Guide · Recipe costing
Recipe costing: how to cost a recipe step by step
A practical recipe costing method for bakers, cafés and restaurants — what to record, how to handle units and yield, and how to keep costs up to date.
What is recipe costing?
Recipe costing means working out exactly what one batch of a recipe — and one portion of it — costs in ingredients. It is the starting point for pricing, spotting dishes that lose money, and noticing when supplier price rises eat your margin.
What you need for each recipe
- •Every ingredient, including small ones (salt, oil, vanilla, garnish)
- •The price you paid and the pack size for each ingredient
- •The amount used in one batch, in a weight, volume or count unit
- •Waste or trim % where it applies (meat, fish, fruit, vegetables)
- •The yield: how many portions, slices or pieces the batch makes
Worked example: chocolate chip cookies
Flour at $2.50/kg, 250 g used → $0.63. Butter $8.00/kg, 150 g → $1.20. 2 eggs at $0.30 → $0.60. Sugar $1.80/kg, 100 g → $0.18. Chocolate chips $12.00/kg, 150 g → $1.80. Vanilla $15.00/L, 5 ml → $0.08. Baking powder and salt add a few cents.
The batch costs about $4.51 and makes 24 cookies, so each cookie costs about $0.19. At a 30% target food cost the minimum price is $0.63 per cookie.
Worked example: 24 chocolate chip cookies
Chocolate chip cookies
Enter your price to see food cost % and profit.
The app keeps your ingredient prices. When butter goes up, every dish that uses it updates — no re-typing.
Yield: the step most people skip
Cost is only useful per portion. Count what the batch actually produces after baking or cooking — not what the recipe card promises. If a cake is cut into 10 slices instead of 12, every slice costs 20% more.
If you sell the same recipe in different ways — by the slice and as a whole cake, or a single item and a combo — work out the price for each one.
Keep your recipe costs up to date
A recipe costing sheet is out of date the day an ingredient price changes. Keep one list of ingredient prices and have every recipe read from it, so one update fixes every recipe. That is exactly how the CostMyDish app works.
Recipe costing template vs. an app
A spreadsheet template works for a handful of recipes, but formulas break when units mix and you have to update prices in many places. A recipe costing app stores your prices once, converts units for you and recalculates every recipe when a price changes.
Cost recipes on your phone with the free app:
- ✓Type what you’re making and add ingredients — cost updates live
- ✓Ingredients are saved to your Library and reused across recipes
- ✓Per-ingredient breakdown, cost per portion and suggested price
Common questions
How do you cost a recipe?+
List every ingredient with the price you paid and pack size, work out the cost of the amount used, add them up, and divide by the number of portions.
What is the difference between recipe cost and plate cost?+
Recipe cost is the whole batch; plate (portion) cost is the batch divided by the number of portions it makes.
Is there a free recipe costing template?+
The calculator on this page works like a template with the maths done for you. To save recipes and update prices in one place, use the free CostMyDish app.
Ready to cost your next dish?
Download CostMyDish free on iPhone or Android. Type what you’re making, add ingredients with what you paid, and see your cost and a selling price in about 2 minutes.
Free plan: 5 dishes and 20 ingredients. No credit card.
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