Recipe Batch Scaling Tool
Enter your recipe's original yield and each ingredient with its quantity and unit. Then enter your target yield. The tool calculates the scaled quantity for every ingredient instantly. Use it to scale a sauce from 10 portions to 50, a dough from 1 batch to 4, or to reduce a recipe from a commercial quantity to a home-test portion.
Ingredients
| Name | Quantity | Unit | |
|---|---|---|---|
How to use this tool
- 1Enter the original yield of your recipe - this is the number of portions, litres, kilograms, or units the original recipe makes.
- 2Enter your target yield - how many portions or units you want to make.
- 3Add each ingredient with its name, quantity, and unit. Press Add to include more rows.
- 4Read the scaled quantities for every ingredient in the list. The scaling factor is shown at the top.
- 5Copy or print the scaled recipe for kitchen use. Quantities are rounded to practical precision.
Example
Original: 2kg crushed tomatoes, 200ml olive oil, 8 garlic cloves, 40g salt, 20g sugar. Scale factor 4. Result: 8kg crushed tomatoes, 800ml olive oil, 32 garlic cloves, 160g salt, 80g sugar. The tool handles all units - just enter as written on your original recipe.
Original batch (makes 8 bases): 500g flour, 325ml water, 10g salt, 7g yeast, 15ml oil. Scale factor 6 for 48 bases: 3,000g flour, 1,950ml water, 60g salt, 42g yeast, 90ml oil. When scaling doughs and batters, experienced bakers note that yeast and leavening agents may need slightly less than the linear scale - the tool gives you the mathematical answer; adjust for your proven kitchen experience.
Common use cases
- Scaling a prep recipe to match the day's forecasted covers without mental arithmetic
- Reducing a commercial recipe to a test batch before committing to a full prep run
- Standardising recipes for a new staff member who needs to make a different batch size than the original
- Preparing a catering order at a different quantity than your standard restaurant portion count
- Converting a recipe developed for home cooking to a restaurant batch size
Common mistakes
- Scaling spices and seasonings linearly for very large batches - flavours intensify non-linearly at scale; taste and adjust when scaling up more than 4x.
- Scaling leavening agents (yeast, baking powder) exactly - these often need slightly less than the linear amount in very large batches.
- Using volume measures for precise ingredients like salt and sugar - switch to weight measurements when scaling for consistency.
- Not accounting for equipment capacity - a scaled recipe may exceed the capacity of your mixer, pot, or oven.
Frequently asked questions
Does the scaling factor affect cooking time?
No, the scaling tool only scales ingredient quantities. Cooking time does not scale linearly - doubling a recipe does not mean double the cooking time. Oven temperature and cooking time depend on the size and shape of what you are cooking, not the batch size. Use your kitchen judgement and probe thermometers for temperature-sensitive preparations.
What units can I use?
Any units you like - the tool treats the unit as a label. Enter grams, kg, ml, litres, cups, tablespoons, pieces, or any unit that appears in your recipe. The calculator multiplies the quantity by the scale factor and keeps the unit the same. You can convert units separately if needed.
Why do spices sometimes need less than the full scaled amount?
Flavour compounds in spices, aromatics, and seasonings interact non-linearly at large concentrations. A batch scaled 10x with exactly 10x the spices often tastes over-seasoned. Professional kitchen practice is to start at 75-80% of the calculated spice quantity and adjust by tasting. This is especially true for chilli, salt, and very pungent aromatics like garlic and ginger.
Can I use this to scale down a recipe?
Yes. Enter a target yield smaller than the original yield and the scaling factor will be less than 1. All ingredient quantities will be reduced proportionally. Scaling down is useful for test batches and for reducing waste when expected covers are lower than usual.
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