How to Scale a Recipe for More or Fewer Servings
Doubling a recipe in your head is easy until the quantities get awkward. Here is the scaling factor method that keeps every ingredient in proportion.
What is the Recipe Scaler Calculator?
Divide the new number of servings by the original number to get a scaling factor, then multiply your ingredient amount by that factor. A factor above 1 scales the recipe up, and a factor below 1 scales it down, keeping every ingredient in the same proportion.
How to use it
- Enter the original number of servings in the recipe.
- Enter the new number of servings you want.
- Enter one ingredient amount and press Calculate to see its scaled amount.
Worked example
Original 4 servings, new 6 servings, amount 200: the tool gives a scaling factor of 1.5 and a scaled amount of 300.
How do I scale 200 grams of an ingredient from 4 servings to 6 servings?
Multiply by a scaling factor of 1.5, because 6 divided by 4 is 1.5, so 200 grams becomes 300 grams. Apply the same factor to every ingredient in the recipe to keep the flavours balanced.
Frequently asked questions
Does this work for scaling down as well as up?
Yes. Fewer new servings than original servings gives a factor below 1, which shrinks the amount proportionally.
What about cooking times and temperatures?
Those do not scale the same way as ingredient amounts, so adjust them by judgement and check the food as it cooks.