How do I calculate cost per serving?

Add every ingredient with quantity used, package price and package size. Add optional other costs, then divide the total recipe cost by the number of servings.

What is food cost percentage?

Food cost percentage is total recipe cost divided by target selling price or menu price, multiplied by 100. It is useful as a quick restaurant or cottage-food pricing checkpoint.

Can I enter price per pound?

Yes. Use the price as the package price and enter 1 lb as the package size. For price per ounce, enter 1 oz as the package size.

Can the calculator convert cups to ounces by weight?

No. It converts within weight units and within volume units. Cups to ounces by weight depends on ingredient density, so use a cooking measurement converter first.

Why include trim loss?

Some recipes list edible quantity, but you buy the ingredient before trimming, peeling, shelling or deboning. Trim loss helps estimate the purchased amount behind the recipe quantity.

Does this replace restaurant accounting software?

No. It is a recipe costing worksheet. It does not track inventory, labor, rent, taxes, spoilage, supplier contracts or menu engineering.

Where is the recipe saved?

The recipe is saved in this browser. Use CSV export if you need to move the cost card to a spreadsheet.

Recipe Cost Calculator

Calculate total recipe cost, cost per serving and ingredient cost from package price, package size, quantity used and optional trim loss.

Include trim loss

Optional waste and yield adjustment for produce, meat and seafood.

Ingredients

Quantity used

Package price, $

Package size

Trim loss, %

Unit cost: $0.19 / base unitLine cost: $4.49

Quantity used

Package price, $

Package size

Trim loss, %

Unit cost: $0.04 / base unitGross amount: 30 ozLine cost: $1.31

Quantity used

Package price, $

Package size

Trim loss, %

Unit cost: $0.83 / base unitGross amount: 1.11 eachLine cost: $0.92

Quantity used

Package price, $

Package size

Trim loss, %

Unit cost: $0.59 / base unitLine cost: $1.18

Servings

Other costs, $

Target selling price, $

Data is saved in this browser. Copy CSV to move the recipe cost card into a spreadsheet.

Total recipe cost

$7.91

Cost per serving

$1.98

Largest cost drivers

1.Chicken breast$4.4957%

2.Potatoes$1.3117%

3.Olive oil$1.1815%

Cost breakdown

Chicken breast$4.49 57%

Potatoes$1.31 17%

Olive oil$1.18 15%

Yellow onion$0.92 12%

What the recipe cost calculator does

Use this calculator to estimate the cost of a recipe from ingredient package prices. For each ingredient, enter the quantity used, package price and package size. The result shows total recipe cost, cost per serving and the largest cost drivers.

The calculator is useful for home cooking, meal prep, small-batch baking and a first-pass food cost worksheet. It is based on manual grocery or supplier prices, not live store prices.

For a food business, treat the result as ingredient cost only. It does not include labor, rent, utilities, delivery, taxes, packaging, spoilage control or accounting rules.

Recipe cost formulas

P_{u ni t} = \frac{C _{p a c k a g e}}{Q _{p a c k a g e}}

P_unit - cost per base unit; C_package - package price; Q_package - package size in the same unit group.

Q_{g r oss} = \frac{Q _{u se d}}{1 - w /100}

Q_gross - amount to buy before trim loss; Q_used - edible quantity used in the recipe; w - trim loss or waste percentage.

C_{i} = Q_{g r oss} \cdot P_{u ni t}

C_i - ingredient line cost; Q_gross - gross amount to buy; P_unit - cost per base unit.

C_{ser v in g} = \frac{\sum _{i} C _{i} + C _{o t h er}}{N}

C_serving - cost per serving; C_i - ingredient line costs; C_other - optional extra costs; N - servings.

F = \frac{C _{r ec i p e}}{P _{se l l}} \cdot 100

F - food cost percentage; C_recipe - total recipe cost; P_sell - target selling price or menu price.

Package price, package size and quantity used

Most recipe cost calculators start from package information because that is how grocery receipts and supplier invoices are written. A 2 lb tray of chicken, a 16.9 fl oz bottle of oil or a 5 lb bag of potatoes can all be priced from the package.

Input	Example	Why it matters
Quantity used	1.5 lb chicken	The amount that goes into the recipe
Package price	$5.99	What you paid for the package
Package size	2 lb	Used to calculate unit cost
Servings	4	Used for cost per serving
Other costs	$1.50	Optional packaging, fuel or small extras

The calculator converts within weight units and within volume units, but it does not convert cups to ounces by weight. Use a cooking measurement converter when density matters.

Yield, trim loss and waste

Yield matters when the recipe lists edible weight but you buy the ingredient before peeling, trimming, shelling or deboning. Potatoes, onions, whole fish, shell-on shrimp and bone-in meat can all have a different purchased amount than the amount used in the recipe.

Ingredient	Typical trim loss	Common reason
Potatoes	20%	Peels and trimming
Onions	10%	Skin and root end
Pineapple	35%	Skin and core
Whole chicken	30%	Bones and skin
Whole fish	50%	Head, bones and fins
Shell-on shrimp	55%	Shells

Trim loss is an estimate, not a fixed rule. If the package already contains peeled, boneless or ready-to-use product, set waste to 0.

Home use versus restaurant costing

Included	Not included automatically
Ingredient package prices	Live store prices
Quantity used in the recipe	Density conversion between cups and ounces by weight
Optional trim loss or waste	Labor, rent, taxes and utilities
Optional extra costs as one amount	Inventory shrink, spoilage tracking and accounting
Cost per serving and food cost percentage	A complete restaurant menu engineering system

For restaurant use, the food cost percentage can be a quick checkpoint against a target selling price or menu price. Actual pricing should also include overhead, labor, spoilage, demand, taxes and profit.

Quick example

Ingredient	Quantity used	Package price	Package size	Line cost
Chicken breast	1.5 lb	$5.99	2 lb	$4.49
Potatoes	24 oz	$3.49	5 lb	$1.31 with 20% trim loss
Olive oil	2 fl oz	$9.99	16.9 fl oz	$1.18

If the recipe total is $9.40 and it makes 4 servings, the cost per serving is $2.35. If you enter a target selling price of $36, the food cost percentage is about 26%.

Use the cost breakdown to find the ingredients that move the total most. Meat, seafood, cheese, nuts, specialty spices and out-of-season produce are often the largest cost drivers.

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources and References

Calculations are based on the listed reference sources. Links open in a new tab.

Updated: June 2, 2026

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