Recipe Costing Sheet: Formula, Worked Example and Excel Template
Direct answer: A recipe costing sheet lists every ingredient in a dish, its quantity, its purchase price and its usable yield, then adds them up to find the exact cost of one plate. The core formula is: Plate cost = total recipe cost ÷ number of portions, and Food cost % = plate cost ÷ selling price × 100. Once you know plate cost, you can set menu prices that actually make a profit.
This guide shows Pakistani restaurant owners, chefs and managers how to build one — with a desi example, not a Western one.
What is recipe costing and why does it matter?
Recipe costing means calculating exactly how much one portion of a dish costs you to make. Many restaurants in Pakistan price by guesswork or by copying the shop next door. When chicken, oil or ghee prices go up, they don’t notice their margin disappearing until the month-end cash doesn’t add up.
A costing sheet helps you:
- Set selling prices based on real cost.
- Notice immediately when ingredient prices change.
- Fix portion sizes so every cook serves the same plate.
- Catch waste or theft — see our guide on how a chef can hide food cost.
What is the recipe costing formula?
How do I calculate the cost of one ingredient?
Ingredient cost = (quantity used ÷ purchase unit) × purchase price
Example: you buy cooking oil in a 5-litre tin and use 250 ml in a recipe.
Ingredient cost = (0.25 ÷ 5) × tin price.
How do I calculate plate cost?
Plate cost = sum of all ingredient costs ÷ number of portions
How do I calculate food cost percentage?
Food cost % = (plate cost ÷ selling price) × 100
How do I find a selling price from a target food cost?
Selling price = plate cost ÷ target food cost %
If your plate cost is Rs X and you want food cost to be 30%, selling price = X ÷ 0.30. The right target depends on your concept, rent and labour, so decide it from your own monthly numbers. There is no official “correct” food cost % for Pakistan.
What is yield and why does it change my cost?
Yield is the part of an ingredient you can actually use after cleaning, trimming, deboning or cooking. You pay for the whole kilo, but you don’t serve the whole kilo.
Usable cost per kg = purchase price per kg ÷ yield %
Examples of where yield matters in desi kitchens:
- Chicken: skin, fat and bones removed for boneless dishes.
- Mutton/beef: fat and bone trimming.
- Onions, garlic, ginger: peeling losses.
- Fresh coriander and mint: stems and wilted leaves.
- Oil for frying: absorbed and discarded oil.
How do I measure yield in my own kitchen?
Do a simple test. Weigh 1 kg as purchased, clean/trim it as your cook normally does, and weigh what’s left. If 1 kg chicken gives 700 g usable meat, yield is 70%. Repeat a few times and use the average. Your yield is specific to your supplier and your cook, so don’t copy someone else’s figure.
Can you show a worked recipe costing example?
Below is a sample costing for a chicken karahi batch. All prices are placeholders for illustration only — replace them with your own supplier rates from this week.
| Ingredient | Qty used | Purchase unit | Unit price (Rs) | Yield % | Cost (Rs) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken (with bone) | 1 kg | 1 kg | A | 100% | A |
| Tomatoes | 500 g | 1 kg | B | 90% | (0.5 ÷ 0.9) × B |
| Cooking oil | 150 ml | 1 L | C | 100% | 0.15 × C |
| Ginger & garlic | 60 g | 1 kg | D | 85% | (0.06 ÷ 0.85) × D |
| Green chillies | 40 g | 1 kg | E | 95% | (0.04 ÷ 0.95) × E |
| Spices (salt, chilli, black pepper, etc.) | — | per batch | F | — | F |
| Fresh coriander | 1 bunch | per bunch | G | 70% | G |
| Gas/fuel allowance (optional) | — | per batch | H | — | H |
| Total batch cost | Sum | ||||
| Portions per batch | e.g. 4 | ||||
| Plate cost | Sum ÷ 4 |
Then add items served with the dish if they are included in the price: naan/roti, raita, salad, packaging for takeaway.
Should I include gas, packaging and side items?
Yes, if they are part of the price. Many owners forget roti, raita, salad, chutney, tissue and takeaway boxes. On a busy night these small items add up quickly. Gas and electricity can be included as a per-batch allowance or kept in overheads — just be consistent.
How do I build a recipe costing sheet in Excel?
You can build it in Excel or Google Sheets in about 30 minutes.
What columns should the sheet have?
Sheet 1 – Ingredient price list
| Ingredient | Purchase unit | Price (Rs) | Supplier | Date updated | Yield % | Usable cost per unit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Formula for usable cost per unit: =C2/F2 (price ÷ yield, with yield as a decimal).
Sheet 2 – One tab per recipe
| Ingredient | Qty | Unit | Usable cost per unit | Line cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
- Use
VLOOKUPorXLOOKUPto pull the usable cost from Sheet 1. - Line cost:
=Qty × usable cost per unit(convert grams to kg). - Total:
=SUM(line costs) - Plate cost:
=Total ÷ portions - Food cost %:
=Plate cost ÷ selling price - Suggested price:
=Plate cost ÷ target %
Sheet 3 – Menu summary
| Dish | Plate cost | Selling price | Food cost % | Gross profit per plate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Sort by food cost % to see which dishes need attention.
How often should I update ingredient prices?
Update the price list whenever you get a new supplier bill for key items — chicken, meat, oil, ghee, flour, rice, dairy. In Pakistan these move often, so a weekly update is a good habit. Because every recipe pulls from Sheet 1, all plate costs update automatically.
What is the difference between recipe costing and menu costing?
- Recipe costing = the cost of one dish.
- Menu costing = looking at all dishes together: which ones make the most profit, which sell most, and how to price the menu as a whole.
You need recipe costing first. Menu pricing strategy (combos, deals, placement) comes after. See our upcoming menu pricing formula guide.
Is there recipe costing software for Pakistani restaurants?
Some POS and inventory systems include recipe costing, linking each sale to the ingredients used. That helps bigger restaurants. For a small dhaba or café, a well-built spreadsheet is usually enough to start. Whatever you use, the numbers are only as good as the prices and yields you enter.
What common recipe costing mistakes should I avoid?
- Ignoring yield — costing chicken at purchase price instead of usable price.
- Old prices — using last month’s oil price.
- No standard recipe — every cook uses a different amount, so the sheet is fiction.
- Forgetting extras — roti, raita, packaging.
- Not weighing — “one ladle” or “andaza” isn’t a measurement. Buy a kitchen scale.
- Setting it and forgetting it — review the menu summary every month.
How do I make cooks follow the costed recipe?
Print a recipe card for each dish with exact weights and a photo of the finished plate. Train the team on it (our staff training manual helps), and check portions during service. Compare actual stock used with what the sales say you should have used.
FAQ
What is a recipe costing sheet?
A table that lists each ingredient in a dish with its quantity, price and yield to calculate the cost of one portion.
What is the formula for recipe costing?
Plate cost = total ingredient cost ÷ portions. Food cost % = plate cost ÷ selling price × 100. Selling price = plate cost ÷ target food cost %.
What is a good food cost percentage?
It depends on your concept, rent and labour. Decide your target from your own monthly profit and loss; there is no official Pakistani benchmark.
How do I include yield in recipe costing?
Divide the purchase price by the yield percentage to get the usable cost per kg, then use that in your recipe.
Can I do recipe costing in Excel?
Yes. Use one sheet for ingredient prices and yields, one tab per recipe with lookup formulas, and a summary sheet for the whole menu.
How often should I update my costing sheet?
Whenever key ingredient prices change — weekly is a practical habit for Pakistani markets.
Sources
- No fee, tax or legal figures are used in this article. Formulas are standard arithmetic; all prices in the example are placeholders to be replaced with the reader’s own supplier rates.
- For restaurant tax on menu prices, verify with: https://fbr.gov.pk and https://pra.punjab.gov.pk (sales tax rate on restaurant services: [needs verification – check the official source]).
Last checked: 5 November 2026 (PKT).
