Last updated: May 2026
Scale any recipe up or down instantly. Enter your ingredients one per line, set your target servings, and get clean cooking fractions — no decimals in sight.
Servings
Ingredients — one per line, e.g. "2 cups flour" or "1 tbsp olive oil"
Scale factor = Target servings ÷ Original servings. Every ingredient quantity is multiplied by this factor.
Clean fractions: When "Use cooking fractions" is on, decimal results are converted to the nearest standard cooking fraction (½, ⅓, ¼, ⅔, ¾, ⅛). For example, 1.5 cups becomes "1½ cups" and 0.25 tsp becomes "¼ tsp".
Important scaling notes: Leavening agents (baking powder, baking soda, yeast) don't always scale linearly — for very large batches, use slightly less than the calculated amount. Salt and strong spices scale conservatively. Cooking time increases for larger volumes but not proportionally — a doubled casserole typically needs only 20–30% more time, not double.
Supported formats: "2 cups flour", "1/2 tsp salt", "3 large eggs", "250g butter", "1 tablespoon oil"
The core math is simple: divide your target serving count by the original serving count to get a scale factor, then multiply every ingredient by that number. A recipe serving 4 that you want to serve 10 has a scale factor of 2.5 — so 2 cups of flour becomes 5 cups, 1 tsp of vanilla becomes 2.5 tsp, and so on. Most ingredients follow this linear rule perfectly.
The exception is leavening agents — baking powder, baking soda, and yeast. These work through chemical reactions that don't need to scale proportionally with volume. When doubling a cake, use about 75–80% of the calculated leavening amount rather than the full double. At triple or quadruple batches, cap leavening at 2.5× the original at most. Salt and strong spices (chili flakes, cayenne) are also worth scaling conservatively — add the calculated amount, then taste before going further. Everything else — flour, sugar, butter, dairy, eggs — scales directly without adjustment.
| Ingredient Type | Scaling Rule | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Flour, sugar, butter, dairy | Scale exactly (×factor) | Linear relationship with volume |
| Eggs (whole) | Round to nearest whole | Can't split an egg cleanly |
| Baking powder / baking soda | Use ~75–80% of calculated amount | Over-leavening causes collapse or bitter taste |
| Yeast | Scale exactly, then adjust rise time | More yeast = faster rise, not bigger loaf |
| Salt | Scale, then taste and adjust | Palate perception isn't linear |
| Strong spices (chili, cayenne) | Start at 60–70% of calculated | Heat compounds; easy to add, hard to fix |
| Vanilla, citrus zest | Scale exactly or slightly under | Flavor concentration holds well |
If I double a cake recipe, do I double the baking time?
No — baking time does not double when you double a recipe. If you're making two separate pans, each pan bakes for the same time as the original. If you're putting more batter into a larger pan, the center takes longer to set — typically 20–30% more time, not double. Always test doneness with a toothpick or cake tester rather than relying on time alone.
Why doesn't baking powder scale the same as flour?
Baking powder creates gas bubbles through a chemical reaction with moisture and heat. Too much leavening produces an excess of gas that the batter structure can't hold — the cake rises fast, then collapses, and the texture turns coarse or crumbly. The batter's structural ingredients (flour, eggs, fat) scale linearly, but the leavening reaction reaches a point of diminishing returns. For batches larger than 2×, cap baking powder at about 75–80% of the calculated scaling amount.
How do I scale a recipe down to just one serving?
Divide the original serving count into 1 — for a 4-serving recipe, the scale factor is 0.25. Most ingredients scale cleanly to fractions (¼ cup flour, 1 tbsp butter). Eggs are the hardest: a quarter of a large egg is about 1 tablespoon of beaten egg. For single-serving baked goods, leavening agents scale fine at small amounts since you're well within the linear range.
How do I convert a recipe from cups to grams when scaling?
Use a kitchen scale and a weight-per-cup reference (flour is roughly 120–130g per cup, sugar about 200g per cup, depending on how it's scooped). Scale your gram amounts first, then weigh directly — this is actually more accurate than measuring cups at any scale. The cooking measurement converter on this site has a full weight-per-cup table for common baking ingredients.
Does scaling affect cooking temperature?
Temperature stays the same regardless of batch size. A cookie bakes at 375°F whether you're making a dozen or six dozen — you're just running more trays through the oven. When scaling into a larger or deeper pan (like a double-batch casserole), keep the temperature the same but increase bake time and check the center for doneness. Thicker batters always need more time to heat through, even at the same temperature.