What It Means
Recipe scaling is adjusting a recipe so it makes more or less than written. You find the conversion factor by dividing the yield you want by the yield the recipe gives, then multiply every ingredient by that one number. A factor of 2 doubles the recipe and 0.5 halves it. Cooking changes that come with a new batch size, like pan size and baking time, are worked out separately.
Try It: Scale a Recipe Up or Down
Enter what the recipe makes and what you need, then its amounts. The example is a cookie dough in cups.
Scaling up. Check that the bigger batch fits your pan, or bake it in rounds.
Scaling down. King Arthur Baking's advice for a smaller batch: pick a smaller pan and watch the baking time.
Same size as written.
How It Sounds at Home
- "Can you halve that recipe for just the two of us?"
- "Double the batch, we've got company."
- "It serves four and we're feeding ten."
The Breakdown
The formula
Conversion factor = the yield you want ÷ the yield the recipe makes. Multiply each ingredient by the factor.
Worked example. A cookie recipe makes 24 cookies and you need 36. These are example amounts.
| Ingredient | Recipe amount | × 1.5 | New amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flour | 2 cups | × 1.5 | 3 cups |
| Butter | 1 cup | × 1.5 | 1½ cups |
| Sugar | ½ cup | × 1.5 | ¾ cup |
36 ÷ 24 = 1.5, so every ingredient goes up by half again.
What the result means. A factor above 1 makes more, and below 1 makes less. UNL's example doubles a 3-dozen cookie recipe with a factor of 2. King Arthur Baking's example goes the other way: half a 9 by 13 inch pan of brownies, baked in an 8-inch square pan, which is a factor of 0.5.
When the pan changes too. The ingredient math is the easy part. A smaller batch also needs a pan that suits it and a fresh look at the baking time, as King Arthur Baking points out when it walks through reducing a recipe.
Good to Know
Use the same unit for the old and new yield: servings with servings, cookies with cookies. When a scaled amount comes out awkward, like 0.75 of an egg, write it down before you start so you can decide how to handle it instead of guessing at the counter. Check the pan and the timing each time you change the size of a baked recipe.
FAQ
How do you calculate a recipe conversion factor?
Divide the yield you want by the yield the recipe makes. If a recipe makes 24 and you want 36, the factor is 1.5, and you multiply every ingredient by 1.5.
How do you cut a recipe in half?
Multiply every ingredient by 0.5. King Arthur Baking's example halves a 9 by 13 inch pan of brownies and bakes it in an 8-inch square pan, since a smaller batch needs a smaller pan.
Can you just double every ingredient in a recipe?
The ingredient math is doubling everything, which is a conversion factor of 2, as in UNL's 3-dozen cookie example. Before you bake, check the pan size and baking time, which King Arthur Baking flags when a recipe changes size.
Do It in Buhata
Meals, Shopping
Plan the scaled recipe for its day in Meals in Buhata, then add the new amounts to the Shopping list.
Open BuhataRelated Terms and Categories
- Ingredient substitutions
Replacing an ingredient you don't have with another in a measured amount, such as all-purpose flour and cornstarch in place of cake flour.
Sources
Nebraska Food Science Hub (University of Nebraska-Lincoln), "Understanding Yield in Cooking: A Beginner's Guide"; UNL Food (University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension), "Reducing the Size of Recipes"; King Arthur Baking, "How to reduce a recipe"
- fbstnebraska.unl.edu/what-is-yield-for-cooking
- food.unl.edu/article/reducing-size-recipes
- www.kingarthurbaking.com/blog/2020/11/23/how-to-reduce-a-recipe
Last updated .