Recipe Costing: A Simple Method

A repeatable costing method helps your team move faster and make fewer pricing mistakes. The key is standardizing units and portion assumptions.

Step 1: Set unit costs

Record each ingredient with one base unit and one cost per base unit. Keep your unit list limited and consistent.

Step 2: Add exact recipe quantities

For each dish, enter every ingredient quantity in the same unit system to avoid hidden conversion errors.

Simple example

If chicken costs $0.24/oz and a dish uses 7 oz, chicken cost is $1.68. Add rice at $0.40 and sauce at $0.32, total plate cost becomes $2.40.

Step 3: Compare to menu price

Once plate cost is clear, compare to menu price and target percentage before finalizing.

Common mistakes

• Mixing pounds, ounces, and grams without a standard.
• Estimating portions instead of weighing them.
• Forgetting prep waste when calculating usable quantity.