Restaurant scenarioExample 1
Pasta bolognese batch (4 portions)
Ground beef: $12 for 3 lb, use 1.5 lb. Pasta: $4 for 2 lb, use 0.5 lb. Total = $7.00. Yield 4 portions → $1.75/serving. Menu $14 → 12.5% food cost.
Food cost
Recipe Cost Calculator
Cost a restaurant recipe ingredient by ingredient. Enter purchase cost, quantity, yield, and portion count to see total recipe cost, cost per serving, breakdown, and optional food cost %.
Recipe costing method
Formula
Line cost = (Purchase cost ÷ Edible purchase qty) × Recipe qty Edible purchase qty = Purchase qty × (Yield % ÷ 100) Total = Σ line costs Cost per serving = Total ÷ Recipe yield Food cost % = (Cost per serving ÷ Menu price) × 100
What it means
For each ingredient, divide what you paid by the edible amount you get after trim or waste (yield), then multiply by how much the recipe uses. Sum every line for the batch total. Divide by the number of portions the recipe yields for cost per serving. Optional menu price turns that into a dish-level food cost percentage.
Good to know
- All ingredient quantities use the same unit system within a recipe (e.g. all pounds).
- Yield % reflects trim and waste before cooking unless you model cooking loss separately.
- Menu price excludes tax and is per single portion.
Ideal range
- Labor, packaging, and overhead are not included — this is ingredient cost only.
- Sub-recipes should be costed as their own recipe first, then entered as one line.
Variables
- Purchase costInvoice cost
- What you paid for the purchase quantity of that ingredient.
- Purchase qtyAmount bought
- Weight, volume, or count as purchased — stay consistent within the recipe.
- Yield %Edible yield
- Usable portion after peel, bone, trim, or cooking loss. Use 100% when fully usable.
- Recipe qtyAmount in recipe
- How much of the ingredient the recipe calls for.
- Recipe yieldPortions per batch
- How many servings one full batch produces.
Worked examples
Real numbers through the same formula this tool uses.
- 1
- 2Restaurant scenarioExample 2
Onion with 75% yield
Onions: $3 for 2 lb at 75% yield, recipe uses 0.5 lb. Edible qty = 1.5 lb → unit cost $2/lb → line cost $1.00. Batch yields 2 portions → $0.50/serving.
How to use this calculator
Four steps from your invoice and recipe card to cost per serving.
List ingredients
Add each ingredient. Enter what you paid, how much you bought, how much the recipe uses, and yield % after trim.
Set recipe yield
Enter how many portions the full batch makes. Optionally note portion size for your team.
Add menu price (optional)
Enter the selling price per portion to see dish-level food cost percentage.
Review breakdown
Check total cost, cost per serving, and which ingredients drive the most dollars. Adjust portions or suppliers where share is high.
How to read your recipe cost
Use the totals, per-serving cost, and breakdown together — not any single number alone.
Total cost vs cost per serving
Total recipe cost is what the full batch costs to make. Cost per serving divides that by your recipe yield — the number you actually plate or sell.
Ingredient breakdown
The highest-share ingredients are your pricing levers. A protein or dairy line that dominates the total deserves the most portion and supplier attention.
Yield after trim
Yield % adjusts for peel, bone, trim, and waste. A 75% yield on onions means only three-quarters of what you bought is usable — ignoring that understates true cost.
Food cost percentage
When you enter a menu price, food cost % = (cost per serving ÷ menu price) × 100. Compare that to your targets and to the Food Cost Percentage Calculator for period-level checks.
Best practices
Habits that keep recipe costs accurate as menus and suppliers change.
Keep units consistent
Use the same unit within a recipe (all pounds or all kilograms). Mixing units without converting will skew every line.
Re-cost when invoices change
Update purchase costs when supplier prices move. A recipe card from last season is a guess, not a control tool.
Document recipe yield clearly
Yield should match how the kitchen actually portions the batch — not the theoretical maximum. Train staff on the same portion spec the calculator uses.
Cost sub-recipes separately
Sauces, stocks, and bases should be their own recipes first. Enter the finished sub-recipe cost as one ingredient line in the parent dish.
Pair with period food cost %
Recipe costing explains dish-level targets; period food cost % shows whether the kitchen actually hits them after waste and comps.
References & related tools
Further reading and calculators in the food cost cluster.
Food Cost Percentage Calculator
Check period-level food cost % after you set recipe targets. Compare dish-level and weekly numbers side by side.
Food cost calculator category
Browse all food cost tools — recipe, portion, and period calculators in one hub.
What is food cost percentage?
Definition, formula, and typical targets — a companion guide for operators new to food cost math.
Frequently asked questions
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