You’ll have to go to them
There are many reasons to speak with your neighbors every day in Animal Crossing: New Horizons. They can sometimes give you gifts, help you on your journey to make your island the most amazing place on the planet, or land you some Nook Miles with the Nook Miles+ program. They’re also a good source of recipes, and the more recipes you have, the more you can get out of the game’s crafting system.
Just as you should comb shoreline every day looking for bottles that have washed up on shore, so too should you visit your neighbors at their house. If you see smoke coming out of their chimney or the lights on when it’s dark, it means they’re home. Let yourself in and if you see them working at their crafting bench, know you’re about to score a recipe for your collection. Make sure you have a spot in your inventory to hold it otherwise you won’t get it.
There is no guarantee the recipe you receive will be brand new, but you can always sell duplicates to Timmy and Tommy for a meager amount of bells or you can give them to your friends. Once you get the recipe and add it to your NookPhone, take the time to actually craft it. Crafting items and placing them around town will help build your town score and you’re going to want to do that if you want to see everything this game has to offer.