Cooking & Kitchen

Recipe Cost Calculator

Enter the cost of up to three main ingredients and the servings the recipe makes, to see the total and per-serving cost.

This result gives the full cost of the recipe and what each serving costs, so you can compare the recipe with other meals.

Formula

Total cost = sum of ingredient costs. Per serving = total / servings.

How it works

For most home recipes, three or four main ingredients make up nearly all the cost; pantry staples like salt and oil add only pennies.

Costing recipes this way quickly shows which meals are budget-friendly and which only look cheap because the expensive ingredient was forgotten.

Worked example

For example, ingredient costs of $3.00, $2.00 and $1.50 give a total of $6.50, and for 4 servings that is $6.50 / 4 = $1.63 per serving.

FAQs

Should I include pantry staples?
You can, but they rarely change the total much. Include them only if you want a precise figure.

What if I use only part of a pack?
Enter the cost of the part you used, not the whole pack — for example, half a pack at half its price.

How do I cost a recipe with many ingredients?
Group small ones together as one 'other ingredients' amount to keep it simple.

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