Recipe cost calculator

A recipe cost card lists each ingredient with its as-purchased amount, trim yield, edible amount, the recipe yield and the cost. The calculator prices each ingredient from the pack you buy, estimates finished weight with the cooking yield, splits it into portions and sets the menu price with a markup. In the example, a carrot cake with frosting yields 16 portions of about 3.5 oz at $0.59 each, packaging included.

The yield factor is as-purchased weight divided by trimmed weight: it measures peel and trim loss. With a 1.17 factor, 14 oz of carrots bought become 12 oz ready to use. The cooking yield is cooked weight divided by raw edible weight: 0.90 in the example, so 3.88 lb of raw batter bakes into 3.49 lb of cake. Run your own yield tests, weighing before and after a few times; book values are only a starting point.

Use the price and size of the pack you actually buy, in the same unit as the recipe or with the unit written in. Example: "Eggs, large; 8.5; oz; 1.14; 3.99; 24 oz" means 8.5 oz of eggs from a dozen weighing about 24 oz that costs $3.99, which comes to $1.41 in the recipe. Cost is always figured on the as-purchased amount, because that is what leaves the storeroom.

With a divisor markup: price = cost ÷ (1 − taxes and fees − expenses − profit), with all percentages taken on the price. In the example, 3% + 50% + 17% = 70%, the divisor is 0.30 and the multiplier 3.33: $0.59 × 3.33 = $1.98 per portion. Adding the 70% on top of cost would give $1.01 and a loss, because the percentages apply to the price, not to cost.

Food cost percentage is the share of the menu price spent on ingredients and packaging. At the example target it is 30%, inside the 25% to 35% range common in restaurants and bakeries. If you enter today’s menu price ($2.50 in the example), the calculator shows the actual food cost, 23.8%, and the profit left, 23.2%, after taxes, fees and expenses.

It is the kitchen version: ingredient, as-purchased and edible amounts, yield factor, yield, a column for each ingredient’s lot or use-by date, a check box and "Prepared by", "Checked by", "Date" and "Batch lot" lines. Prices and costs are hidden on screen and in the PDF. The "Portions to make now" field scales the recipe: with 48 portions, every amount is multiplied by 3.

Volumes in fl oz, cups or mL count toward estimated weight at 1 g/mL, and items by count (each) do not count: in those cases enter the measured final weight. One cooking yield applies to the whole recipe, and leftovers, breakage and comps are not included (cover them in expenses). Update the card whenever a key ingredient changes price; in the example, eggs, carrots and cocoa make up 57% of the cost. The FDA Food Code covers food safety, not costing.