I'm not certain if this is indicative of a larger problem, and I'm worried whatever files the game uses for food and/or recipes has become corrupted, but this happened just today.

I think it might have something to do with food and cooking mods I use, which have worked fine in the past, but even with them removed the issue persists. I feel I've tried everything, including clearing the cache files, and even reinstalling the base game.

I did install a few sims from the exchange, and some lots from here on MTS, but I don't see how they would affect it, and even starting with minimum mods in Sunset Valley I still get this problem.

I would appreciate any and all help.

I've attached what appears to be the requested DxDiag info, as requested, if it'll help.

Remove your mods. Start a new game and try it. If it's fixed it's the mods. If not then maybe someone else has some ideas.

I've removed my entire mods folder and tried that, but the shop by recipe section is still blank. It's like whatever handles recipes in the game is broken, but I can't work out how to fix it.

Did you clear the caches after removing the mods?

If so, then the next step is to see if it's something in your User Files.
Temporarily rename your Documents Sims 3 directory, then start a new game and let it generate a new one. Pick a random EA sim, then have them get at least a cooking skill of 1 so they will have some recipes they know. (Or keep shopping around until you find one who already knows how to cook.) Try again.

(And hope it works this time...)

I've found a work around, but there's still an issue I can't quite work out.

If I have my Sim create a meal, specifically one that requires a recipe, then the "shop by recipe" tab is (seemingly) fixed. Also, there doesn't seem to be any food in fridges when a start a new game.

I tested installing and updating just the base game on another computer, and it still had the same issue, so I have no idea what causes this bug, or if there's a way to fix it.