Recipe Converter
Scaling a Recipe Without Ruining the Ratios
A recipe written for six people rarely works if you simply "eyeball" it down to two or up to fourteen — rounding errors compound across a dozen ingredients and the dish drifts away from the original balance of flavor and texture. The fix is arithmetic, not intuition: every ingredient scales by the same ratio of desired servings to original servings, applied consistently.
The Formula
The scaling ratio is calculated once from the servings change, then multiplied against each ingredient amount in turn. Because it's a straight multiplication, it works for any unit — cups, grams, tablespoons — as long as you keep the unit consistent for that ingredient.
Where This Matters
- Batch cooking — converting a family-sized recipe into a large batch for a party or meal-prep week.
- Downsizing — shrinking a recipe written for a crowd down to a single serving or a couple's dinner.
- Recipe testing — adjusting a base recipe for different yield targets while keeping proportions exact.
Worked Example
| Desired servings | Ratio | New amount |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | 0.5 | 1 cup |
| 6 | 1.0 | 2 cups |
| 9 | 1.5 | 3 cups |
| 12 | 2.0 | 4 cups |
Ratio = Desired Servings / Original Servings (6 in this example); New Amount = 2 cups × ratio.
How to Use This Calculator
- Enter the Ingredient Amount as written in the original recipe (e.g. cups, grams, or any consistent unit).
- Enter the Original Servings the recipe was written for.
- Enter the Desired Servings you want to cook for.
- Select Calculate to get the scaled ingredient amount.
Related Calculations
For scaling several ingredients at once, use the Recipe Scaling Calculator, or convert the resulting amount into a different measuring unit with the Unit Converter for Recipes.