Recipe Plate Cost Calculator
Know your food cost per plate before you print the menu — not after you check the books.
| Ingredient | Cost | % of plate |
|---|
What is the Recipe & Plate Cost Calculator?
The Recipe & Plate Cost Calculator computes the exact food cost of any dish — ingredient by ingredient, with yield and waste factored in — then shows food-cost percentage at your menu price and the price needed to hit your target.
How is it calculated?
Enter each ingredient’s purchase price, pack size, and the quantity the recipe uses, plus a yield/waste percentage. The calculator totals true plate cost, divides by menu price for food-cost percentage, and back-solves the menu price for any target percentage.
Worked example: what should a chicken pasta plate cost and sell for?
- Add up your ingredients
Chicken breast $4.50/lb x 0.5 lb = $2.25, pasta $1.20/lb x 0.25 lb = $0.30, sauce/garnish $2.00/lb x 0.1 lb = $0.20. Raw plate cost = $2.25 + $0.30 + $0.20 = $2.75.
- Apply the 15% waste factor
Trim loss and shrinkage are real cost. $2.75 x 1.15 = $3.16 true food cost per plate.
- Divide by your 30% target food cost
$3.16 / 0.30 = $10.54. That is the menu price that puts food at exactly 30% of the sale.
- Check gross profit per plate
$10.54 menu price – $3.16 food cost = $7.38 left over to cover labor, rent, and profit on every plate sold.
- Verdict
Sell this plate at $10.54 (round to $10.95 on the menu) to hit a 30% food cost. Charge less than ~$9 and your food cost creeps past 35%, eating your margin.
What menu price hits each target food cost % on a $3.16 plate?
| Target food cost % | Menu price | Gross profit/plate | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| 25% | $12.65 | $9.49 | Fine dining, high-labor dishes |
| 28% | $11.29 | $8.13 | Full-service restaurants |
| 30% | $10.54 | $7.38 | Industry standard target |
| 33% | $9.58 | $6.42 | Casual / fast-casual |
| 35% | $9.04 | $5.87 | High-volume, low-labor items |
| 40% | $7.91 | $4.75 | Commodity plates, tight margin |
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I calculate the food cost of a dish?
Cost each ingredient at its used quantity — purchase price ÷ pack size × amount used — adjust for yield loss (trim, shrinkage), and total the plate. A dish costing $3.80 in ingredients sold at $14 runs a 27% food cost. Recost quarterly; ingredient prices drift faster than menus.
What is a good food cost percentage?
Most full-service restaurants target 28–35%; quick service 25–30%; bars 18–24% on beverages. But percentage isn’t profit — a 40% food-cost steak contributing $18 of gross margin beats a 25% pasta contributing $9. Watch contribution dollars alongside the percentage.
What is yield and why does it change my plate cost?
Yield is the usable portion after trimming, cooking loss, and waste. A whole chicken at $1.50/lb with 65% yield really costs $2.31 per usable pound. Costing recipes at purchase weight instead of yielded weight understates plate cost 10–30% — the most common menu-pricing error.
How do I price a new menu item?
Divide plate cost by your target food-cost percentage for the base price, then round to menu psychology (avoid trailing .99 in full service; $14 reads better than $13.99). Check the result against neighborhood comps and the item’s contribution margin before finalizing.
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