diff --git a/frontend/src/components/RecipeSearchList.jsx b/frontend/src/components/RecipeSearchList.jsx
index a88e52d..5e1045c 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/RecipeSearchList.jsx
+++ b/frontend/src/components/RecipeSearchList.jsx
@@ -19,6 +19,17 @@ function RecipeSearchList({
   onOwnerChange,
 }) {
   const [expandFilters, setExpandFilters] = useState(false);
+  const [theme, setTheme] = useState(document.documentElement.getAttribute('data-theme') || 'dark');
+  
+  useEffect(() => {
+    const observer = new MutationObserver(() => {
+      setTheme(document.documentElement.getAttribute('data-theme') || 'dark');
+    });
+    observer.observe(document.documentElement, { attributes: true, attributeFilter: ['data-theme'] });
+    return () => observer.disconnect();
+  }, []);
+  
+  const placeholderImage = theme === 'dark' ? placeholderDark : placeholderLight;
 
   // Extract unique tags from ALL recipes (not filtered)
   const allTags = Array.from(