diff --git a/src/Orchard.Web/Modules/Orchard.ImportExport/Providers/ImportActions/UploadRecipeAction.cs b/src/Orchard.Web/Modules/Orchard.ImportExport/Providers/ImportActions/UploadRecipeAction.cs
index 386f80af2..5d37c7721 100644
--- a/src/Orchard.Web/Modules/Orchard.ImportExport/Providers/ImportActions/UploadRecipeAction.cs
+++ b/src/Orchard.Web/Modules/Orchard.ImportExport/Providers/ImportActions/UploadRecipeAction.cs
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ using Orchard.ImportExport.Services;
 using Orchard.ImportExport.ViewModels;
 using Orchard.Mvc;
 using Orchard.Recipes.Services;
+using Orchard.UI.Notify;
 
 namespace Orchard.ImportExport.Providers.ImportActions {
     public class UploadRecipeAction : ImportAction {
@@ -136,6 +137,12 @@ namespace Orchard.ImportExport.Providers.ImportActions {
             _orchardServices.WorkContext.HttpContext.Server.ScriptTimeout = 600;
 
             var executionId = ResetSite ? Setup() : ExecuteRecipe();
+
+            if(executionId == null) {
+                _orchardServices.Notifier.Warning(T("The recipe contained no steps. No work was scheduled."));
+                return;
+            }
+
             context.ActionResult = new RedirectToRouteResult(new RouteValueDictionary(new { action = "ImportResult", controller = "Admin", area = "Orchard.ImportExport", executionId = executionId }));
         }
 
diff --git a/src/Orchard.Web/Modules/Orchard.Recipes/Services/RecipeManager.cs b/src/Orchard.Web/Modules/Orchard.Recipes/Services/RecipeManager.cs
index fde7944a6..2006364a4 100644
--- a/src/Orchard.Web/Modules/Orchard.Recipes/Services/RecipeManager.cs
+++ b/src/Orchard.Web/Modules/Orchard.Recipes/Services/RecipeManager.cs
@@ -1,12 +1,12 @@
 using System;
+using System.Linq;
 using Orchard.Data;
-using Orchard.Localization;
 using Orchard.Logging;
 using Orchard.Recipes.Events;
 using Orchard.Recipes.Models;
 
 namespace Orchard.Recipes.Services {
-    public class RecipeManager : IRecipeManager {
+    public class RecipeManager : Component, IRecipeManager {
         private readonly IRecipeStepQueue _recipeStepQueue;
         private readonly IRecipeScheduler _recipeScheduler;
         private readonly IRecipeExecuteEventHandler _recipeExecuteEventHandler;
@@ -22,17 +22,18 @@ namespace Orchard.Recipes.Services {
             _recipeScheduler = recipeScheduler;
             _recipeExecuteEventHandler = recipeExecuteEventHandler;
             _recipeStepResultRecordRepository = recipeStepResultRecordRepository;
-
-            Logger = NullLogger.Instance;
-            T = NullLocalizer.Instance;
         }
 
-        public Localizer T { get; set; }
-        public ILogger Logger { get; set; }
-
         public string Execute(Recipe recipe) {
-            if (recipe == null)
+            if (recipe == null) {
+                Logger.Information("Cannot execute a null recipe. No work has been scheduled.");
                 return null;
+            }
+
+            if (!recipe.RecipeSteps.Any()) {
+                Logger.Information("Recipe '{0}' contains no steps. No work has been scheduled.");
+                return null;
+            }
 
             var executionId = Guid.NewGuid().ToString("n");
             Logger.Information("Executing recipe '{0}' using ExecutionId {1}.", recipe.Name, executionId);
diff --git a/src/Orchard.Web/Modules/Orchard.Recipes/Services/RecipeParser.cs b/src/Orchard.Web/Modules/Orchard.Recipes/Services/RecipeParser.cs
index 150db2c57..52b45f495 100644
--- a/src/Orchard.Web/Modules/Orchard.Recipes/Services/RecipeParser.cs
+++ b/src/Orchard.Web/Modules/Orchard.Recipes/Services/RecipeParser.cs
@@ -7,7 +7,10 @@ using Orchard.Recipes.Models;
 
 namespace Orchard.Recipes.Services {
     public class RecipeParser : Component, IRecipeParser {
-        
+        public Recipe ParseRecipe(XDocument recipeDocument) {
+            return ParseRecipe(recipeDocument.ToString(SaveOptions.DisableFormatting));
+        }
+
         public Recipe ParseRecipe(string recipeText) {
             var recipe = new Recipe();
 
diff --git a/src/Orchard/Recipes/Services/RecipeExecutor.cs b/src/Orchard/Recipes/Services/RecipeExecutor.cs
index 6a7afc6d0..4edb0bdde 100644
--- a/src/Orchard/Recipes/Services/RecipeExecutor.cs
+++ b/src/Orchard/Recipes/Services/RecipeExecutor.cs
@@ -30,7 +30,11 @@ namespace Orchard.Recipes.Services {
 
         public string Execute(Recipe recipe) {
             var executionId = _recipeManager.Execute(recipe);
-            UpdateShell();
+
+            // Only need to update the shell if work was actually done.
+            if(executionId != null)
+                UpdateShell();
+
             return executionId;
         }