Recipe Scaling Calculator
Scale a recipe up or down and let the quantities rewrite themselves. Paste your ingredient list, choose to halve, double, triple, quadruple, or set a custom multiplier or a new number of servings, and every amount is recalculated and rounded to a friendly fraction like ¾ or 1½. It keeps the words after each quantity intact, so “2 cups flour” becomes “3 cups flour” when you scale by 1.5.
How to use this tool
- Paste or type your ingredient list, one ingredient per line, including the amount (fractions like 3/4 and 1 1/2 are understood).
- Choose how to scale: a preset like ½× or 2×, a custom multiplier, or a change in servings.
- For a custom multiplier, fill in the multiplier box; for servings, set the original and desired counts.
- Read the rewritten list, with amounts rounded to clean fractions.
- Copy the scaled recipe to take into the kitchen.
The formula
Scaling multiplies every ingredient amount by the same factor. A serving change becomes a factor by dividing the new servings by the old. Results are snapped to common cooking fractions so they are measurable.
factor = multiplier (or desired ÷ original servings)
new amount = original amount × factor
amount rounded to nearest ½, ⅓, ¼ or ⅛- factor
- The number every quantity is multiplied by
- servings
- Portions a recipe yields; the ratio sets the factor
Cooking times, pan sizes and strong seasonings (salt, spices, leavening) do not always scale in proportion — adjust those by taste and judgement.
Worked examples
Doubling a bake
- Given
- ¾ cup sugar, scaled 2×
- Result
- 1½ cups sugar
The amount doubles and is shown as a clean mixed fraction rather than 1.5.
Halving a large recipe
- Given
- 3 eggs, scaled ½×
- Result
- 1½ eggs
Scaling can produce awkward amounts like half an egg — beat one and use half by weight, or round.
Resizing by servings
- Given
- A 4-serving recipe for 6 people
- Result
- 1.5× everything
6 ÷ 4 = 1.5, so every ingredient is multiplied by one and a half.
Frequently asked questions
Whole numbers, decimals like 0.5, simple fractions like 3/4, mixed numbers like 1 1/2, and unicode fractions like ½ and ¾. The tool reads the amount at the start of each line and leaves the ingredient name untouched.
Because kitchens use measuring cups and spoons marked in fractions. “¾ cup” is easier to measure than “0.75 cup”, so amounts are rounded to the nearest common fraction. When a value is far from any friendly fraction, a decimal is shown instead.
Usually not. A larger volume in the same pan may need longer, while spreading across two pans keeps the time similar. Leavening, salt and strong spices also don’t always scale one-for-one. Use the scaled amounts as a starting point and judge by taste and doneness.
Yes. Use the ½× preset or any custom multiplier below 1, or set fewer desired servings than the original. Very small fractions of eggs or spices can get impractical, so round sensibly when scaling right down.
Yes. A line like “pinch of salt” or “oil for greasing” has no number to scale, so it is carried through unchanged. Only lines that begin with an amount are recalculated.
Related tools
Convert baking ingredients between cups, grams, millilitres and ounces using each ingredient’s density.
Kitchen Unit ConverterConvert cooking volumes between US, UK imperial and metric cups, spoons, ounces, pints and litres.
Butter Conversion CalculatorConvert butter between sticks, tablespoons, cups, grams and ounces, with every equivalent at once.