Recipe Scaler
Scale any recipe up or down instantly. Multiply ingredients for a crowd or halve them for one. Free recipe scaler with live results. No login required.
Quick Start Recipe
Common Multipliers
Click any row to apply that multiplier.
How to use this tool
Set original and target servings
Enter how many portions your recipe makes originally, and how many you need. The multiplier updates instantly.
Add your ingredients
Enter each ingredient name, amount, and unit. Or use a quick-start recipe (Victoria Sponge, Cookies, Bread, Pancakes) to pre-fill a sample.
Read scaled amounts
Each ingredient shows its scaled amount inline. Fractional amounts like ½ and ¾ are displayed as fractions for easy measuring.
Use common multipliers
Click the reference table at the bottom to quickly set ½×, 2×, 3×, or 4× multipliers.
Tips
Leavening agents (baking powder, bicarbonate of soda) don't always need to scale fully. For ×3 or more, try 75% of the calculated amount.
Tin sizes matter in baking. Doubling a recipe doesn't mean the same baking time — use a wider tin or two tins and check for doneness.
Strong flavours (chilli, garlic, salt) often don't need to scale fully. Start with 80% of the calculated amount and adjust to taste.
For spices and seasonings, start conservative. It's easier to add more seasoning at the end than to fix an over-seasoned dish.
About this recipe scaler tool
Recipe scaling is the process of adjusting ingredient quantities to serve a different number of people. Whether halving a recipe for a quick weeknight dinner or multiplying it by six for a celebration, the mathematics is straightforward: divide each ingredient by the original servings and multiply by the target servings.
Most ingredients scale perfectly linearly — 200g of flour for 8 serves becomes 400g for 16. But certain ingredients require more care. Leavening agents like baking powder and bicarbonate of soda do not always need to be fully doubled for very large batches, as too much can cause cakes to rise unevenly and then collapse. A general rule is to scale them by 75–80% when multiplying a recipe by three or more.
Cooking time is another consideration that does not scale linearly. A doubled recipe in the same sized tin will be thicker and need longer — but adding more trays to the oven at the same time barely affects cooking time at all. Use a meat thermometer or cake skewer to determine doneness rather than relying purely on recipe timing.
Strong seasonings — chilli, garlic, ginger, salt — often benefit from conservative scaling. A recipe scaled ×4 does not necessarily need ×4 as much chilli. Season progressively and taste as you go, especially when cooking large batches for groups with varying spice tolerances.
Frequently asked questions
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