Free Excel template · Excel for restaurants

Free restaurant recipe costing template

For chefs and owners who want to know exactly what a plate costs and what it should sell for. List each ingredient with what you pay, the pack size and how much is usable after trimming. The template works out the cost per usable gram, each line cost, cost per portion with an allowance for oil and seasoning, food cost % at your current price and a menu price for your target.

cellwise-restaurant-recipe-costing.xlsxExcel workbook · 4.7 KB · works in Excel, Google Sheets, Numbers and LibreOffice · no signup

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This is the template's sheet, calculated by the same engine as the Cellwise app. Change any number to see the formulas react before you download.

	A	B	C	D	E	F	G	H
1	Recipe costing
2	Dish	Salmon poke bowl
3	Portions this recipe makes	1
4
5	Ingredient	Buy price	Buy quantity	Unit	Yield %	Cost per usable unit	Qty per recipe	Line cost
6	Salmon fillet	32	2000	g	0.85	0.018823529412	160	3.01
7	Sushi rice (dry)	24	10000	g	1	0.0024	110	0.26
8	Avocado	1.1	1	each	0.7	1.5714285714	0.5	0.79
9	Edamame, shelled	9.6	2000	g	1	0.0048	40	0.19
10	Cucumber	0.9	300	g	0.9	0.0033333333333	50	0.17
11	Seaweed salad	18	2000	g	1	0.009	40	0.36
12	Pickled ginger	7.5	1000	g	1	0.0075	15	0.11
13	Sesame dressing	14	2000	ml	1	0.007	45	0.32
14
15
16
17
18
19	Ingredients total							5.21
20	Extras allowance (oil, salt, garnish) %						0.05	0.26

How the formulas work

Cost per usable unit, after yield

F6=IF(B6="","",B6/C6/E6)

Price divided by pack size gives the cost per gram as bought. Dividing again by the yield % gives the cost per gram you can actually use. Salmon at $32 for 2 kg is 1.6 cents a gram, but with 85% usable after skin and pin bones, every usable gram costs 1.88 cents.

Line cost

H6=IF(B6="","",ROUND(G6*F6,2))

Quantity in the recipe times the cost per usable unit. Keep units consistent per row: if you buy in kilos, either enter the pack as 1,000 g or the recipe quantity in kilos.

Cost per plate

H21=ROUND((H19+H20)/B3,2)

Ingredients plus a small allowance for things that are hard to measure per plate (oil, salt, garnish), divided by the number of portions the recipe makes. For a batch recipe like soup, set B3 to the number of portions.

Menu price for your target food cost

H24=ROUND(H21/H23,2)

Plate cost divided by the target food cost %. H25 rounds it up to the next 50 cents. Compare it with the current price in H27: here a $5.47 bowl needs $18.23 at 30%, so the $18 price runs at 30.4%, just over target, and H25 suggests $18.50.

Make it yours

Update buy prices when supplier invoices change. A price rise on one protein can move the whole plate several points.
Measure your own yields by weighing before and after prep a few times. Published yield charts are a starting point, not your kitchen.
Make one copy of the sheet per dish (right-click the tab > Move or Copy > Create a copy) and name each tab after the dish.
Use the cost per plate from each recipe card as the Plate cost in your menu analysis so theoretical food cost stays accurate.

FAQ

How do I calculate the cost of a recipe in Excel?

For each ingredient, divide what you paid by the pack size (and by the yield % if there is trim), multiply by the quantity the recipe uses, and add up the lines. Divide the total by the number of portions to get cost per plate.

What is yield % in recipe costing?

The share of what you buy that ends up on the plate after trimming, peeling, boning or cooking loss. If 1 kg of salmon gives 850 g of usable fillet, the yield is 85%, and the real cost per usable gram is the price divided by 0.85.

How do I set a menu price from food cost?

Divide the plate cost by your target food cost %: a $5.32 plate at a 30% target needs $17.73. Then round to a menu-friendly price and check it against what nearby restaurants charge for similar dishes.

Functions used

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Updated November 2, 2026