diff --git a/cookbook/forms.py b/cookbook/forms.py
index 6ec059cba..2f2bb8755 100644
--- a/cookbook/forms.py
+++ b/cookbook/forms.py
@@ -73,11 +73,16 @@ class InternalRecipeForm(forms.ModelForm):
         widgets = {'keywords': MultiSelectWidget}
 
 
-class RecipeForm(forms.Form):
+class ShoppingForm(forms.Form):
     recipe = forms.ModelMultipleChoiceField(
         queryset=Recipe.objects.all(),
         widget=MultiSelectWidget
     )
+    markdown_format = forms.BooleanField(
+        help_text=_('Include <code>- [ ]</code> in list for easier usage in markdown based documents.'),
+        required=False,
+        initial=True
+    )
 
 
 class UnitMergeForm(forms.Form):
diff --git a/cookbook/templates/shopping_list.html b/cookbook/templates/shopping_list.html
index 4943b1915..638f32227 100644
--- a/cookbook/templates/shopping_list.html
+++ b/cookbook/templates/shopping_list.html
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@
     <div class="row">
         <div class="col col-md-12">
             <!--// @formatter:off-->
-            <textarea id="id_list" style="height: 50vh" class="form-control">{% for i in ingredients %}- [ ] {{ i.amount.normalize }} {{ i.unit }} {{ i.ingredient.name }}&#10;{% endfor %}</textarea>
+            <textarea id="id_list" style="height: 50vh" class="form-control">{% for i in ingredients %}{% if markdown_format %}- [ ]{% endif %} {{ i.amount.normalize }} {{ i.unit }} {{ i.ingredient.name }}&#10;{% endfor %}</textarea>
             <!--// @formatter:on-->
         </div>
     </div>
diff --git a/cookbook/views/views.py b/cookbook/views/views.py
index f8f35e56d..c0b67434e 100644
--- a/cookbook/views/views.py
+++ b/cookbook/views/views.py
@@ -117,10 +117,13 @@ def meal_plan(request):
 
 @login_required
 def shopping_list(request):
+    markdown_format = True
+
     if request.method == "POST":
-        form = RecipeForm(request.POST)
+        form = ShoppingForm(request.POST)
         if form.is_valid():
             recipes = form.cleaned_data['recipe']
+            markdown_format = form.cleaned_data['markdown_format']
         else:
             recipes = []
     else:
@@ -132,7 +135,7 @@ def shopping_list(request):
                 if Recipe.objects.filter(pk=int(r)).exists():
                     recipes.append(int(r))
 
-        form = RecipeForm(initial={'recipe': recipes})
+        form = ShoppingForm(initial={'recipe': recipes})
 
     ingredients = []
 
@@ -148,7 +151,7 @@ def shopping_list(request):
             else:
                 ingredients.append(ri)
 
-    return render(request, 'shopping_list.html', {'ingredients': ingredients, 'recipes': recipes, 'form': form})
+    return render(request, 'shopping_list.html', {'ingredients': ingredients, 'recipes': recipes, 'form': form, 'markdown_format': markdown_format})
 
 
 @login_required