Cost and pricing
Recipe costing, step by step: cakes, dishes and coffee
By Emre BarışPublished 12 min readShort answer
Recipe cost is the total of what every ingredient in a product costs you. Multiply each ingredient's quantity by its unit price, add the lines to get the batch cost, then divide by what the batch yields: Portion cost = Batch cost ÷ Number of portions. Packaging, cups and lids belong in the recipe too, and anything trimmed off during prep raises the price per usable kilo.
Key points
- Every recipe line is quantity × unit price; the lines add up to the batch cost, and batch cost divided by the yield is the portion cost.
- For a takeaway coffee, the cup and lid are recipe lines too; in our flat white they're more than a fifth of the cost.
- For anything that loses weight when you clean it, divide what you paid by what's left; the usable price per kilo is always higher than the receipt price.
- A price rise reaches a product only in proportion to that ingredient's share: an 18.2% rise in pistachios raises our cheesecake's cost by 5.4%.
- If a batch meant to make 10 makes 9, the same cost is split over fewer pieces and the cost per piece rises 11.1%.
In this guide
- What should a recipe card include?
- How do you cost a recipe, step by step?
- What does a slice of pistachio cheesecake cost?
- How much does a flat white cost you?
- How do you account for what you trim off during prep?
- How do you work out the cost of a plate of truffle risotto?
- How do you calculate food cost percentage, and what should it be?
- How much does a recipe's cost change when one ingredient goes up?
- What happens to cost per piece when a batch makes 9 instead of 10?
- Frequently asked questions
What should a recipe card include?
A recipe card needs three things: each ingredient, how much of it goes in (in g, ml or pieces), and how many slices, portions, pieces or cups the batch makes. Those three are all you need to cost it.
- Ingredients: everything that goes into the product, packaging included. A cake box, a paper cup and a lid each get their own line.
- Quantity: grams on the scale, millilitres in the jug, pieces counted. “A spoonful” or “by eye” can't be costed.
- Expected yield: how many slices from a tin, portions from a pot, loaves from a batch of dough. In a bakery that number can drift from morning to morning; write the usual figure and track the gap when you bake.
Fill in the card with whoever makes the product most often. If the baker says “about 600 grams”, weigh it once; your costing is only as accurate as the number on the scale.
How do you cost a recipe, step by step?
Multiply each ingredient's quantity by its unit price, add up the lines, and divide the total by the yield. Three operations; the hard part is keeping the unit prices current.
Portion cost = (Ingredient 1 quantity × unit price + Ingredient 2 quantity × unit price + …) ÷ Portions made
You get the unit price from the receipt: total paid ÷ quantity. Converting kilos and litres into grams and millilitres is covered in our guide to unit cost.
- Weigh the recipeNext time you make a batch, weigh every ingredient and write it down. Use grams, millilitres and pieces.
- Find the unit pricesTurn each ingredient's latest purchase price into a price per gram, millilitre or piece. Dividing the price per kilo by 1,000 is enough.
- Cost each lineOn every line, multiply the quantity by the unit price: 120 g × ₺1.30 per g = ₺156.00.
- Add up the batchAdd all the lines together. Don't forget packaging, cups and lids.
- Divide by the yieldDivide the batch cost by the expected number of slices, portions or cups. That's your portion cost.
- Compare with the priceDivide the portion cost by the selling price to get the food cost percentage. If it's creeping up, look at the price or the recipe.
What does a slice of pistachio cheesecake cost?
At our example prices, one pistachio cheesecake costs ₺472.00 to make and each slice ₺47.20. Assuming the tin gives 10 slices, here's the sum:
| Ingredient | Quantity | Unit price | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Labneh | 600 g | ₺0.32 per g | ₺192.00 |
| Pistachios | 120 g | ₺1.30 per g | ₺156.00 |
| Butter | 80 g | ₺0.50 per g | ₺40.00 |
| Cream | 200 ml | ₺0.18 per ml | ₺36.00 |
| Biscuits | 200 g | ₺0.12 per g | ₺24.00 |
| Eggs | 3 | ₺6.00 each | ₺18.00 |
| Caster sugar | 150 g | ₺0.04 per g | ₺6.00 |
| Tin total | ₺472.00 | ||
| Per slice (÷ 10) | ₺47.20 |
Two lines stand out: labneh and pistachios together come to ₺348.00, which is 73.7% of the cake's cost. Those are the prices to check most often. Small moves in the price of sugar only reach a slice as fractions of a lira. In a patisserie, keeping a card like this for everything in the display case shows you which ingredients really move your costs.
How much does a flat white cost you?
At our example prices, a takeaway flat white costs ₺38.40, and ₺8.70 of that is the cup and lid. Served in a cup at the counter, it drops to ₺29.70.
Flat white · takeaway
- Coffee beans · 18 g × ₺0.95 per g
- ₺17.10
- Milk · 180 ml × ₺0.07 per ml
- ₺12.60
- Paper cup · 1
- ₺6.00
- Lid · 1
- ₺2.70
- Cost per cup
- ₺38.40
The unit prices come from purchases: 2 kg of beans for ₺1,900.00 is ₺1,900.00 ÷ 2,000 g = ₺0.95 per g; 12 litres of milk for ₺840.00 is ₺0.07 per ml; a pack of 50 cups for ₺300.00 is ₺6.00 a cup; a pack of 100 lids for ₺270.00 is ₺2.70 a lid.
Two small details change the cost per cup. First, milk: put the amount you pour into the pitcher in the recipe, not what ends up in the cup; the milk left in the pitcher cost money too. Second, the dose: if you use 20 g of beans for a double shot instead of 18 g, the bean line becomes ₺19.00. In a café, the cost of every espresso, latte and americano made with the same beans comes from this same unit price.
How do you account for what you trim off during prep?
Divide what you paid by the weight that's left after cleaning. The usable price per kilo is always higher than the price per kilo on the receipt, because you also paid for the stalks, peel and leaves you threw away.
Usable price per kg = Amount paid ÷ Kilos left after cleaning
Usable yield = Kilos left ÷ Kilos bought. Weigh it once to find the figure; the same ingredient from the same supplier usually comes out about the same.
Say a restaurant pays ₺320.00 for 2 kg of fresh mushrooms; the receipt says ₺160.00 per kg. After trimming the stalks and cleaning, 1.6 kg is left, a usable yield of 80%. The real price per kilo is ₺320.00 ÷ 1.6 = ₺200.00, 25% more than the receipt.
How do you work out the cost of a plate of truffle risotto?
At our example prices, an 8-portion pot of truffle risotto costs ₺633.60 and each plate ₺79.20. The mushrooms are costed at their cleaned weight and usable price:
Truffle risotto · 1 pot · 8 portions
- Arborio rice · 640 g × ₺0.14 per g
- ₺89.60
- Cleaned mushrooms · 480 g × ₺0.20 per g
- ₺96.00
- Parmesan · 200 g × ₺1.10 per g
- ₺220.00
- Truffle oil · 40 ml × ₺2.50 per ml
- ₺100.00
- Butter · 160 g × ₺0.50 per g
- ₺80.00
- Vegetable stock · 2,000 ml × ₺0.02 per ml
- ₺40.00
- Onion · 200 g × ₺0.04 per g
- ₺8.00
- Pot total
- ₺633.60
- Portion cost (÷ 8)
- ₺79.20
Cost the mushrooms at the receipt's ₺0.16 per g and that line would read ₺76.80; the pot would look ₺19.20 cheaper and each plate ₺2.40 cheaper than it really is. If you make your own stock, it has a small recipe of its own: cost the pot of stock, divide by the millilitres it makes, and use that price in the risotto. In a restaurant, sauces, stocks and syrups are best costed this way.
How do you calculate food cost percentage, and what should it be?
Food cost percentage is the portion cost as a share of the selling price: cost ÷ selling price × 100. A common rule of thumb in restaurants and cafés is to keep it roughly between 25% and 35%, but that's a starting point, not a law.
| Product | Portion cost | Selling price | Food cost % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pistachio cheesecake · 1 slice | ₺47.20 | ₺160.00 | 29.5% |
| Flat white · takeaway | ₺38.40 | ₺110.00 | 34.9% |
| Flat white · in a cup | ₺29.70 | ₺110.00 | 27.0% |
| Truffle risotto · 1 plate | ₺79.20 | ₺290.00 | 27.3% |
The flat white rows show something important: same drink, same price, but the cup and lid push the takeaway's food cost about 8 points higher. Don't read the percentage on its own; read it alongside your rent and staff costs. Somewhere with high rent, you may need to aim lower.
How much does a recipe's cost change when one ingredient goes up?
The product's cost rises by that ingredient's share of the recipe: quantity × price difference. That's why a big rise in one ingredient usually reaches the product as a much smaller percentage.
Say pistachios go from ₺1,100.00 to ₺1,300.00 per kg: an 18.2% rise, or ₺0.20 more per gram. The cheesecake uses 120 g, so the tin costs 120 × ₺0.20 = ₺24.00 more, rising from ₺448.00 to ₺472.00. A slice goes from ₺44.80 to ₺47.20, up ₺2.40; the product's cost is up 5.4%. Every product that uses pistachios needs the same check. When and how much of a rise to pass on to your prices is covered in our guide to supplier price rises.
What happens to cost per piece when a batch makes 9 instead of 10?
The same ingredients are split over fewer pieces, so each piece costs more. If you expected 10 slices and got 9, your yield is 90% and the cost per slice goes up 11.1%.
The cheesecake tin costs ₺472.00. One slice fell apart when cutting, so 9 made it to the display: ₺472.00 ÷ 9 = ₺52.44 (rounded). That's ₺5.24 more per slice, or, per tin, the ₺47.20 of ingredients in a slice you couldn't sell. Lose one slice a day like that and it's 30 slices a month, ₺1,416.00 in ingredients.
The expected yield on a recipe isn't a target; it's a measurement. If you keep getting 9, either fix the cutting or change the recipe to 9, but know which one you're doing.
When should you update a recipe?
In three cases: when an ingredient or quantity changes, when you switch supplier or brand, and when the expected yield keeps missing. A price change alone doesn't mean rewriting the recipe; if unit prices update with every purchase, the recipe stays right by itself. But if the baker has moved the butter from 80 g to 100 g, the card has to change too, or your costing shows the old recipe and misses ₺10.00 a tin.
Frequently asked questions
Should electricity, gas and labour go into recipe cost?
Most small businesses put only ingredients and packaging into recipe cost. Electricity, gas, rent and monthly wages are paid however many items you make; it's easier to keep them separate and check whether the monthly total is covered by your sales. If you pay for some work per piece, for example a decorating fee per cake, you can add it to the recipe as its own line.
Should a cake sell for three times its cost?
There's no fixed multiple, but the often-quoted “three times cost” rule means a food cost of about 33%. For a slice that costs ₺47.20, that's ₺141.60. If your rent, staff costs or waste are high, three times may not be enough; if prices around you are low, it may be too much. Use the multiple as a starting point and make the final call from your own costs.
How do I cost ingredients measured as “a spoonful” or “a pinch”?
Weigh them once. Find out how many grams a tablespoon of cocoa, sugar or salt weighs on your kitchen scale and write it into the recipe in grams. Very small items like salt and pepper may not add even a fraction of a lira per portion; instead of tracking each one, a small fixed amount for “seasoning” in the recipe works too. What matters is knowing the expensive ingredients gram by gram.
How do I cost sauces, syrups and doughs that go into other dishes?
Cost them as recipes of their own. Add up the ingredients in a pot of tomato sauce, divide by how much it makes, and you have a price per millilitre or gram. If 3 litres of sauce cost ₺360.00, that's ₺0.12 per ml; if a plate uses 150 ml, the sauce on that plate costs ₺18.00. In the main recipe, the sauce becomes a single line at that price.
How often should I check my recipe costs?
If you update unit prices with every purchase, your recipe costs are updated with every purchase too. If you keep them on paper or in a spreadsheet, at least check the ingredients whose prices move often, such as dairy, meat, coffee and nuts, every time you buy them. Every few months, re-weigh the recipe itself, the quantities and the yield, with whoever makes the product.
