The Uganda Food API
Authentic Ugandan recipes — luwombo, matooke, eshabwe, malakwang, kuon kal — with real ingredients, step-by-step instructions, nutrition, UGX cost analysis and local-language names. Built for mobile apps, food-delivery platforms and nutrition tools.
Free for 5,000 requests / month · UGX-priced paid tiers
Recipes
84
5 regions
Ingredients
80
Local names
Tribes
13
Across Uganda
Districts
28
Full taxonomy
Quickstart
curl -H "x-api-key: lapi_..." \
/api/v1/recipes/trending
# →
{
"overall": "Rolex (Chapati and Egg Roll)",
"street_food": "Rolex",
"ceremonial": "Luwombo lwa Nkoko",
"budget": "Atap (Sorghum Porridge)"
}Top dishes
Recipes from across Uganda's regions
Why a Uganda-specific API?
Generic recipe APIs don't speak Luganda, don't price in UGX, and don't know the difference between Mbarara and Mbale.
Generic recipe APIs ship a watered-down 'African' category
84 hand-curated dishes from real Ugandan kitchens
Recipe names buried under English translations
Local names in Luganda, Acholi, Runyankole, Lusoga, Ateso and more
Cost data in USD that doesn't match Kampala markets
Live UGX pricing anchored to Nakasero / Owino / Kalerwe
No tribal or regional metadata to filter by
Full Uganda Bureau of Statistics regions / tribes / districts taxonomy
Nutrition data that ignores millet, sorghum, simsim, malakwang
Per-100g nutrition for 80 East African ingredients
Pay USD subscriptions on a credit card you don't have
Subscribe with MTN MoMo or Airtel Money in UGX
Everything an Uganda food app needs
Recipes, ingredients, regions, nutrition and pricing — one API, one key.
Powerful recipe search
Filter by region, tribe, dietary flag, max prep time, ingredients on hand or to avoid, and budget per serving. Sort by popularity, calories or cost.
Ingredient catalog
80 East African ingredients with scientific names, per-100g nutrition, storage info, allergens and translations across 8 languages.
Cultural taxonomy
Five regions, thirteen tribes and twenty-eight districts. Browse signature dishes per tribe and discover the dishes a Bagisu wedding actually serves.
Real nutrition data
Calories, protein, carbs, fat, fibre, sodium and a 1–10 health score derived deterministically from each recipe's ingredients.
UGX cost analysis
Total cost, per-serving cost and economy/moderate/premium tier — anchored to current Kampala market prices, not abstract dollars.
Local-language names
Every recipe and ingredient ships with native names — Luganda, Lusoga, Acholi, Runyankole, Rukiga, Ateso, Lumasaba, Ngakarimojong.
Developer-first
Stable JSON contract, OpenAPI 3.0 spec, Scalar reference docs, copy-paste curl examples and 429 rate-limit headers when you push too hard.
Up and querying in 60 seconds
No business plan reviews. No KYC. Just sign up and start calling.
Sign up
Create a free account with your email — no credit card required.
Generate an API key
Hit Create Key in the dashboard, copy it once, and add it to your app's secrets.
Make your first call
Send curl -H 'x-api-key: lapi_...' /api/v1/recipes/trending and ship.
UGX-priced. Pay with mobile money.
Free for 5,000 requests/month. No card. No long-term contract. Cancel anytime.
Free
Test the API on us
- 5,000 requests / month
- 10 requests / minute
- All recipe & ingredient endpoints
- Community support
- Watermarked sample images
Starter
For solo builders & MVPs
- 50,000 requests / month
- 60 requests / minute
- Full recipe data
- Commercial license
- Email support (48h)
Growth
For production apps
- 150,000 requests / month
- 150 requests / minute
- Bulk export (CSV, JSON)
- Priority email support (24h)
- Webhook events
Pro
For high-traffic platforms
- 350,000 requests / month
- 300 requests / minute
- Real-time market prices
- SLA: 99.9% uptime
- Slack & WhatsApp support
Scale
For enterprise & integrators
- 1,000,000 requests / month
- 1,000 requests / minute
- Dedicated infrastructure
- White-label SDK
- 24/7 phone support
How we compare to generic recipe APIs
Spoonacular, Edamam and TheMealDB are great — but they're not Ugandan.
| Feature | Uganda Food API | Spoonacular | Edamam | TheMealDB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Authentic Ugandan recipes | ||||
| Local-language names (Luganda, Acholi, etc.) | ||||
| UGX cost analysis | ||||
| Tribal & regional metadata | ||||
| Per-100g nutrition | ||||
| Step-by-step instructions | ||||
| Mobile money billing (MTN/Airtel) | ||||
| OpenAPI 3.0 spec | ||||
| Free tier (no credit card) | ||||
| Karamojong, Bagisu & Madi cuisine |
Ship your Ugandan food feature this weekend
Free tier covers most prototypes. UGX pricing on the paid tiers.
Get free API keyNo credit card required. 5,000 requests / month forever.
Frequently asked questions
Quick answers to the things developers ask before signing up.