Recipe Converter: Scale Recipes Up or Down

Our Recipe Converter helps you scale recipes to serve different numbers of people. Whether you're cooking for a larger group, meal prepping, or adjusting a recipe for fewer servings, this tool automatically calculates the correct ingredient quantities.

What This Calculator Does

The Recipe Converter scales ingredient quantities proportionally based on serving size changes. For example:

• Doubling a recipe: If a recipe serves 4 and you need 8 servings, all ingredients are doubled.
• Halving a recipe: If a recipe serves 6 and you need 3 servings, all ingredients are halved.
• Custom scaling: Enter any original and target serving sizes to get precise conversions.

This is useful for meal planning, batch cooking, and adapting recipes to your needs.

How to Use It

1. Enter serving sizes: Provide the original number of servings and your target number of servings.
2. Add ingredients: Enter ingredient names and their quantities (include units like "cups", "tbsp", etc.).
3. Enter quantities: Format quantities as "2 cups", "1.5 tsp", "3 eggs", etc. The calculator preserves units automatically.
4. Click "Calculate" to see converted quantities.

You can enter up to 5 ingredients. Leave unused fields empty.

Interpreting Your Results

• Original: Shows the original quantity from your recipe.
• Converted: Shows the scaled quantity for your target serving size.
• Conversion Factor: The multiplier applied (e.g., 2x for doubling, 0.5x for halving).

All quantities maintain their original units (cups, tablespoons, etc.), making it easy to follow your converted recipe.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Forgetting units: Always include units (cups, tsp, tbsp, etc.) so the converter preserves them correctly.
• Using wrong serving sizes: Double-check that you've entered the original and target servings correctly.
• Over-scaling: Very large multipliers (like 10x) can result in impractical quantities. Consider breaking into batches.
• Not accounting for cooking time: Scaling recipes may require adjusting cooking times, especially for baked goods.

Keep Learning

If you're exploring recipe conversion and cooking tips, these guides can help:

• How to Scale Recipes: Doubling and Halving Guide
• Converting Recipe Measurements: Cups, Tablespoons, and More
• Batch Cooking: Scaling Recipes for Meal Prep
• Baking vs Cooking: Scaling Differences Explained
• International Recipe Conversions: Metric vs Imperial

Sources

• King Arthur Baking – Recipe scaling and measurement conversion
• USDA Food Data Central – Standard recipe measurements and conversions