Recipe Scaler
Paste a recipe and scale every ingredient by servings, pan size or a multiplier, with measurable fractions like 1⅛ cups and tablespoons where they read better.
The interactive tool loads here when JavaScript runs.
About this toolWhat is the Recipe Scaler?
Paste an ingredient list, one item per line, and the Recipe Scaler rewrites every quantity for the amount you want to make. Choose how to scale: by servings (a recipe for 4 made for 6 is x1.5), by pan size (an 8 inch round to a 9 by 13 inch tray is x2.33), by a multiplier you type, or by the one ingredient you are short of ("I have 150 g of butter and the recipe needs 225 g").
Results come out in amounts you can actually measure. 3/4 cup x 1.5 becomes 1⅛ cups, 1/3 cup halved becomes 2 tbsp + 2 tsp, 12 oz x 1.5 becomes 1 lb 2 oz, and 750 g doubled becomes 1.5 kg. Ranges stay ranges ("2-3 tbsp" becomes "3 to 4½ tbsp"), and lines with no amount, such as "salt to taste", are left alone.
Copy the scaled list or download it as a text file. The recipe never leaves your browser, and a share link keeps your scaling settings.
- Scale by servings, pan size, a multiplier or an ingredient you have
- Reads fractions, mixed numbers, ranges, decimals and ½-style characters
- Kitchen-friendly rounding with optional cup, tbsp, tsp, lb and kg tidying
- Copy or download the scaled recipe as text
- Runs in your browser; your recipe is never uploaded
How to use the Recipe Scaler
- Paste your ingredient list into the box, one ingredient per line. Bullets and blank lines are fine.
- Choose Servings, Pan size, Multiply or What I have, and fill in the numbers.
- Leave tidy units on to get tablespoons instead of 0.19 cups, and choose fraction characters or plain 1/2 style.
- Read the scaled list on the right. The grey line under each item shows what it was.
- Copy or download the result, and read any notes, such as a fractional egg.
Worked examples
Pancakes for 6 instead of 4
Input
2 cups flour, 2 tbsp sugar, 2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt, 2 large eggs, 1 3/4 cups buttermilk, 3 tbsp butter; x1.5
Output
3 cups flour, 3 tbsp sugar, 1 tbsp baking powder, ¾ tsp salt, 3 large eggs, 2⅝ cups buttermilk, 4½ tbsp butter
3 teaspoons of baking powder is shown as 1 tablespoon because that is one scoop instead of three.
Halving awkward amounts
Input
3/4 cup sugar, 1/3 cup oil, 1 tbsp vanilla; x0.5
Output
6 tbsp sugar, 2 tbsp + 2 tsp oil, 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
Half of 1/3 cup is 1/6 cup, which no cup measures; 8 teaspoons as 2 tablespoons and 2 teaspoons can be measured exactly.
Changing pans
Input
8 inch round cake to a 9 x 13 inch pan
Output
Factor x2.33 (117 / 50.27 square inches)
A 9 x 13 tray holds a little more than two 8 inch rounds, so roughly 2⅓ times the batter keeps the same depth.
Background and insight
The parser reads the amount at the start of each line in the forms recipes use: whole numbers, decimals (including "1,5" with a decimal comma), fractions like 3/4, mixed numbers like 1 1/2 or 1-1/2, and the fraction characters ½, ⅓, ¼, ⅛ and friends. It then looks for a unit it knows: cups, tablespoons (tbsp, tbs, capital T), teaspoons (tsp, small t), fluid ounces, pints, quarts and gallons; ounces and pounds; grams, kilograms, millilitres, centilitres, decilitres and litres; plus pinches, dashes and count words like cloves, cans and sticks.
Scaled US volumes are rounded to the fractions on real measuring cups and spoons: eighths and thirds of a cup, halves of a tablespoon, and eighths of a teaspoon. With tidy units on, the tool also changes unit when that is easier to measure, using the US customary relations 1 cup = 16 tablespoons = 48 teaspoons and 1 tablespoon = 3 teaspoons: under half a cup it uses tablespoons (unless the amount is exactly a quarter or third cup), under a tablespoon teaspoons, and 16 ounces or more becomes pounds and ounces. Metric weights and volumes are rounded sensibly (to 0.1 below 10, to whole units below 100, and to the nearest 5 above that).
Pan scaling compares base areas, so it assumes the batter stays the same depth. A round pan's area is π x d² / 4: an 8 inch round is about 50.3 square inches, a 9 inch round about 63.6, and a 9 by 13 inch pan 117. A 9 inch square (81 square inches) is close to a 9 inch round x 1.27, which is why recipes often swap them with a little adjustment.
Common use cases
Cooking for a crowd
Turn a family recipe for four into dinner for twelve without doing fraction arithmetic in the kitchen.
Cooking for one or two
Halve or third a recipe and get measurable amounts instead of 0.17 cups.
Using the pan you own
Adapt a cake or brownie recipe written for a different size or shape of tin.
Working around a shortage
Scale the whole recipe to the one ingredient you have less of, so the proportions stay right.
Tips and limitations
- Baking times do not scale with quantity. Keep the batter depth the same and start checking early; deeper batter needs longer at a slightly lower temperature.
- Season and leaven with care when multiplying by three or more. Add salt and spices gradually and taste.
- For large factors in baking, weigh dry ingredients instead of using cups, since a scooped cup of flour varies a lot.
- The scaler multiplies the first amount on each line. An amount buried in the middle ("flour, 200 g") is left as written.
Frequently asked questions
How do I scale a recipe from 4 servings to 6?
Divide the servings you want by the servings the recipe makes: 6 / 4 = 1.5. Multiply every ingredient by 1.5. The Servings mode does this and rounds each amount to a measurable fraction.
What is half of 3/4 cup?
3/8 cup, which is 6 tablespoons. Few cup sets include a 3/8 cup, so with tidy units on the scaler shows 6 tbsp; a quarter cup plus 2 tablespoons is the same amount.
How much batter do I need to switch from an 8 inch round to a 9 by 13 pan?
About 2.33 times as much. An 8 inch round has an area of about 50.3 square inches and a 9 by 13 pan has 117, and 117 / 50.3 is 2.33. Pan mode calculates this for round, square and rectangular pans.
How do I handle half an egg when scaling?
Beat a whole egg and use half of it by weight. A large egg is roughly 50 g out of the shell, so half is about 25 g. The scaler flags any count that is not a whole number.
Should baking time change when I double a recipe?
Not if you use two pans or a pan with twice the area, because the batter is the same depth. If the batter ends up deeper, bake longer at a slightly lower temperature and test for doneness.
Does the recipe scaler convert cups to grams?
No. It keeps each ingredient in its own unit system and only moves between units of the same kind, such as tablespoons to cups or grams to kilograms. Converting cups of flour to grams needs the ingredient's density; use the Cooking Converter for that.
Can I paste a whole recipe including the method?
Yes. Lines that do not start with a quantity are kept unchanged, but method steps that start with a number, such as "2 minutes", would be scaled, so it is cleaner to paste just the ingredients.
Is there an in-depth guide to the Recipe Scaler?
Yes. “How to Scale a Recipe Up or Down Without Ruining It” covers the background, how it works, common pitfalls and worked examples. Read the full guide.
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