Scaling Recipes Accurately

Whether you're cooking for a crowd or just for yourself, adjusting recipe sizes is a common kitchen task. This calculator helps you accurately scale the quantities of all ingredients based on the change in serving size.

How to Use This Calculator

1. Servings: Enter the number of servings the original recipe makes and the number of servings you want to make.
2. Original Ingredients: For each ingredient in the original recipe:
   • Enter the **Quantity**.
   • Select the **Unit** (e.g., cups, grams, tsp, or "item" for things like eggs). Leave blank or choose "(none)" if there's no unit.
   • Enter the **Ingredient Name** (optional, but helpful for the results).
3. Add/Remove Ingredients: Use the "+ Add Ingredient" button to add more rows. Use the "×" button to remove unneeded rows.
4. Click "Scale Recipe".

Interpreting Your Results

• The results list shows each ingredient you entered with its new, scaled quantity required for your desired number of servings.
• The units remain the same as what you entered for each ingredient.
• Quantities are typically rounded to a reasonable number of decimal places (e.g., 1 or 2).

Calculation Logic

1. Scaling Factor Calculation:
   Scaling Factor = Desired Servings / Original Servings
2. Scaled Quantity Calculation: For each ingredient:
   Scaled Quantity = Original Quantity × Scaling Factor

Tips for Successful Scaling

• Units Matter: Be precise with your original units. Scaling works best with weight measurements (grams, oz) as they are more accurate than volume (cups, tbsp), especially for ingredients like flour.
• Small Quantities: Be careful when scaling down recipes significantly. Very small amounts (like 1/8 tsp) can be hard to measure accurately and might be critical. Sometimes it's better not to scale down certain spices or leavening agents proportionally.
• Eggs: If scaling results in fractions of eggs (e.g., 1.5 eggs), you might need to whisk an egg and measure out half, or round to the nearest whole egg depending on the recipe's sensitivity.
• Baking Time & Temperature: Scaling a recipe (especially baking) might require adjustments to cooking time or even temperature, particularly if you change the size or shape of the baking pan. Use the scaled recipe as a starting point and monitor cooking closely. Consider using our Baking Pan Converter tool.
• Taste and Adjust: Especially when scaling up significantly, you might need slightly less than the scaled amount for potent ingredients like salt, spices, or chili. Taste and adjust near the end of cooking.