Scaling tool
Recipe scaling calculator
Free · no signupYou need 30 portions from a recipe that makes 12. Every line recalculated, weight to weight, volume to volume.
Original
Scaled
1250 g
Original
Scaled
813 ml
Original
Scaled
25.0 g
Original
Scaled
5.00 each
Scaled recipemakes 30
Bread flour 500 g1250 g
Water 325 ml813 ml
Salt 10 g25.0 g
Eggs 2 each5.00 each
Scale factor2.5×
Quantities scale linearly; seasoning, leavening and cooking time often do not. Taste at the new size before you commit a batch.
Scaled recipes still need costing
A scaled batch usually means buying differently. The 5 lb bag becomes the 50 lb sack, and the cost per gram drops. Once the quantities are settled here, run the new shopping list through the recipe cost calculator so the bigger batch gets the honest cheaper cost, not the old one.
Common questions
- How do I scale a recipe up or down?
- Divide what you need by what the recipe makes to get the factor, then multiply every ingredient by it. Needing 30 portions from a 12-portion recipe is a factor of 2.5: 500 g of flour becomes 1250 g. The calculator does this for every line at once.
- What does not scale linearly?
- Seasoning and spice tend to need less than the factor suggests at large scales; leavening can too. Cooking times barely scale at all: five trays do not bake five times longer. Scale the quantities mathematically, then taste and test at the new size.
- Should I scale by weight or by volume?
- Weight, wherever you can. Volume measures compound their error when multiplied. A slightly heaped cup times 2.5 is a real discrepancy. Commercial recipes are written by weight for exactly this reason.
- Does scaling change the cost per portion?
- Not by itself: 2.5 times the ingredients making 2.5 times the portions is the same cost per portion. What changes cost is buying differently at the new volume: bigger packs, better prices. Recost the scaled recipe with the recipe cost calculator if the packs change.