diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 8064115..ca58ca1 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -420,6 +420,10 @@ Recipe imports are logged both here (summary) and in
 
 ### Changed
 
+- **Site landing page: the "A few to start with" row now shows only recipes that have
+  a photo** (via a new `withImage` filter), so the featured strip has no placeholder
+  tiles.
+
 - **Friendlier generated indexes and per-recipe navigation.** Each category
   README, the recipe index (`recipes/README.md`), and the tag index
   (`recipes/tags.md`) now open with a short welcome line and a navigation row
diff --git a/eleventy.config.js b/eleventy.config.js
index 171ccab..6115f4c 100644
--- a/eleventy.config.js
+++ b/eleventy.config.js
@@ -19,6 +19,9 @@ export default function (eleventyConfig) {
   }
 
   eleventyConfig.addFilter("limit", (arr, n) => (arr || []).slice(0, n));
+  eleventyConfig.addFilter("withImage", (arr) =>
+    (arr || []).filter((r) => r.heroImage),
+  );
 
   // schema.org/Recipe structured data for a recipe, as an escaped JSON string
   // safe to drop into a <script type="application/ld+json"> block.
diff --git a/site/index.njk b/site/index.njk
index bc96e55..ed69de3 100644
--- a/site/index.njk
+++ b/site/index.njk
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ permalink: /
 <section class="wrap section">
   <h2 class="section-title">A few to start with</h2>
   <div class="card-grid">
-    {% for recipe in recipes | limit(8) %}
+    {% for recipe in recipes | withImage | limit(8) %}
       {{ card(recipe) }}
     {% endfor %}
   </div>