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Build a Simple Siri Shortcut to Create a Weekly Grocery List (Apple Intelligence Ready)

Learn how to set up a basic shortcut on your iPhone that records meal ideas and turns them into a shopping list, ready for future Apple Intelligence enhancements.

6 min read·July 4, 2026

This guide was written by AI. It passed automated fact and quality checks, and our editor spot-checks published guides every day.

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By the end of this guide you’ll have a Siri Shortcut that asks you what you plan to eat, saves those ideas, and adds a few staple items to a grocery list – all on your iPhone. It’s perfect for anyone who wants a low‑effort way to start organizing meals, even before Apple Intelligence’s smart suggestions arrive.

💡 Tip: tap a step’s number when you finish it — a green tick appears and your browser remembers how far you got.

✅ Before you start
  • An iPhone with iOS 18 (or newer) installed.
  • The Shortcuts app – it comes pre‑installed on modern iPhones, but you can download it for free from the App Store if it’s missing.
  • An Apple ID signed into the device (required to use Reminders).
  • About 10–15 minutes of uninterrupted time.

What Apple Intelligence can’t do right now: it cannot automatically read your meal text and suggest ingredients. This guide creates a manual placeholder that will work with the future AI‑driven features as soon as they become available.

1
Step 1 of 6

Open the Shortcuts app

Tap the Shortcuts icon – two overlapping squares, usually colored blue and purple – on your home screen. When the app opens you’ll see a page titled My Shortcuts with either a list of existing shortcuts or a blank screen that says “No Shortcuts Yet”.

✅ You'll know it worked when

the header reads My Shortcuts and you can scroll vertically without any error messages.

🔄 If it looks different

If you don’t see it, swipe down from the middle of the screen to open the Search bar, type “Shortcuts”, and tap the result.

Next step ↓
Open the Shortcuts app
2
Step 2 of 6

Start a new shortcut

In the top‑right corner of the My Shortcuts screen look for a + button (a plus sign inside a circle). Tap that button. A new page appears called New Shortcut with a large empty canvas and a search bar that says “Search for apps or actions”. This is where you’ll start adding the building blocks of your automation. If the plus sign isn’t visible, look for a menu icon (three dots) and choose Create Shortcut from the dropdown.

✅ You'll know it worked when

the canvas shows a thin horizontal line labeled “Tap to add action”.

Next step ↓
Apple IntelligenceCreate Shortcut
✏️ Sketch — your screen may look a little different
3
Step 3 of 6

Add an “Ask for Input” action to capture meal ideas

Tap the Add Action button (or the search field) and type “Ask for Input”. From the results choose Ask for Input – this action prompts you to type something later. In the action’s settings, tap the placeholder text and replace it with the prompt you want Siri to ask, for example “What meals are you planning for the week?”. This step creates a simple text box that appears whenever you run the shortcut.

💬 Example `What meals are you planning for the week?`
✅ You'll know it worked when

the action card displays your custom prompt underneath the title Ask for Input.

🔄 If it looks different

If you don’t see “Ask for Input”, look for a similar action called Prompt for Text – Apple occasionally renames actions.

Next step ↓
Apple IntelligenceAdd Action
✏️ Sketch — your screen may look a little different
4
Step 4 of 6

Store the input in a Reminders list called “Weekly Meals”

Tap Add Action again and search for “Add to Reminders”. Select it, then drag the small circle on the right side of the Ask for Input card onto the Add to Reminders card – this links the text you type to the reminder entry. In the Add to Reminders settings tap List and choose Weekly Meals; if that list doesn’t exist, tap New List and type “Weekly Meals”. This creates a dedicated list where every meal idea you enter will be saved. If the list selector looks different, look for any dropdown labeled “List” or “Folder”.

💬 Example `Weekly Meals` (as the list name)
✅ You'll know it worked when

, after tapping the linked actions, the shortcut shows a small check‑mark and the Add to Reminders card displays List: Weekly Meals.

Next step ↓
Apple IntelligenceAdd Action
✏️ Sketch — your screen may look a little different
5
Step 5 of 6

Compile a basic grocery list from the stored meals

First, add a Find Reminders action by searching for it. Set the filter to List is Weekly Meals – this tells the shortcut to pull up everything you stored in the previous step. Below that, add a Text action and type a few staple items, e.g., Milk, Bread, Eggs, Butter. Finally, add another Add to Reminders action, set its list to Grocery List (create a new list with that name if needed), and connect the Text output to it. This chain reads your meal notes, then adds the hard‑coded staples to a separate grocery list.

💬 Example `Milk, Bread, Eggs, Butter`
✅ You'll know it worked when

the shortcut diagram shows the three actions in order – Find Reminders → Text → Add to Reminders – and the final Add to Reminders card displays List: Grocery List.

🔄 If it looks different

If you can’t find Find Reminders, look for Search Reminders – the name can vary across iOS versions.

Next step ↓
Apple IntelligenceMilk, Bread, Eggs,Butter
✏️ Sketch — your screen may look a little different
6
Step 6 of 6

Name, test, and run your shortcut

Tap the name field at the top of the canvas (it may say “New Shortcut”) and type a clear title such as Weekly Grocery Helper. Press Done. To test, tap the small play button – a triangle pointing right – at the bottom‑right of the screen. Siri will ask the prompt you set in Step 3; type something like “Spaghetti, salad, chicken” and hit Return. The shortcut will then create a reminder in Weekly Meals and add the staple items to Grocery List. If the play button is hidden, look for a Run icon in the toolbar or press the ⋯ menu and choose Run.

✅ You'll know it worked when

the Reminders app opens, shows a new entry under Weekly Meals with the text you typed, and also shows three new items (Milk, Bread, Eggs, Butter) under Grocery List.

Apple IntelligenceDone
✏️ Sketch — your screen may look a little different
⚠️ Common mistakes
  • Skipping the list creation: If you forget to create the “Weekly Meals” or “Grocery List” lists first, the shortcut will add items to the default Reminders inbox. Fix it by opening the Reminders app, tapping Add List, and naming the lists exactly as used in the shortcut.
  • Connecting the wrong output: Dragging the wrong arrow can leave the actions unlinked, meaning no data passes through. Double‑check that the small circle on the right side of each card points to the next card in the sequence.
  • Assuming Apple Intelligence already works: The current shortcut only stores text; it won’t automatically parse ingredients. When Apple Intelligence becomes available, you’ll need to add a new “Intelligence‑enabled” action – for now, treat the shortcut as a manual placeholder.
🚀 Try it now

Open the Shortcuts app, tap the + button, add an Ask for Input action with the prompt “What’s for dinner tonight?”, link it to Add to Reminders on a list called Weekly Meals, and press the play button. You’ll see your answer appear as a reminder – the first concrete piece of your weekly grocery workflow!

🎯 Next guideActivate Apple Intelligence on Your iPhone: A Beginner’s Step‑by‑Step GuideLearn how to turn on Apple's built‑in AI helper, use it to draft messages and summarize emails, and see how it can make everyday tasks feel a little smarter.

❓ Quick questions

How long does this take?

About 6 minutes — the guide has 6 steps, and you can tick each one off as you go.

Which tool do I need?

This guide uses Apple Intelligence — but the approach works very similarly in other AI assistants.

Do I need to prepare anything?
  • An iPhone with iOS 18 (or newer) installed.
  • The Shortcuts app – it comes pre‑installed on modern iPhones, but you can download it for free from the App Store if it’s missing.
  • An Apple ID signed into the device (required to use Reminders).
  • About 10–15 minutes of uninterrupted time.

What Apple Intelligence can’t do right now: it cannot automatically read your meal text and suggest ingredients. This guide creates a manual placeholder that will work with the future AI‑driven features as soon as they become available.

What mistakes should I avoid?
  • Skipping the list creation: If you forget to create the “Weekly Meals” or “Grocery List” lists first, the shortcut will add items to the default Reminders inbox. Fix it by opening the Reminders app, tapping Add List, and naming the lists exactly as used in the shortcut.
  • Connecting the wrong output: Dragging the wrong arrow can leave the actions unlinked, meaning no data passes through. Double‑check that the small circle on the right side of each card points to the next card in the sequence.
  • Assuming Apple Intelligence already works: The current shortcut only stores text; it won’t automatically parse ingredients. When Apple Intelligence becomes available, you’ll need to add a new “Intelligence‑enabled” action – for now, treat the shortcut as a manual placeholder.

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