During the recording of the album, Johnette Napolitano (of Concrete Blonde) and Eddie Vedder (of Pearl Jam) were invited to the studio to provide backing vocals on some of the songs.

The album finds Bad Religion continuing the experimentation of its predecessor, Generator, introducing elements of country and folk on songs like "Man with a Mission", and "Struck a Nerve", the latter of which includes a guest vocal by Johnette Napolitano (of Concrete Blonde).

[3] Author Dave Thompson, in his book Alternative Rock (2000), wrote that the album "continu[es] to intellectually question America's blind view of itself and the rest of the world.

It is an original photo collage – using the bodies of 1930s Southern racists mocking the press after their acquittal by an all-white jury for murder, and 1944 Nazi Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp guard dog heads.

Thompson wrote that "it is no coincidence that no sooner was the label free to deal with acts other than Bad Religion that both the Offspring and Rancid commenced their own dizzying ascents.

Allmusic reviewer Jack Rabid gave the album a rating of three-and-a-half stars out of five and states: "It's easy to take them for granted, to view Recipe as just another red-hot LP (ho hum) by the last and best band to survive the '80s L.A. punk explosion.

"[5] Thompson thought that the band "wrap themselves in some of their strongest songs ever", adding that it was an "obvious next step on from Generator, a little bit cleaner, a tiny taste brighter, and a major league breakthrough which deserved every plaudit.