How to work out the cost per serving of a recipe

The cost per serving of a recipe is the cost of what you actually use, divided by the number of servings. The mistake most people make is counting the whole bottle of oil or the whole bag of rice. A recipe that uses a tablespoon of oil should be charged for a tablespoon.

What is the method, step by step?

• Write down the price you paid and the size of the pack, for example $7.99 for a 460 g bottle of olive oil.
• Work out the price per gram: $7.99 divided by 460 is about $0.017 a gram.
• Convert the recipe amount to grams. A tablespoon of olive oil weighs about 13.5 g.
• Multiply: 13.5 g at $0.017 is about $0.23.
• Add up every ingredient, then divide by the number of servings.

Weight works for everything, which is why it is easier than counting cups or pieces. Most pack labels give the weight in grams as well as ounces.

What does a full example look like?

Take garlic chicken and rice bowls. The chicken thighs are the biggest cost: a pound and a half at $3.99 a pound is about $5.98. The rice is cheap: a cup and a half weighs about 278 g, and at $2.49 for a 2 lb bag that is about $0.76. Garlic, soy sauce, honey and oil add a little each. Divided by four servings, the bowls come to about $2.49 each.

Every recipe on this site shows this table under "How the cost and nutrition are worked out", and our method explains where the prices come from.

What should you leave out?

Salt, pepper and water are too small to count. A thin film of oil for a pan is the same. Spices are worth counting by the teaspoon, because a jar used across twenty recipes costs very little per dish.

Why does it matter?

Because it shows which recipes are actually cheap. A dish full of beans and rice can cost a third of one built on meat, and you only see that when the numbers sit side by side. Recipes at about $1.60 a serving or less are collected in the budget category.

Why will your figure be different from ours?

Prices change with your store, your country, sales and the brands you buy. Our prices are estimated US supermarket prices, so use them for comparing recipes rather than as a receipt. If you want your own numbers, use the same method with your receipt.

How do you keep a week cheap overall?

Plan recipes that share ingredients, so nothing is bought for one use. The week planner adds everything into one list. Cheap meal prep for about $2 a serving has more on choosing recipes.