How to calculate the cost per serving of a meal

Short answer: add up the cost of the ingredients used in the recipe, not of the whole package, and divide by the number of servings. The result is the cost per serving, which helps compare dishes, plan the month and decide where to save.

Prerequisites

• The recipe with the quantities used.
• The price and weight or volume of the packages you buy.
• A calculator or spreadsheet.

Steps

1. List the ingredients and quantities actually used in the recipe.
2. Find the price per unit of measure. Divide the package price by its weight or volume. If a 1 kg pack costs $8, a gram costs $0.008.
3. Multiply the unit price by the quantity used, for each ingredient.
4. Add up the costs of all the ingredients.
5. Include small items, such as oil, salt and seasonings, with a reasonable estimate.
6. Divide by the number of servings. The result is the cost per serving.
7. Consider energy, such as gas or electricity, if you want a more complete calculation.

An example

A pot of rice and beans for four servings uses 300 g of rice ($2.40), 200 g of beans ($1.80), one onion ($0.80), olive oil and seasonings ($1.00). The total is $6.00, and the cost per serving is $1.50. Prices are illustrative and vary by place and season.

Common mistakes

• Counting the whole package, when only part was used.
• Forgetting seasonings and oil.
• Ignoring losses, such as peels and trimmings, which lower the yield.
• Comparing servings of different sizes.

For dishes you repeat often, keep the result in a spreadsheet. When the price of an ingredient changes, you only update the value and the cost per serving updates too. This quickly shows which dishes weigh most on the budget and where swapping an ingredient helps most.

Next step

Calculate the cost per serving of three dishes you make often and compare them. Then use the portion calculator to adjust quantities for the number of people and see how the cost changes.