Restaurant costs

Food cost calculator: cost a recipe and find its food cost percentage

Food cost percentage is what a dish costs you to make divided by what you sell it for: a plate that costs $4.10 and sells for $14.00 runs a 29.3% food cost. Enter each ingredient at what you pay for it below and the calculator works out the cost per serving, your food cost percentage and the price that would hit your target. Further down, work out your food cost for a whole month.

How to calculate food cost

There are two numbers worth knowing, and they answer different questions.

Food cost per serving = (sum of each ingredient’s cost at the amount used) ÷ servings

Food cost % = food cost ÷ sales × 100

1. Price each ingredient per unit. Pack price ÷ pack size. A $5.49 pound of ground beef is $5.49 ÷ 16 = about 34¢ an ounce.
2. Allow for trim and loss. If only 75% of what you buy is usable, divide by 0.75. This is the step most recipe cards skip.
3. Multiply by what the recipe uses and add every line, including the small things: oil, salt, sauce, garnish, the bun, the box.
4. Divide by servings for a batch recipe (a pot of chili, a sheet of lasagna).
5. Divide by the menu price for the food cost percentage, or divide by your target percentage to get a price.

Recipe food cost vs. actual food cost

Your recipe numbers are the ideal: every portion exact, nothing thrown out. Your month’s number from inventory is what really happened. When the month runs a few points above what the recipes say, the difference is usually waste, spoilage, generous portions, comps and staff meals, or a supplier price that went up without anyone re-costing the dish. Comparing the two each month is the quickest way to find which one it is.

Keep your numbers current

A recipe costed once goes stale as supplier prices move. Re-cost the dishes that sell most, and the ones built on your most expensive ingredients, whenever an invoice changes and before every menu reprint. When a price has to move, look at your own costs first, then at what independent restaurants in your city charge to see where your price will sit.

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Frequently asked questions

How do you calculate food cost?

For one dish, add up what every ingredient on the plate costs you at the amount the plate uses, then divide by the number of servings the recipe makes. For a whole period, take your beginning food inventory, add what you bought, subtract your ending inventory: that is what the food you used cost. Both are on this page.

What is the food cost percentage formula?

Food cost percentage = food cost ÷ sales × 100. For a dish, that is the cost per serving divided by its menu price: a $4.10 plate that sells for $14.00 is a 29.3% food cost. For a month, it is the cost of the food you used divided by your food sales.

What is a good food cost percentage for a restaurant?

Many restaurants aim for roughly 25% to 35% across the menu, but the right number depends on the concept, the rent and how much labor each dish takes. Single dishes can sit well above or below it; what matters is where the menu as a whole lands. Watch the trend in your own number month to month more than any rule of thumb.

How do I cost an ingredient I buy in bulk?

Divide the pack price by the pack size to get a price per unit, then multiply by what one recipe uses. A $5.49 pound of ground beef is about 34 cents an ounce, so a 6-ounce patty costs about $2.06. The calculator converts between ounces, pounds, grams, cups and the other common units, as long as both sides are weights, both are volumes, or both are counts.

What is usable yield, and why does it matter?

Usable yield is the share of what you buy that ends up on the plate after trimming, peeling, coring or cooking loss. If only 75% of a head of romaine is usable, every usable ounce really costs a third more than the sticker price. Leaving trim out is one of the most common reasons a plate costs more than the recipe card says.

What is the difference between food cost and cost of goods sold?

In a restaurant they usually mean the same thing for food: what the food you sold cost you, worked out as beginning inventory plus purchases minus ending inventory. Many owners track beverage cost separately, because drinks run at very different percentages.

Why is my real food cost higher than my recipe costs?

Recipe costs assume every portion is exact and nothing is lost. Real kitchens have waste, spoilage, over-portioning, staff meals, comps, theft and supplier price increases. If your period food cost runs a few points above what your recipes say, the gap is where to look first.

How often should I re-cost my recipes?

Whenever a key supplier price changes, and at least before every menu reprint. Food prices move during the year, so a recipe costed last spring can be quietly losing margin today.

Already know what a plate costs? The menu price calculator turns it into a price at several food cost targets. If the real worry is a quiet dining room, start with what to check when business is slow.