Review criteria
- +Per-serving cost from ingredient prices and yield
- +Target food-cost percentage and suggested price
- +Margin per dish
- +Works in Google Sheets and Excel
Recipe Cost Calculator in Food Service
The Recipe Cost Calculator is a copy-ready spreadsheet for food service that tracks ingredients, cost, yield, cost per serving, margin. It opens unchanged in both Google Sheets and Excel, needs no add-ons or macros, and takes about 15 minutes to set up.
Last updated: August 2026
Excel workbook · opens in Google Sheets · 3 tabs · no sign-up
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What’s inside “Recipe Cost Calculator”
Tabs: How to use · Ingredients · PricingFormat: Excel (.xlsx) · opens in Google SheetsSetup: About 15 minutesColumns: 6
Columns (grey = calculated for you)
- Ingredient
- Pack size
- Pack unit
- Pack cost
- Qty used
- Cost
- Open the Ingredients tab and replace the sample rows with your own — one row per entry. Formulas fill in automatically for new rows.
- Enter what you pay for each pack and what one batch uses, in the same unit. Servings is the yield after cooking.
- Most restaurants target 28 to 35% food cost; set Target margin to 1 minus that.
- Using Google Sheets? Upload the file to Google Drive, then open it with Google Sheets (or File → Import in an open sheet). Formulas, dropdowns and highlights carry over.
The file opens locally on your device — nothing is uploaded, and you own the copy outright.
Recipe Cost Calculator
About this template
It is built for people who want results without another subscription: cafes and small restaurants pricing a menu. The whole template is free to copy — there is no paid tier. Because it is a plain spreadsheet, you own your data outright and can shape every column to how you actually work.
Review evidence
What to verify before choosing Recipe Cost Calculator
Use the review criteria below to decide whether this template fits your workflow.
Often worth considering when
- +Cafes and small restaurants pricing a menu
- +Caterers and home-food businesses costing dishes
Pause before choosing when
- -Live supplier price feeds
- -Full kitchen-management software
About Food Service
Why people consider this option
- +Cost recipes and menus to protect your margins
- +Track food inventory and orders without restaurant software
- +Build staff shift schedules in one shared sheet
What to review before acting
- -No POS or supplier integration
- -Large operations need dedicated restaurant systems
Trust FAQ
Questions people ask before copying a template
Does the Recipe Cost Calculator work in both Google Sheets and Excel?
Yes. It is built with standard functions and no macros, so it opens and works the same in Google Sheets or Microsoft Excel — on desktop or your phone.
Is the Recipe Cost Calculator really free?
The core template is free to copy and use. There is no paid tier — download the Excel workbook, replace the sample rows with your own, and you are ready to work.
What does the Recipe Cost Calculator track?
It tracks ingredients, cost, yield, cost per serving, margin. The workbook comes with these columns plus the formulas, dropdowns and highlights already set up. Replace the sample rows and the totals update as you go.