diff --git a/app/api/endpoints/recipe_scan.py b/app/api/endpoints/recipe_scan.py
index 7fa1515..6f6e5e5 100644
--- a/app/api/endpoints/recipe_scan.py
+++ b/app/api/endpoints/recipe_scan.py
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ BSL 1.1 -- recipe_scan requires Paid tier or BYOK.
 from __future__ import annotations
 
 import asyncio
+import json as _json
 import logging
 import uuid
 from pathlib import Path
@@ -18,7 +19,7 @@ from typing import Annotated
 
 import aiofiles
 from fastapi import APIRouter, Depends, File, HTTPException, UploadFile
-from fastapi.responses import JSONResponse
+from fastapi.responses import JSONResponse, StreamingResponse
 
 from app.cloud_session import CloudUser, get_session
 from app.core.config import settings
@@ -168,9 +169,15 @@ async def scan_recipe(
                 )
             raise HTTPException(status_code=422, detail=msg)
         except RuntimeError as exc:
+            msg = str(exc)
+            logger.warning("Recipe scanner unavailable: %s", msg)
             raise HTTPException(
                 status_code=503,
-                detail=str(exc),
+                detail=(
+                    "The recipe scanner is temporarily unavailable — "
+                    "no vision backend could be reached. "
+                    "Try again in a few minutes, or contact support if this persists."
+                ),
             )
 
         return _result_to_response(result)
@@ -184,6 +191,114 @@ async def scan_recipe(
                 pass
 
 
+# ── SSE scan endpoint ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+async def _scan_recipe_sse(saved_paths: list[Path], pantry_names: list[str]):
+    """Async generator yielding SSE events for a recipe scan.
+
+    Emits progress events while the vision service allocates and runs, then a
+    final "done" event containing the full recipe payload (same shape as the
+    ScannedRecipeResponse from POST /scan).
+
+    Events:
+      {"status": "allocating", "message": "..."}
+      {"status": "scanning",   "message": "..."}
+      {"status": "structuring","message": "..."}
+      {"status": "done",       "recipe": {...}}
+      {"status": "error",      "message": "..."}
+    """
+    queue: asyncio.Queue = asyncio.Queue()
+    loop = asyncio.get_running_loop()
+
+    def _run() -> None:
+        def cb(status: str, message: str) -> None:
+            loop.call_soon_threadsafe(queue.put_nowait, {"status": status, "message": message})
+        try:
+            from app.services.recipe.recipe_scanner import RecipeScanner
+            result = RecipeScanner().scan(saved_paths, pantry_names=pantry_names, progress_cb=cb)
+            recipe_dict = _result_to_response(result).model_dump()
+            loop.call_soon_threadsafe(queue.put_nowait, {"status": "done", "recipe": recipe_dict})
+        except ValueError as exc:
+            loop.call_soon_threadsafe(queue.put_nowait, {"status": "error", "message": str(exc)})
+        except RuntimeError as exc:
+            loop.call_soon_threadsafe(queue.put_nowait, {"status": "error", "message": str(exc)})
+        except Exception as exc:
+            logger.exception("Unexpected error in recipe scan thread")
+            loop.call_soon_threadsafe(queue.put_nowait, {"status": "error", "message": "Scan failed unexpectedly."})
+
+    scan_task = asyncio.ensure_future(asyncio.to_thread(_run))
+    try:
+        while True:
+            try:
+                event = await asyncio.wait_for(queue.get(), timeout=180.0)
+            except asyncio.TimeoutError:
+                yield f"data: {_json.dumps({'status': 'error', 'message': 'Scan timed out after 3 minutes.'})}\n\n"
+                break
+            yield f"data: {_json.dumps(event)}\n\n"
+            if event["status"] in ("done", "error"):
+                break
+    finally:
+        if not scan_task.done():
+            scan_task.cancel()
+
+
+@router.post("/scan/stream")
+async def scan_recipe_stream(
+    files: Annotated[list[UploadFile], File(...)],
+    store: Store = Depends(get_store),
+    session: CloudUser = Depends(get_session),
+):
+    """Scan recipe photos and stream SSE progress events during model load.
+
+    Use this endpoint instead of POST /scan when you need live feedback during
+    cold-start model loading (first request after a GPU-idle period can take
+    30-60 seconds for cf-docuvision to warm up).
+
+    Tier: Paid (or BYOK) — same gate as POST /scan.
+    """
+    if not can_use("recipe_scan", session.tier, session.has_byok):
+        raise HTTPException(
+            status_code=403,
+            detail=(
+                "Recipe scanning requires Paid tier or a configured vision backend (BYOK). "
+                "Set ANTHROPIC_API_KEY or connect to a cf-orch vision service."
+            ),
+        )
+
+    if not files:
+        raise HTTPException(status_code=422, detail="At least one image file is required.")
+    if len(files) > 4:
+        raise HTTPException(status_code=422, detail="Maximum 4 images per scan request.")
+
+    for f in files:
+        ct = (f.content_type or "").lower()
+        if ct and ct not in _ALLOWED_MIME_TYPES:
+            raise HTTPException(
+                status_code=422,
+                detail=f"Unsupported file type: {ct}. Supported: JPEG, PNG, WebP, HEIC.",
+            )
+
+    saved_paths: list[Path] = []
+    for f in files:
+        saved_paths.append(await _save_upload_temp(f))
+
+    inventory = await asyncio.to_thread(store.list_inventory)
+    pantry_names = [item["product_name"] for item in inventory if item.get("product_name")]
+
+    async def generate():
+        try:
+            async for chunk in _scan_recipe_sse(saved_paths, pantry_names):
+                yield chunk
+        finally:
+            for p in saved_paths:
+                try:
+                    p.unlink(missing_ok=True)
+                except Exception:
+                    pass
+
+    return StreamingResponse(generate(), media_type="text/event-stream")
+
+
 # ── Save endpoint ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 
 @router.post("/scan/save", response_model=UserRecipeResponse, status_code=201)
diff --git a/app/services/recipe/recipe_scanner.py b/app/services/recipe/recipe_scanner.py
index fde512a..a1a3f7a 100644
--- a/app/services/recipe/recipe_scanner.py
+++ b/app/services/recipe/recipe_scanner.py
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ import json
 import logging
 import os
 import re
+from collections.abc import Callable
 from dataclasses import dataclass
 from pathlib import Path
 
@@ -214,12 +215,26 @@ def _build_ocr_extraction_prompt(ocr_text: str) -> str:
     )
 
 
-def _call_vision_backend(image_paths: list[Path], prompt: str) -> str:
+def _call_vision_backend(
+    image_paths: list[Path],
+    prompt: str,
+    progress_cb: "Callable[[str, str], None] | None" = None,
+) -> str:
     """Dispatch to the best available vision backend.
 
     Priority: cf-orch docuvision (OCR + text LLM) -> local Qwen2.5-VL -> Anthropic API.
     Raises RuntimeError with a clear message when no backend is available.
+
+    Args:
+        image_paths: Images to process.
+        prompt: Extraction prompt (used by local VLM / Anthropic paths).
+        progress_cb: Optional callback(status, message) for SSE progress events.
+                     Called synchronously from the thread — caller bridges to async.
     """
+    def _progress(status: str, message: str) -> None:
+        if progress_cb:
+            progress_cb(status, message)
+
     errors: list[str] = []
 
     # 1. Try cf-orch task allocation → cf-docuvision OCR, then text LLM structuring.
@@ -233,8 +248,10 @@ def _call_vision_backend(image_paths: list[Path], prompt: str) -> str:
             from circuitforge_core.llm.router import LLMRouter
 
             try:
+                _progress("allocating", "Starting vision service...")
                 with task_allocate("kiwi", "recipe_scan", service_hint="cf-docuvision", ttl_s=120.0) as alloc:
                     # Step 1: OCR each image via cf-docuvision
+                    _progress("scanning", "Extracting recipe text from photo...")
                     doc_client = DocuvisionClient(alloc.url)
                     ocr_parts: list[str] = []
                     for i, path in enumerate(image_paths):
@@ -247,6 +264,7 @@ def _call_vision_backend(image_paths: list[Path], prompt: str) -> str:
                         raise ValueError("Docuvision returned no text — image may not be a recipe")
 
                     # Step 2: Text LLM structures OCR output into recipe JSON
+                    _progress("structuring", "Parsing recipe structure...")
                     text = LLMRouter().complete(_build_ocr_extraction_prompt(combined_ocr))
                     if text:
                         return text
@@ -379,6 +397,7 @@ class RecipeScanner:
         self,
         image_paths: list[Path],
         pantry_names: list[str] | None = None,
+        progress_cb: Callable[[str, str], None] | None = None,
     ) -> ScannedRecipeResult:
         """Extract a structured recipe from one or more photos.
 
@@ -400,7 +419,7 @@ class RecipeScanner:
             raise ValueError(f"Maximum {MAX_IMAGES} images per scan (got {len(image_paths)})")
 
         # Call vision backend
-        raw_text = _call_vision_backend(image_paths, _EXTRACTION_PROMPT)
+        raw_text = _call_vision_backend(image_paths, _EXTRACTION_PROMPT, progress_cb=progress_cb)
 
         # Parse JSON from VLM output
         data = _parse_scanner_json(raw_text)
diff --git a/frontend/src/components/RecipeScanModal.vue b/frontend/src/components/RecipeScanModal.vue
index 77f8b7a..26004cf 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/RecipeScanModal.vue
+++ b/frontend/src/components/RecipeScanModal.vue
@@ -112,8 +112,8 @@
             <path d="M23 19a2 2 0 0 1-2 2H3a2 2 0 0 1-2-2V8a2 2 0 0 1 2-2h4l2-3h6l2 3h4a2 2 0 0 1 2 2z"/>
             <circle cx="12" cy="13" r="4"/>
           </svg>
-          <p class="processing-label">Extracting recipe from {{ selectedFiles.length > 1 ? selectedFiles.length + ' photos' : 'photo' }}...</p>
-          <p class="processing-sub">This can take 10-30 seconds.</p>
+          <p class="processing-label">{{ scanStatusMessage }}</p>
+          <p class="processing-sub">This can take up to a minute on first use.</p>
         </div>
       </div>
 
@@ -329,13 +329,18 @@ function removeFile(index: number) {
 
 // ── Scan ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 const extracted = ref<ScannedRecipe | null>(null)
+const scanStatusMessage = ref('Uploading photos...')
 
 async function startScan() {
   if (selectedFiles.value.length === 0) return
   uploadError.value = ''
+  scanStatusMessage.value = 'Uploading photos...'
   phase.value = 'processing'
   try {
-    const result = await recipeScanAPI.scan(selectedFiles.value)
+    const result = await recipeScanAPI.scanStream(
+      selectedFiles.value,
+      (_status: string, message: string) => { scanStatusMessage.value = message },
+    )
     extracted.value = result
     initEditState(result)
     phase.value = 'review'
diff --git a/frontend/src/services/api.ts b/frontend/src/services/api.ts
index f618d95..e95bbb7 100644
--- a/frontend/src/services/api.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/services/api.ts
@@ -1326,6 +1326,56 @@ export const recipeScanAPI = {
     }).then((r) => r.data)
   },
 
+  /** Scan recipe photos with live SSE progress events.
+   *
+   * Calls onProgress(status, message) for each intermediate event
+   * ("allocating", "scanning", "structuring"), then resolves with the final
+   * ScannedRecipe on success. Rejects on error or timeout.
+   */
+  async scanStream(
+    files: File[],
+    onProgress: (status: string, message: string) => void,
+  ): Promise<ScannedRecipe> {
+    const form = new FormData()
+    files.forEach((f) => form.append('files', f))
+
+    const response = await fetch(`${API_BASE_URL}/recipes/scan/stream`, {
+      method: 'POST',
+      body: form,
+    })
+
+    if (!response.ok || !response.body) {
+      let detail = ''
+      try { detail = await response.text() } catch (_) { /* ignore */ }
+      throw new Error(detail || `Scan failed (${response.status})`)
+    }
+
+    const reader = response.body.getReader()
+    const decoder = new TextDecoder()
+    let buffer = ''
+
+    while (true) {
+      const { done, value } = await reader.read()
+      if (done) break
+
+      buffer += decoder.decode(value, { stream: true })
+      const lines = buffer.split('\n')
+      buffer = lines.pop() ?? ''
+
+      for (const line of lines) {
+        if (!line.startsWith('data: ')) continue
+        let data: Record<string, unknown>
+        try { data = JSON.parse(line.slice(6)) } catch { continue }
+
+        if (data.status === 'done') return data.recipe as ScannedRecipe
+        if (data.status === 'error') throw new Error((data.message as string) || 'Scan failed')
+        onProgress(data.status as string, data.message as string)
+      }
+    }
+
+    throw new Error('Stream ended without a result')
+  },
+
   /** Save a reviewed/edited scanned recipe to user_recipes. */
   saveScanned(recipe: Omit<ScannedRecipe, 'pantry_match_pct' | 'confidence' | 'warnings'> & { source?: string }): Promise<UserRecipe> {
     return api.post('/recipes/scan/save', recipe).then((r) => r.data)