Recipe Scaler
Scale recipe ingredients up or down
Everything is multiplied by 1.5.
About Recipe Scaler
Scales a recipe's ingredient quantities up or down to match a different number of servings, so you don't have to do the multiplication or division by hand for every ingredient. It understands fractions (1/2, 1 1/2, ½), ranges (2-3) and package sizes such as 1 (14 oz) can.
Enter your ingredients and their original quantities, set the original and target serving counts, and every quantity recalculates automatically. Only the amount at the start of each line is scaled, so sizes in brackets stay as they are.
Small cup and litre amounts are shown as tbsp + tsp or ml. Scaling works cleanly for most ingredients, but things like baking times, pan sizes, and spice levels don't always scale linearly — treat the scaled quantities as a strong starting point, not an exact guarantee for baked goods specifically.
Watch: Recipe Scaler in Action
- Does scaling work well for baked goods specifically?
- Scaling works cleanly for most ingredients, but things like baking times, pan sizes, and spice levels don't always scale linearly. Treat the scaled quantities as a strong starting point, not an exact guarantee, especially for baked goods.
- What number formats can it read?
- Whole numbers, decimals with a point or comma, fractions like 1/2, mixed numbers like 1 1/2, and single fraction characters for half or one and a half. Ranges such as 2-3 or 2 to 3 are scaled at both ends. A dash, asterisk or bullet before the amount is fine.
- Why did a bracketed amount not change?
- Only the first quantity at the start of each line is scaled. In 1 (14 oz) can tomatoes, the 1 is multiplied but 14 oz stays, since it describes the can size. Doubled, the line reads 2 (14 oz) cans tomatoes.
- How are the new amounts rounded?
- For cups, spoons and plain counts, results snap to kitchen fractions such as a quarter, a third or three quarters when within about 1/32 of one; otherwise they show up to two decimals. Lines using g, kg, mg, ml, l, dl, cl, oz or lb are shown as decimals rounded to two places.
- What if scaling gives part of an egg?
- An egg line with a fractional result gets a note under it: beat one egg and use the right share, or round. The tool does not decide for you, because rounding changes texture in a cake far more than in a stew.
- Can it adjust seasoning or baking time?
- No. It multiplies amounts by one factor and leaves times, temperatures and pan sizes alone. Salt, spices and raising agents often need less than a straight multiple at large scale, so adjust them by taste or from a tested recipe.
How to use Recipe Scaler
Paste or type ingredients into Recipe Ingredients (one per line), with the quantity at the start of each line. A sample is loaded: 2 cups flour, 1 cup sugar and so on. Enter the Original Servings the recipe was written for and the New Servings you want; the scaled list on the right updates at once and a note shows the multiplier used. The x0.5, x2 and x3 buttons fill New Servings from the original for you.
Under Scaled Recipe, read each line, then press Copy to take the plain text. Lines that start without a number, such as salt to taste or a heading, are shown as typed. Where a scaled egg count is fractional, a small note suggests how to handle it.
When to use it
Turn a four-serving recipe into a dinner for ten, halve a baking recipe for one, or convert a card written for a family into meal-prep portions. It also helps cooks who dislike mixed fractions, because 1 1/2 cups scaled by 2.5 comes out as a tidy 3 3/4 cups with no mental arithmetic.
When not to use it
Be careful with baking, where rising agents, pan size and oven time do not move in step with the batch. Doubling a cake does not mean doubling the baking time, and tripling a dough may need a bigger bowl and longer kneading. For canning, preserving or any food safety process, follow a tested recipe written for that exact batch size instead of scaling.
Tips for best results
Write quantities at the very start of the line, since the tool reads only the first number or range; put a size such as (14 oz) in brackets after it and that figure stays unchanged. After a big scale-up, add roughly half of the scaled salt and spice first, then taste. Check the pan too: a doubled batch needs about double the area, not just a deeper pan.
Limitations
Only the first quantity on a line is multiplied. Amounts in the middle, such as juice of 2 lemons, are not changed, and words like one or a dozen are not read as numbers. Units are not converted between cups, grams or ounces. Cooking times, temperatures and pan sizes are never touched. Plural fixes cover a short list of units such as cup, can, clove, slice and egg.
Privacy
Ingredient lines and serving numbers are processed by your browser as you type, so your recipe is not uploaded and is not stored after you close the tab. The site may record one use per visit once you interact with the tool, with a device identifier but not the recipe text. Copy places the scaled list on your clipboard only.
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