Menu & Recipe Cost Template: Download Free Spreadsheet (2024)

By Malcolm Bedell|2021-03-02T14:04:54+00:00April 16th, 2020|Restaurant|Comments Off on Menu & Recipe Cost Template: Download Free Spreadsheet

Trying to figure out how profitable a new menu will be? Not feeling confident about ingredient costs? We’ve got you covered with the release of the Menu Recipe Upscale and Food Costing Spreadsheet (patent pending).

Using this cost and recipe scaling tool couldn’t be simpler, but there are a few details we wanted to take a moment to walk you through in this tutorial to help unleash the power of this Excel or Google Docs spreadsheet (.xlsx).

Let’s take a look at the at the reasons you need to utilize a tool like in your business and how start using the tool right away. This tool applies to restaurants, food trucks, and specialty food makers alike. Let’s begin! You can also listen to the audio companion for this post below.

Table of Contents:

  • Why use a recipe cost tool?
  • How to use the tool
  • Sample menu cost calculations (video)
  • Download free spreadsheet

Why use the recipe cost tool?

Menu & Recipe Cost Template: Download Free Spreadsheet (1)

Me in the kitchen. How much does this cost?

Scaling up your recipes.

Maybe the latest issue of Rachael Ray’s magazine has inspired you to try edamame-stuffed wasabi pork burgers on the your food truck or restaurant. But those recipes are only designed to serve 6… So how do you scale the recipe up to serve dozens or even hundreds of hungry customers for a catering event? This tool will give you the answer.

How much should I charge?

How on earth do you figure out what to charge for your new dish? By completing each each field in this spreadsheet, you’ll be confident in knowing every ingredient used to create a dish is taken into account and will understand the profitability (or lack there of) for each menu item.

How to Use the Menu and Recipe Cost Template

Menu & Recipe Cost Template: Download Free Spreadsheet (2)

In our video walk-through below, we guide you through filling out this tool.

Original Recipe: Begin by entering the values from your original recipe, under the “original recipe” field. You’ll need to enter the total recipe yield (in ounces), as well as the number of servings the original recipe was intended to feed. To scale the recipe up or down, enter the desired number of servings in the field to the right. This will set your “scale factor” for the rest of the spreadsheet.

Ingredients Column:Here you will enter each ingredient needed to produce your recipe. Be as detailed as possible here and making sure to including even small costs like salt or pepper. By default this spreadsheet has space for a recipe with 27 total ingredients, but you can add additional rows into the spreadsheet if the recipe requires more.

Bulk Size Column: Next, begin entering your ingredients. The “Bulk Size” column is the total weight in ounces of the product, as you buy it from the wholesaler.

Bulk Cost: The “Bulk Cost” field is for what you pay for that ingredient, in your bulk sizes. This will generate a “Cost per Ounce.”

Recipe Amount Column: Next, enter the “Recipe Amount” for that ingredient. Again, this is the amount of each ingredient called for in your original, unscaled recipe.

The spreadsheet will scale up the amount you need for the desired amount of servings you’d like to end up with, and give you a total cost for that ingredient, in your new, larger-serving amounts. Keep adding ingredients, sizes, and prices until your recipe is complete.

Toward the bottom of the spreadsheet, you’ll find totals or calculations based on the information you entered:

  • Total Recipe Cost field tells you the total ingredient cost for your new, upscaled recipe.
  • Total Cost/Serving field tells you how much each serving will cost.
  • In red, we’ve included a Recommended Retail Price field, which simply multiplies your total cost per serving by 3, since your raw ingredient cost should be roughly 1/3 of your retail price.

Now, there’s one more cool feature that we want to draw your attention to, and that’s the “If actual servings obtained differ from desired “#” widget.

You Might Also Like: Small Restaurant Startup Costs Breakdown and Spreadsheet

Say you’ve followed your recipe to the letter, but for whatever reason, the number of portions you’ve ended up with is different than you’d planned; for example, you thought 10 pounds of fish would yield you 30 servings of your stuffed baked tilapia special, but for some reason, you’ve only ended up with 26.

Punch that number into the “number of servings obtained” field, and you’ll get a corrected cost per serving and recommended retail price, that more accurately reflects how many servings you actually got out of each recipe.

Sample Menu Cost Calculations: Video

In the video below, I walk you through this spreadsheet using an example from my own restaurant. I own a restaurant in Maine, so I decided to share my own food costs for our popular clam dip. Click the play to start the video tutorial.

Download the Menu and Recipe Cost Tool

That about covers it! Now, you’ll never spend precious minutes upscaling recipes and you’ll never have to worry if an elaborate special is wreaking havoc on food costs.

  • Menu and Food Costing Spreadsheet(.xlsx file)
  • Google Docs Spreadsheet
  • Download our Food Business Startup Kit to get more free tools like this.

Quick Reference Guide:

  1. Enter the number of servings from your original recipe in cell D6, and your desired number of servings in cell F5. This will scale your recipe up and down.
  2. Enter ingredient names in column A, along with size in ounces and price paid for ingredients. This will calculate cost per ounce in column D.
  3. Enter the amount of each ingredient used in your recipe in column E. This will scale your ingredient amounts to match your desired servings, and calulate cost.
  4. In row 40, your recommended retail price per serving is displayed. (This calculation is cost, multiplied by 3. Feel free to increase retail price further if product warrants a premium.)
  5. If, after cooking, you end up with a different number of servings than you had planned, enter this number in cell I5 to perform corrected calculation.

Let us know if you have any questions about this tool in the comments field below. Once you’ve got your costs figured out using these formulas, download this food business canvas template to help you map your strategy for starting a profitable food business.

Menu & Recipe Cost Template: Download Free Spreadsheet (3)

Want to start your own food business?

Hey! 👋I’m Brett Lindenberg, the founder of Food Truck Empire.

We interview successful founders and share the stories behind their food trucks, restaurants, food and beverage brands. By sharing these stories, I want to help others get started.

If you liked this story, sign up for our newsletter that includes our food business startup kit and most popular interviews sent straight to your inbox.

Know someone interesting that should be interviewed on the website? Tell us about them here.

About the Author: Malcolm Bedell

Menu & Recipe Cost Template: Download Free Spreadsheet (4)

Malcolm Bedell is co-author of the critically acclaimed "Eating in Maine: At Home, On the Town, and On the Road," as well as the junk food-centric Spork & Barrel and Brocavore, a blog focusing on street food culture and cooking. His contributions include Serious Eats, Down East, L.A. Weekly, Bon Appetit, The Guardian, and The Huffington Post and his food truck, "'Wich, Please," was named "Hottest Restaurant in Maine" for 2015 by Eater. Check out my restaurant Ancho Honey on Facebook.

Related Posts

Menu & Recipe Cost Template: Download Free Spreadsheet (5)

225+ Unforgettable Ice Cream Shop Advertising Slogans and Captions

Gallery

225+ Unforgettable Ice Cream Shop Advertising Slogans and Captions

July 6th, 2022

Menu & Recipe Cost Template: Download Free Spreadsheet (6)

447+ Clever to Hilarious Chinese Restaurant Name Ideas

Gallery

447+ Clever to Hilarious Chinese Restaurant Name Ideas

June 6th, 2022

Menu & Recipe Cost Template: Download Free Spreadsheet (7)

700+ Cool Nightclub Name Ideas that Bring the Party to the Dance Floor

Gallery

700+ Cool Nightclub Name Ideas that Bring the Party to the Dance Floor

May 20th, 2022

Menu & Recipe Cost Template: Download Free Spreadsheet (8)

353+ Nostalgic American Diner Name Ideas Customers Will Love

Gallery

353+ Nostalgic American Diner Name Ideas Customers Will Love

April 18th, 2022

Menu & Recipe Cost Template: Download Free Spreadsheet (2024)

FAQs

How to calculate food cost for a recipe PDF? ›

You take the cost of your ingredients and then you break it down into units, such as per ounce or per egg. You then multiply these per-unit prices by the number of units you use. You then add up all these individual prices to find the total food cost for your dish. This is your food cost.

How do I figure out how much to charge for a recipe? ›

For recipe costing, add the total cost per item purchased then divide by the amount called for in the recipe. For example, if you've purchased a 3-pound pack of chicken for $12 and the recipe calls for one-and-a-half pounds, this portion of the cost is $6.

How do I create a costing sheet in Excel? ›

How to Create Cost & Expense Sheets in Excel
  1. Open a blank Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. ...
  2. Write down the necessary categories for your spreadsheet. ...
  3. Type the date in the first column on the Excel spreadsheet.
  4. Type a column for the "Payee" of the costs and expenses next to the "Date" column.

What is the formula to get the total cost of the ingredients? ›

To calculate the cost of ingredient used, for each ingredient: divide the 'Cost of quantity purchased' by the 'Quantity purchased'; then multiple by 'Quantity needed in recipe'.

How do you calculate homemade food? ›

Set the food in the container and record its weight in ounces. Divide this number by the servings in the dish to calculate the weight of each helping. Divide the total calories, carbohydrates and other nutrients by the servings to find the nutritional information in each.

What is the formula to calculate food? ›

The food cost formula for that is: The Food cost percentage formula is = (Beginning Inventory value(Food Supplies) + Purchase Cost – Ending Inventory) ÷ Total Food Sales So let's say that in a given month, your restaurant's inventory was valued at $10,000.

How much do people sell recipes for? ›

How do I price recipes? It's your recipe, so the price is entirely up to you. You could price recipes as low or as high as you want. Many fall within the $20 to $50 range.

How do you calculate food cost for a small business? ›

To calculate your total food cost percentage — meaning, the food cost percentage for a specific store or your overall business — use the following formula:
  1. Total Food Cost Percentage = (Total Cost of Goods Sold / Total Food Sales) x 100.
  2. Total Cost of Goods Sold = (Beginning Inventory + Food Purchases) – Ending Inventory.
Jul 26, 2021

Does Excel have a budget template? ›

Creating a budgeting plan for your household can feel overwhelming and hard, but Excel can help you get organized and on track with a variety of free and premium budgeting templates.

How do you calculate the food cost of a food item? ›

Food cost percentage formula

To calculate your food cost percentage, first add the value of your beginning inventory and your purchases, and subtract the value of your ending inventory from the total. Finally, divide the result into your total food sales.

How do you calculate food cost per plate? ›

To calculate Plate Cost, first you need to know the As Served cost of each ingredient in your menu item. The As Served cost is the cost of a single serving of that item. In order to find those costs, take the cost of a product and divide it by the number of portions you make from the item.

What is a recipe formula? ›

A recipe formula is an ingredient and ratio-based approach to writing a recipe. You can call it a recipe template or recipe pattern. Rather than defining exact ingredient measurements in my recipe, I create a modular recipe where there are blocks of ingredients, like Legos.

How do you calculate meals per day? ›

Number of meals per day.
...
If you eat five meals a day, you should consume:
  1. 25-30% of daily calories for breakfast.
  2. 5-10% of daily calories for morning snack.
  3. 35-40% of daily calories for lunch.
  4. 5-10% of daily calories for an afternoon snack.
  5. 15-20% of daily calories for dinner.
Jul 18, 2022

How do I figure out how many servings a recipe has? ›

To calculate the serving size of a recipe, ingredient quantities are divided by the number of servings. For instance, if a recipe with a serving size of 2 requires 1 onion, we divide 1 onion by 2. Then, we know that 1 serving requires 0.5 onions.

How do you calculate new ingredients? ›

Determine the required yield of the recipe by multiplying the new number of portions and the new size of each portion. Find the conversion factor by dividing the required yield (Step 2) by the recipe yield (Step 1). That is, conversion factor = (required yield)/(recipe yield).

What is the easiest food product to sell? ›

Easy Food To Sell To Make Money
  • Candy and other confectionery.
  • Cookies, pastries, and other baked goods.
  • Dry herbs, seasonings, and herb mixes.
  • Homemade fresh bread.
  • Hummus and other dips.
  • Jams, jellies, and other preserves.
  • Nuts, coated, and uncoated.
  • Pickles and other pickled vegetables.

Can you legally own a recipe? ›

Recipes can be protected under copyright law if they are accompanied by “substantial literary expression.” This expression can be an explanation or detailed directions, which is likely why food and recipe bloggers often share stories and personal anecdotes alongside a recipe's ingredients.

Can you make food at home and sell it? ›

You will need a food license from FSSAI if you are looking to sell homemade food that is prepared in your kitchen. In addition, you must also check the zoning rules in your area to determine whether you will be allowed to run a food business in your home.

What is cost sheet short answer? ›

A cost sheet is a formal documentation of the fixed, variable, direct, and indirect costs a business incurs from start to finish in its production process. Based on this information, a company can determine the total production cost and fix the price per item for the commodities.

What is the formula of cost sheet? ›

Method of Preparation of Cost Sheet

Direct Material= Material Purchased + Opening stock of raw material-Closing stock of raw material.

What are the 4 types of cost? ›

There are primarily four types of cost accounting.
  • Standard Cost Accounting. ...
  • Activity-based cost accounting. ...
  • Marginal cost accounting. ...
  • Lean Accounting.
Dec 19, 2022

Where can I download Excel templates for free? ›

Choose from an assortment of templates like calendars, invoices, and budget planning.
  • Go to Office.com.
  • Click Templates at the top of the page.
  • On the Templates page, click Excel. ...
  • Click the template you want, click Edit in Browser, sign in if prompted, and then click Continue.

What is the best free budget spreadsheet? ›

Best free budgeting tools
  • Best free spreadsheet for anyone: Google Sheets.
  • Best overall free smartphone app: Mint.
  • Best free smartphone app for beginners: Goodbudget.
  • Best free smartphone app for investors: Personal Capital.
  • Best free desktop software for small business owners: GnuCash.

Can I download Excel templates? ›

You can download each Excel template by clicking on the download button. If you want to learn more about the template and how to use it, click on the 'Read more' option.

What are the 5 types of cost? ›

The 5 costs they cover are:
  • Direct cost.
  • Indirect cost.
  • Fixed cost.
  • Variable cost.
  • Sunk cost.

What are the 3 types of cost? ›

These expenses include:
  • Variable costs: This type of expense is one that varies depending on the company's needs and usage during the production process. ...
  • Fixed costs: Fixed costs are expenses that don't change despite the level of production. ...
  • Direct costs: These costs are directly related to manufacturing a product.
Jan 13, 2021

How do you draft a cost plan? ›

Here are the steps you can take to create an effective cost management plan:
  1. Plan resources. Before starting a project, determine the resources it requires, which might include certain people, skills, materials, tools, equipment and funds. ...
  2. Estimate costs. ...
  3. Create a budget. ...
  4. Perform cost control. ...
  5. Measure performance.

What are the two methods for calculating food expenses? ›

There are two ways to measure food cost; one will take the literal cost of a dish by breaking down each unit and pricing the dish accordingly. The other considers how much you hold in assets, ie. the value of your inventory, to determine how much it costs to make a dish for every dollar your business makes.

What is the formula for menu pricing using food cost percentage? ›

Food cost percentage = portion cost / selling price

For example: if a menu item is priced at $13 and the food cost was $4, your food cost percentage is 31%. We'll be using food cost percentage to calculate the price of each menu item, so keep this equation in mind as you read on.

Is there a recipe app? ›

Recipe Keeper is the easy to use, all-in-one recipe organizer, shopping list and meal planner available across all of your devices. Enter your recipes with as much or as little information as you like. Copy and paste recipes from your existing documents or apps. Categorize your recipes by course and category.

Is there an app where you can put in specific ingredients to get recipies? ›

SuperCook

SuperCook is probably the best known app for building recipes by selecting a group of ingredients. This platform helps you waste less food and eat fantastic meals. It's both a website and an app, so use whichever is most convenient for you.

What is the formula to calculate cost in Excel? ›

Click on the cell below “Price” and type “=SUM(B2)/(1-(C2))” in the cell. This formula subtracts the percentage markup from 1, then uses this number to divide the cost. The result for a $20 item and a markup of 20 percent is a price of $25.

Are there accounting templates in Excel? ›

If you open up Excel and then use the relevant keyword in the “Search All Templates” box, you should be able to find a basic template that will fit your needs. For example, Excel has an inbuilt profit and loss statement template, business expenses budget template, budget planner template, and more.

What are the 4 types of costing? ›

These are the costs directly related to producing, acquiring and selling the company's products. They include things like labour costs and electricity costs. There are mainly four types of cost accounting: standard cost accounting, activity based accounting, lean accounting and marginal costing.

What is a cost template? ›

A manufacturing cost template is a list of rates that can be associated with completing a specific operation. The template defines the activities that occur and related costs to be recorded each time this step is completed.

What are the different types of costs and cost sheet? ›

A cost sheet is a formal documentation of the fixed, variable, direct, and indirect costs a business incurs from start to finish in its production process. Based on this information, a company can determine the total production cost and fix the price per item for the commodities.

What are the types of cost sheet? ›

Cost Sheet
  • Definition: A cost sheet is a statement which represents the various costs incurred at different stages of business operations, in a tabular format. ...
  • Indirect Material.
  • Indirect Labour.
  • Indirect Expenses.
  • Historical Cost Sheet.
  • Estimated Cost Sheet.
Jun 22, 2019

How do I create a simple bookkeeping system in Excel? ›

Use the following steps to set up your bookkeeping system in Excel.
  1. Keep your business and personal finances separate. ...
  2. Decide what accounting method you want to use. ...
  3. Create a chart of accounts. ...
  4. Create an income and expense sheet. ...
  5. Create optional bookkeeping reports.
Sep 9, 2022

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Recommended Articles
Article information

Author: The Hon. Margery Christiansen

Last Updated:

Views: 6242

Rating: 5 / 5 (70 voted)

Reviews: 93% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: The Hon. Margery Christiansen

Birthday: 2000-07-07

Address: 5050 Breitenberg Knoll, New Robert, MI 45409

Phone: +2556892639372

Job: Investor Mining Engineer

Hobby: Sketching, Cosplaying, Glassblowing, Genealogy, Crocheting, Archery, Skateboarding

Introduction: My name is The Hon. Margery Christiansen, I am a bright, adorable, precious, inexpensive, gorgeous, comfortable, happy person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.