Business
Restaurant food cost calculator
Pricing a menu item starts with knowing what it costs to make. Enter the total ingredient cost for a batch, the number of portions it produces, and the menu price per item. CalcForged shows your cost per serving, food cost percentage, and gross margin per item instantly. Use it for recipe costing, menu engineering, catering packages, or a quick check before a price change. The result covers ingredients only, so keep labor, rent, packaging, and other operating costs in your broader margin model.
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Restaurant Food Cost Calculator
See your cost per portion, food cost percentage, and gross margin at a glance.
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Digital portion scaleThe percentage is only as good as the weighing behind it.Paid link · Check current price ↗As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.The math, plainly
How it works
- 01
Divide total ingredient cost by the number of portions to get cost per serving.
- 02
Divide cost per serving by menu price to get food cost percentage.
- 03
Gross margin per item is menu price minus ingredient cost per serving; it does not include labor, rent, packaging, or overhead.
Try a real scenario
10-portion recipe
Inputs$42 ingredient cost, 10 portions, $16 menu price
Result$4.20 cost per serving, 26.3% food cost, and $11.80 gross margin.
More from Amazon
More options for this calculator
Recipe costing template (paid link)
Blank costing sheets to run every menu item through the same math.
Portion-control scoop set (paid link)
Use consistent scoop sizes when portioning menu items.
Food storage labels (paid link)
Label prepared ingredients and containers in the kitchen.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.