How to calculate food cost for a dish
Start with a recipe for one serving. Record each ingredient’s purchase quantity and purchase price, then note the usable share after preparation. A yield of 75% means only three quarters of the purchased amount reaches the plate. This matters for proteins with trimming loss, produce with peels, and ingredients that lose usable volume during prep.
Step 1: Find edible portion unit cost. Divide purchase price by purchase quantity multiplied by yield as a decimal. The formula is EP unit cost = purchase price ÷ (purchase quantity × yield %). If the yield is 100%, every purchased unit is usable; a lower yield raises the cost of each usable unit.
Step 2: Cost the serving. Convert the purchase and portion quantities to the same unit, then multiply the edible portion unit cost by the portion size. In short, portion cost = EP unit cost × portion size. Add the portion costs for every ingredient to get the total cost per plate. Keep weight and volume separate: a cup of sauce cannot be turned into grams without knowing its density.
Step 3: Compare cost with price. Divide the total ingredient cost by your menu price and multiply by 100 to get food cost percentage. Divide the cost by your target percentage, expressed as a decimal, to estimate a suggested price. Subtract cost from menu price for gross profit per portion; margin is one minus the food cost fraction. The result is a starting point for a pricing decision, not a complete operating profit calculation.
A worked example
Suppose a kitchen buys 10 lb of chicken for $89.90. After trimming, 75% is usable, and one plate receives 6 oz. The purchase price is $8.99 per lb; accounting for yield makes edible chicken cost about $11.99 per usable lb. A 6 oz serving is 0.375 lb, so its ingredient cost is $4.495, which rounds to $4.50 per portion.
If that plate sells for $18.00, its food cost percentage is 25.0% after rounding the portion cost to cents. Ingredient-level gross profit is $13.50, and the corresponding margin is 75.0%. With a target food cost of 30%, divide $4.50 by 0.30 for a suggested menu price of $15.00. This example includes only the chicken; add sides, sauce, garnish, and packaging when they belong to the dish.
Rounding happens after the ingredient costs are added, so a longer recipe may produce a total that differs by a cent from adding rounded row values. The input rows above let you test the effect of a new vendor price, a different yield, or a larger serving. Use the same portion definition throughout the recipe so the comparison stays meaningful.
What is a good food cost percentage?
A commonly used planning range is around 30% to 35%, but it is a reference, not a rule for every restaurant or every plate. A quick-service counter, a full-service dining room, and a small bakery face different labor, rent, waste, and volume patterns. Your target must leave enough money to cover the rest of the business after paying for food.
Look at both the percentage and the gross profit dollars. A dish with a higher food cost percentage can still contribute useful dollars if it sells well, while a dish with a low percentage may contribute little if the price is small. Compare similar menu items, check how often each one sells, and revisit your assumptions when purchase prices or portion practices change.
For recipe cost work, weigh a prepared batch and record its usable output when you can. That gives you a better yield estimate than guessing. Review vendor invoices regularly, because an old purchase price can make an otherwise careful calculation misleading. If an ingredient is bought by weight but portioned by volume, measure its actual density or use a scale rather than relying on an assumed conversion.
Frequently asked questions
What does yield mean in this calculator?
Yield is the usable share of an ingredient after trimming, peeling, draining, or other preparation. If you buy 10 pounds and can use 7.5 pounds, enter 75%. Enter 100% when the entire purchased amount is usable.
Can I mix pounds and ounces in one ingredient row?
Yes. The calculator converts pounds, ounces, kilograms, and grams within the weight family before calculating a portion. It also converts milliliters, liters, teaspoons, tablespoons, cups, and fluid ounces within the volume family.
Why will the calculator not convert cups to grams?
A cup measures volume and a gram measures weight. The conversion depends on the ingredient’s density, so a universal factor would give the wrong result. Use two weight units or two volume units for that ingredient.
Why is the food cost percentage blank?
Food cost percentage needs a menu price above zero. Enter the price you charge for one serving to see that percentage, the gross profit per portion, and the margin. You can still calculate cost per plate without a menu price.
Does the suggested price include labor and rent?
No. The suggested menu price divides ingredient cost by your target food cost percentage. It does not calculate labor, rent, utilities, packaging, delivery fees, tax, or other costs, so review the result against your full operating budget.
Should I use this number for an entire restaurant?
Use this calculator for one dish at a time. Restaurant-wide food cost uses inventory and sales over a period, including waste, discounts, and the mix of items sold. A recipe estimate is useful for menu planning but does not replace that broader measure.
Related tools and guides
Return to the restaurant tools directory for other practical tasks. When the numbers are ready, the email template generator can help you describe a new dish or special to guests who opted in. The restaurant email guide covers consent, content, and sending through your own platform.
For ideas about what an email can say, browse restaurant email examples or available templates. If you need to choose a sending service, read the restaurant software comparison. These pages address communication; the calculator above addresses the ingredient estimate for one menu item.
Making a whole batch that produces several servings? Use the recipe cost calculator to find the batch total and cost per serving.
Want the formula itself, including how to work it out for the whole restaurant? Read the food cost formula guide.
Results estimate ingredient cost only and do not include labor, rent, or other operating costs.