popotam or HelloFresh

A meal kit delivers pre-portioned ingredients, for a subscription. Popotam organizes the ones you buy, for free.

Popotam or Quitoque

A delivered meal kit from €7.74 a plate, or a flexible meal plan that costs nothing.

The full comparison of the eight tools, with the detailed table and prices checked at the source, and our guide which free app to use for weekly menus.

Christmas Eve dinner coming up? Grab a ready-made Christmas menu, with the grocery list and the game plan.

Straight talk

The questions we get asked.

The ones that come up most, with real answers. If yours isn't here, drop us a line.

Is it really free? What's the catch?
There isn't one. Popotam sells nothing, shows no ads and never resells any data. When you use your own AI, the service costs nobody anything. When Popotam does the generating, it costs less than one cent: little enough not to charge you anything.
Do I need to create an account?
Nope, there's no account at all. Your meal plan opens with a private link, which is your only key. Bookmark it, or leave your email so we can send it back to you if you lose it.
Do I need to install an app?
You don't have to: Popotam opens in your browser, on your phone or your computer. On Android, it also has its own free app on Google Play, with the same meal plan and the same groceries. On iPhone, Safari's Share menu lets you add it to your home screen: it then opens full screen, like an app.
Does Popotam give you recipes, or just dish names?
Both. The meal plan gives you the dishes and the grocery list sorted by aisle; for any meal, you can ask for the step-by-step recipe, with ingredients and their quantities, equipment, timed steps and tips. It's written in a few seconds and saved to your cookbook, where it sticks around from one week to the next.
What gets sent to the AI?
The number of people, your budget, your dietary restrictions, your cooking preferences (tastes, time, equipment, pantry) and the dishes not to repeat. Never your email address, never your meal plan's ID, never anything that could identify you. If you choose to use your own AI, Popotam sends nothing at all: you're the one copying the prompt.
I'm vegetarian, halal or gluten-free: can I trust it?
Yes, and not just because we ask the AI. Popotam tells it what each diet rules out, food by food (an AI knows the words "gluten-free" without always connecting them to "wrap"), then it DOUBLE-CHECKS the answer: every dish, every ingredient. A dish that breaks the rule is tossed and replaced before you ever see it. That's the difference between a promise kept and an instruction sent.
Can I change the menu Popotam suggests?
Yes, dish by dish. You can get three other dishes suggested for a slot, cancel a meal (it then drops off the grocery list and the budget), redo the whole week in one go, or clear it and start from scratch. Your preferences, your history and your cookbook stay put when you clear a week.
For how many people?
From 1 to 12. Quantities in the meal plan and the grocery list are calculated for that number, and you can change it from one week to the next: dinner for two one week, a table of six the next.
How long does it take to get your first meal plan?
The initial setup takes two or three minutes: number of people, restrictions, a budget if you want one, the rest is optional. The week then generates in about ten seconds, under eight half the time. The following weeks take just one click, or nothing at all if you turn on automatic generation.
Do I have to give my email address?
No. Popotam works fully without it. It's only used to find your link again from another device and to let you know when your automatic week is ready. No newsletter, no marketing, no reselling, and you can remove it in one click.
Can I plan more than a week ahead?
Yes, up to four weeks ahead. Popotam plans the current week and the next one, and you can ask it for the whole month at once from your meal plan. The "Whole month" grocery list then combines those weeks into a single list sorted by aisle, where an item used across several weeks shows up only once: made for people who shop monthly rather than weekly.
Can Popotam plan my week on its own?
Yes, if you turn it on. On the day you pick, Popotam generates your next week and you find it ready when you open the app. It never touches your current week, and you can switch it off whenever you want.
Can I use my own AI instead of Popotam's?
Yes, it's a full mode of its own. Popotam prepares the prompt, you paste it into Gemini, ChatGPT or Claude from your account, and you bring the answer back. You switch between modes in one click, nothing gets lost.
What's the difference between Popotam and Jow or HelloFresh?
Jow builds a menu and then fills your cart at six partner retailers: it's a grocery service as much as a recipe tool. HelloFresh is a meal kit: pre-portioned ingredients arrive at your door every week, for a subscription. Popotam does neither: it organizes meals you buy wherever you want, for free and with no account. The detailed comparison of the eight tools, prices included, is on the Comparison page.
Does Popotam help with meal prep?
Yes. From your meal plan, you keep the dishes of the week that store well, you say how many burners you have, what your oven can fit, and whether you have a multicooker like a Cookeo or a Thermomix. Popotam then writes the plan for your session, minute by minute: what to prep first, what cooks at the same time, a timer for every cooking step, how long each container keeps and the finishing touches for the day itself. It's free, like everything else.
Does Popotam take my budget into account?
Yes. You set a budget for the week, and Popotam plans meals to stay within it, with an estimated cost for each dish and for the week before you shop. These are estimates based on average in-store prices from Open Prices, checked by an AI and then by hand, not a specific store's exact prices. For two people, a whole week, lunch and dinner, comes in under $60.
Does Popotam show the calories of meals?
Yes. Every dish shows its calories, protein, carbs and fat, and the meal plan shows each day's total and the week's average. These numbers are calculated ingredient by ingredient with the Ciqual table from ANSES (France's food safety agency), never written by an AI, and they only show up when they're reliable enough.
Can I find a recipe with what's in my fridge?
Yes, with Fridge raid: you say what you've got on hand, Popotam suggests dishes that use it and tells you what's missing, if anything. You can drop the idea onto your meal plan in one tap.
Which store does it work with?
All of them. Popotam isn't tied to any store and takes no commission: the list is sorted by aisle, you shop wherever you want, with the brands you want.
Can several people share a meal plan, as a couple or roommates?
Yes, with no limit on people. From your meal plan, you send the link or let someone scan the QR code: the meal plan gets added to the list on every phone that opens it, under its name, and everyone manages it equally. There's no invite to accept, no account to create, no owner, so nothing stops three or four people from sharing the same meal plan, a family or roommates alike. If someone leaves, they just remove the meal plan from their list and nothing gets deleted for the others. Good to know before you send it: this link opens the meal plan with no password, so share it like a key, with people you trust.
Can I manage several meal plans on the same phone?
Yes. Each meal plan has its own name and shows up in a list at the top of the app: the household one, the parents' one, the roommates' one. You switch from one to another in a tap, and you can start a blank one without losing the others.
What happens if I lose the link to my meal plan?
If you saved and confirmed an email address, you can ask for it to be sent again, from the app's home screen. Without an email, the link is the only key, and nobody can find it for you: that's the price of having no account, and it's also why nobody else can open your meal plan.
Is my data hosted in France?
Yes. The database is hosted by Scaleway, in France, and emails go through the same provider. If you use instant generation, Popotam has your weeks put together by OpenAI's GPT-6 Luna, currently the model that follows your constraints most closely, and everything else by Mistral AI, a French company. No personal data is sent to them: only your meal preferences and dish names.

Create your meal plan, it's free.

A few minutes for organized meals and a ready-to-go grocery list. No account, no commitment.

Create my meal plan