As the Drupal ecosystem evolves, mission-driven organizations face increasing pressure to deliver powerful digital experiences more efficiently. 

Drupal Recipes represent a significant advancement in how we approach Drupal configuration. Emerging from the Starshot initiative, Recipes provide a streamlined method for implementing features within Drupal through one-way configurations—without the overhead traditionally associated with install profiles.

Think of Recipes as pre-packaged functionality that can be easily applied to your Drupal project. Whether you need a Noble Accordion Paragraph, a default WYSIWYG configuration, or GraphQL endpoints for a decoupled site, Recipes offer a standardized approach to implementing these features quickly and consistently.

Our Journey to Recipes at Forum One

Before the introduction of Recipes, our approach to standardizing Drupal implementations involved maintaining a template repository that served as a starting point for new projects. This repository initially focused on local development defaults but evolved to include an unofficial profile with commonly used features and configurations.

We supplemented this with “starter kits”—small custom modules that would install configurations related to common features. While this approach helped standardize our work and save time for our clients, it wasn’t without challenges:

• Module Overhead: Each starter kit required enabling, uninstalling, and potentially removing—creating additional steps in the development process
• Dependency Management: Module dependencies became complex, especially in the template context
• Field Configuration: We grappled with whether to reuse fields across starter kits or create unique fields for each feature
• Performance Concerns: Having separate database tables for similar fields raised questions about site performance

How Recipes Solve These Challenges

When our team began exploring Recipes, many of these pain points found elegant solutions:

1. Simplified Implementation

Recipes offer a more streamlined approach than starter kits because they minimize the number of modules that need to be installed. The process becomes remarkably straightforward: select the Recipes you want to apply, implement them, and begin development.

2. Reduced Dependency Concerns

As the Recipes ecosystem grows, module and configuration dependencies become less problematic. Recipes can be easily associated with each other, and composer dependencies can be merged with your main composer file.

3. Intuitive Configuration

Recipes are written in YAML, making them more straightforward to set up. This accessibility allows even experienced site builders to quickly create new Recipes, further expanding their utility.

Practical Applications of Drupal Recipes for Mission-Driven Organizations

We’ve already begun implementing Recipes across various projects to provide more value and faster go-to-market for our clients. Some of our standard Recipe implementations include:

• Decoupled Site Configuration: A set of Recipes enabling GraphQL for default endpoints and content types
• Paragraph Types: Pre-configured paragraph types for common content patterns
• Meta Tag Setup: A default, comprehensive meta tag configuration that follows best practices

These standardized approaches ensure consistency across projects while significantly reducing implementation time.

The Future of Drupal Recipes

As part of the broader Starshot initiative and Drupal CMS, Recipes represent a fundamental shift in how Drupal projects are configured and launched. Their continued development promises even greater efficiencies and standardization across the Drupal ecosystem.

For organizations looking to accelerate their Drupal implementations while maintaining quality and consistency, Recipes offer a compelling solution. They embody the balance between standardization and flexibility that modern digital experiences demand.

Learn More at DrupalCon Atlanta

We invite you to join us at our DrupalCon Atlanta 2025 session, “Recipes: Simplifying Configurations and Speeding Up Go-To-Market,” on Wednesday, March 26th at 4:00 PM. We’ll dive deeper into the practical applications of Recipes, share our implementation experiences, and discuss how this approach can benefit your organization’s Drupal projects.

Whether you’re a developer looking to streamline your workflow, a project manager seeking ways to reduce implementation time, or an organization leader interested in maximizing the return on your Drupal investment, our session will provide valuable insights into this transformative approach.