Recipe Scaler and Ingredient Converter
Paste your ingredient list, choose a factor, a new serving count or a different pan, and get a clean scaled list you can copy. Optionally turn cups into grams.
Recipe scaler
What the scaler understands
- Quantities: whole numbers, decimals, fractions (
1/2), mixed numbers (2 1/4,1-1/2), Unicode fractions (1½,¾) and ranges (1-2 tbsp,2 to 3 cups). - Units: cups, tablespoons, teaspoons, ounces, fluid ounces, pounds, grams, kilograms, milliliters, liters and sticks of butter. Anything else, such as “3 eggs” or “2 large onions”, is scaled as a count.
- Tidy results: 3 teaspoons becomes 1 tablespoon, 4 tablespoons becomes ¼ cup, and ⅛ cup becomes 2 tablespoons.
- Grams on request: tick “Convert volumes to grams” and any line that names one of the 67 ingredients in our data is converted with its published density. Lines it does not recognize stay in cups and get a note.
Scaling a recipe by servings, factor or pan size
By factor. Multiply every quantity by the same number. Halving is 0.5 and doubling is 2. This is the right choice when you simply want more or less of the same dish.
By servings. Enter what the recipe makes and what you need. The factor is the ratio, so 12 servings to 18 is ×1.5.
By pan size. Pans are compared by area, not by width. A 9″ round is 63.62 sq in and an 8″ round is 50.27 sq in, so moving from 9″ to 8″ means ×0.79, not ×0.889. Keep the batter depth about the same and the bake will behave.
| Pan | Area (sq in) | Factor vs 9" round | Factor vs 8" square |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6" round | 28.27 | 0.444 | 0.442 |
| 8" round | 50.27 | 0.79 | 0.785 |
| 9" round | 63.62 | 1 | 0.994 |
| 10" round | 78.54 | 1.23 | 1.23 |
| 8" square | 64 | 1.01 | 1 |
| 9" square | 81 | 1.27 | 1.27 |
| 11 x 7" pan | 77 | 1.21 | 1.2 |
| 13 x 9" pan | 117 | 1.84 | 1.83 |
| 15 x 10" jelly roll | 150 | 2.36 | 2.34 |
| 9 x 5" loaf | 45 | 0.707 | 0.703 |
Worked example: a 9 x 13 recipe in an 8-inch square pan
- Areas: 13 × 9 = 117 sq in, and 8 × 8 = 64 sq in.
- Factor: 64 ÷ 117 = 0.547, close to a little over half.
- Apply it: 2 ΒΌ cups flour × 0.547 = 1.23 cups, about about 1 cup + 3 tbsp + 2 tsp. Three eggs become 1.64, so use 2 and shave a little off the liquid, or use 1 whole egg plus a yolk.
- Bake time: expect the smaller, deeper bake to need a similar or slightly longer time, so start checking at the original time and rely on a toothpick, not the clock.
What does not scale in a straight line
- Eggs. You cannot add half an egg. Beat one egg and use roughly half by volume, or round to the nearest whole egg and adjust the liquid. The scaler flags these lines.
- Salt, spices and leaveners. Doubling baking powder or soda in a recipe can leave a metallic or soapy taste and a collapsed crumb. When scaling past 2× or below ½, start slightly under the straight-line amount. Yeast needs less than proportional for big batches, since more dough ferments more energetically.
- Time and temperature. A bigger batch in the same pan bakes longer at the same temperature; a thinner layer bakes faster. Watch for doneness cues.
- Mixing and equipment. A tripled cookie dough may not fit a home mixer, and a deep pan can leave the middle underdone.
Weighing makes scaling more accurate, because fractions of a cup are hard to measure. Switch on grams, scale, and measure on a scale. The grams to cups converter shows the source for each weight.
Related tools
Frequently asked questions
How do I halve a recipe that uses 1 egg?
Beat the egg, then measure out half by weight or volume. Alternatively use one egg yolk or white if the recipe is mostly richness or mostly structure, though a whole-egg approximation is usually fine.
How do I scale a recipe for a different pan?
Compare the pan areas. Moving from a 13 x 9 inch pan (117 sq in) to an 8 inch square (64 sq in) means multiplying by 0.547. The scaler does the area math for round, square and rectangular pans.
Do I multiply baking powder and salt by the same factor?
Mostly, but check results. For factors above 2 or below one half, start a little under the straight-line amount and adjust next time.
Can I paste a recipe from another site?
Yes. Paste the ingredient list with one ingredient per line. Lines without a leading quantity, such as headings, are copied unchanged.
Why does the scaler change 4 tablespoons into 1/4 cup?
Tidy units are easier to measure. Switch on the grams option if you prefer weighing, and the unit change does not matter.