diff --git a/crates/goose-cli/src/recipes/extract_from_cli.rs b/crates/goose-cli/src/recipes/extract_from_cli.rs
index e5af27864242..3c5c738804e6 100644
--- a/crates/goose-cli/src/recipes/extract_from_cli.rs
+++ b/crates/goose-cli/src/recipes/extract_from_cli.rs
@@ -240,18 +240,26 @@ settings:
   temperature: 0.7
 sub_recipes:
 - path: existing_sub_recipe.yaml
-  name: existing_sub_recipe        
+  name: existing_sub_recipe
 response:
   json_schema:
     type: object
     properties:
       result:
         type: string
+"#;
+        let sub_recipe_content = r#"
+title: existing_sub_recipe
+description: An existing sub recipe
+instructions: sub recipe instructions
+prompt: sub recipe prompt
 "#;
         let temp_dir = tempfile::tempdir().unwrap();
         let recipe_path: std::path::PathBuf = temp_dir.path().join("test_recipe.yaml");
+        let sub_recipe_path: std::path::PathBuf = temp_dir.path().join("existing_sub_recipe.yaml");
 
         std::fs::write(&recipe_path, test_recipe_content).unwrap();
+        std::fs::write(&sub_recipe_path, sub_recipe_content).unwrap();
         let canonical_recipe_path = recipe_path.canonicalize().unwrap();
         (temp_dir, canonical_recipe_path)
     }
diff --git a/crates/goose/src/recipe/build_recipe/mod.rs b/crates/goose/src/recipe/build_recipe/mod.rs
index 33648a839c5f..ea4305dd967f 100644
--- a/crates/goose/src/recipe/build_recipe/mod.rs
+++ b/crates/goose/src/recipe/build_recipe/mod.rs
@@ -70,9 +70,7 @@ where
 
     if let Some(ref mut sub_recipes) = recipe.sub_recipes {
         for sub_recipe in sub_recipes {
-            if let Ok(resolved_path) = resolve_sub_recipe_path(&sub_recipe.path, recipe_dir) {
-                sub_recipe.path = resolved_path;
-            }
+            sub_recipe.path = resolve_sub_recipe_path(&sub_recipe.path, recipe_dir)?;
         }
     }
 
@@ -122,18 +120,17 @@ fn resolve_sub_recipe_path(
     parent_recipe_dir: &Path,
 ) -> Result<String, RecipeError> {
     let path = if Path::new(sub_recipe_path).is_absolute() {
-        sub_recipe_path.to_string()
+        Path::new(sub_recipe_path).to_path_buf()
     } else {
-        parent_recipe_dir
-            .join(sub_recipe_path)
-            .to_str()
-            .ok_or_else(|| RecipeError::RecipeParsing {
-                source: anyhow::anyhow!("Invalid sub-recipe path: {}", sub_recipe_path),
-            })?
-            .to_string()
+        parent_recipe_dir.join(sub_recipe_path)
     };
+    if !path.exists() {
+        return Err(RecipeError::RecipeParsing {
+            source: anyhow::anyhow!("Sub-recipe file does not exist: {}", path.display()),
+        });
+    }
 
-    Ok(path)
+    Ok(path.display().to_string())
 }
 
 #[cfg(test)]
diff --git a/crates/goose/src/recipe/build_recipe/tests.rs b/crates/goose/src/recipe/build_recipe/tests.rs
index 480fc954f2f3..c59dd4598094 100644
--- a/crates/goose/src/recipe/build_recipe/tests.rs
+++ b/crates/goose/src/recipe/build_recipe/tests.rs
@@ -435,6 +435,14 @@ mod sub_recipe_path_resolution {
         let temp_dir = tempfile::tempdir().unwrap();
         let parent_dir = temp_dir.path();
 
+        // Create the sub-recipe file
+        let sub_recipe_content = r#"
+version: 1.0.0
+title: Child Recipe
+description: A child recipe
+instructions: Child instructions"#;
+        create_recipe_file(parent_dir, "sub-recipes", "child.yaml", sub_recipe_content);
+
         let result = resolve_sub_recipe_path("./sub-recipes/child.yaml", parent_dir);
         assert!(result.is_ok());
 
@@ -446,11 +454,37 @@ mod sub_recipe_path_resolution {
     fn test_resolve_sub_recipe_path_absolute() {
         let temp_dir = tempfile::tempdir().unwrap();
         let parent_dir = temp_dir.path();
-        let absolute_path = "/absolute/path/to/recipe.yaml";
 
-        let result = resolve_sub_recipe_path(absolute_path, parent_dir);
+        let sub_recipe_content = r#"
+version: 1.0.0
+title: Absolute Recipe
+description: A recipe with absolute path
+instructions: Absolute instructions"#;
+        let absolute_path =
+            create_recipe_file(parent_dir, "absolute", "recipe.yaml", sub_recipe_content);
+        let absolute_path_str = absolute_path.to_str().unwrap();
+
+        let result = resolve_sub_recipe_path(absolute_path_str, parent_dir);
         assert!(result.is_ok());
-        assert_eq!(result.unwrap(), absolute_path);
+        assert_eq!(result.unwrap(), absolute_path_str);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_resolve_sub_recipe_path_nonexistent() {
+        let temp_dir = tempfile::tempdir().unwrap();
+        let parent_dir = temp_dir.path();
+
+        let result = resolve_sub_recipe_path("./sub-recipes/nonexistent.yaml", parent_dir);
+
+        assert!(result.is_err());
+        match result {
+            Err(RecipeError::RecipeParsing { source }) => {
+                let error_msg = source.to_string();
+                assert!(error_msg.contains("Sub-recipe file does not exist"));
+                assert!(error_msg.contains("nonexistent.yaml"));
+            }
+            _ => panic!("Expected RecipeError::RecipeParsing"),
+        }
     }
 
     #[test]
diff --git a/ui/desktop/src/hooks/useRecipeManager.ts b/ui/desktop/src/hooks/useRecipeManager.ts
index cdf24c783271..f83274638323 100644
--- a/ui/desktop/src/hooks/useRecipeManager.ts
+++ b/ui/desktop/src/hooks/useRecipeManager.ts
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ import { substituteParameters } from '../utils/providerUtils';
 import { updateSessionUserRecipeValues } from '../api';
 import { useChatContext } from '../contexts/ChatContext';
 import { ChatType } from '../types/chat';
-import { toastSuccess } from '../toasts';
+import { toastError, toastSuccess } from '../toasts';
 
 export const useRecipeManager = (chat: ChatType, recipe?: Recipe | null) => {
   const [isParameterModalOpen, setIsParameterModalOpen] = useState(false);
@@ -181,7 +181,17 @@ export const useRecipeManager = (chat: ChatType, recipe?: Recipe | null) => {
       }
       setIsParameterModalOpen(false);
     } catch (error) {
-      console.error('Failed to update system prompt with parameters:', error);
+      let error_message = 'unknown error';
+      if (typeof error === 'object' && error !== null && 'message' in error) {
+        error_message = error.message as string;
+      } else if (typeof error === 'string') {
+        error_message = error;
+      }
+      console.error('Failed to render recipe with parameters:', error);
+      toastError({
+        title: 'Recipe Rendering Failed',
+        msg: error_message,
+      });
     }
   };