Food Cost Calculator & Menu Pricing Tool
Cost a recipe ingredient by ingredient, convert pack sizes automatically (lb, oz, g, qt, fl oz), apply trim and cooking yield, and get the menu price that hits your target food cost %. Download the result as a free Excel sheet.
Recipe Portion Inputs
Enter the pack you buy (e.g. $5.49 per 1 lb) and the amount the recipe uses (e.g. 6 oz). Units convert automatically; yield % covers trim and cooking loss.
Spillage, over-portioning, comps (typically 2-5%).
Hospitality standard: 28% – 32%.
What guests currently pay on the menu board.
Free, no signup. Your ingredients with live formulas you can keep editing.
Recipe Costing & BCG Menu Engineering Workbook
Ingredient cost per unit with prep yield, recipe plate costing with suggested prices, a printable recipe cost sheet, and a BCG menu matrix.
How to Calculate Food Cost and Menu Price (Step by Step)
- Find the unit cost of each ingredient. Divide the invoice price by the pack size: ground chuck at $5.49 per lb is $0.343 per oz.
- Adjust for yield. Divide by the usable share after trimming and cooking. A burger patty that keeps 75% of its raw weight really costs $0.343 ÷ 0.75 = $0.458 per cooked oz.
- Multiply by the amount used and add every line. 6 oz of beef ($2.75) + bun ($0.62) + cheese ($0.44) + vegetables ($0.37) + sauce ($0.14) + fries ($0.40) = $4.71 plate cost.
- Divide by your target food cost %. Menu price = plate cost ÷ target. $4.85 (with 3% kitchen waste) ÷ 0.28 = $17.33, so a $17.99 price keeps food cost under 28%.
- Check the current price. Food cost % = plate cost ÷ menu price × 100. At $24 the burger runs at 20.2%; at $15 it would run at 32.4% and lose margin.
Need the Excel version of these formulas? See the menu price & food cost % formula explained.
Standard Restaurant Food Cost % Benchmarks
High carbohydrate base, low dough ingredient costs.
Industry standard for balanced menu profitability.
Higher prime protein costs balanced by high dollar profit.
High beverage margins subsidize kitchen food costs.
Frequently Asked Questions: Food Cost & Menu Pricing
How do I calculate food cost percentage in Excel?
To calculate food cost percentage for an individual plate or recipe in Excel, use the formula:= (Portion_Cost * (1 + Shrinkage_Pct)) / Selling_PriceFormat the cell as a percentage. For period-level kitchen food cost (e.g. monthly P&L), use the standard inventory accounting equation:= (Beginning_Inventory + Food_Purchases - Ending_Inventory) / Total_Food_Sales
Why is prep waste and shrinkage factor critical for pricing?
Purchased food is rarely 100% usable. For instance, whole onions lose ~10% upon peeling, beef tenderloins lose ~20% during butchering and fat trimming, and cooked patties lose ~15% through moisture evaporation. If you only price based on raw as-purchased weight without applying yield shrinkage, your actual food cost percentage will be 3% to 6% higher than budgeted.
What is Menu Engineering and the BCG Matrix?
Menu engineering classifies every item on your menu into four categories based on profitability (contribution margin) and popularity (sales volume):
The exact Excel formula behind this calculator, token by token, with common errors and fixes.
Free for your blog, course or client site.