Recipe Scaling Calculator

Scale your recipe ingredients up or down for any number of servings. Automatically converts measurements to the most practical units (cups, tablespoons, teaspoons, ounces, etc.).

Scaling Factor = Desired Servings ÷ Original Servings Scaled Amount = Original Amount × Scaling Factor Common Conversions: • 1 cup = 16 tablespoons = 48 teaspoons = 8 fl oz • 1 tablespoon = 3 teaspoons • 1 pound = 16 ounces • 1 kilogram = 1000 grams • 1 liter = 1000 milliliters The calculator automatically converts to the most readable format.
Example: Recipe for 4 servings, need 8 servings Scaling Factor = 8 ÷ 4 = 2.0 Original Ingredients: • 2 cups flour • 1.5 tbsp baking powder • 3 oz butter Scaled Ingredients (×2): • 4 cups flour • 3 tbsp baking powder • 6 oz butter For 6 servings: Factor = 6 ÷ 4 = 1.5 • 3 cups flour • 2.25 tbsp baking powder • 4.5 oz butter

How do I scale a recipe up or down?

To scale a recipe, divide your desired number of servings by the original servings to get the scaling factor. Then multiply each ingredient amount by this factor. For example, to double a recipe (4 to 8 servings), multiply all ingredients by 2. To halve it (4 to 2 servings), multiply by 0.5. The calculator handles this automatically and converts measurements to readable formats.

Do all ingredients scale equally?

Most ingredients scale linearly (proportionally), but some require adjustments. Salt, spices, and leavening agents (baking powder/soda) may need less than a proportional increase when scaling up significantly. Cooking times also don't scale linearly - a doubled recipe may only need 1.5× the cooking time. For baking, pan sizes matter: if doubling, use two pans rather than one large pan for best results.

How do I convert between cups, tablespoons, and teaspoons?

1 cup = 16 tablespoons = 48 teaspoons. So 1 tablespoon = 3 teaspoons, and 1/4 cup = 4 tablespoons. When scaling recipes, sometimes it's easier to use smaller units: 1.5 cups can be expressed as 24 tablespoons if that's easier to measure. The calculator automatically suggests the most practical measurement format for your scaled amounts.