Recipe Scaler
Halve, double, or resize any recipe by servings or a direct multiplier.
Round cooking-friendly amounts to common fractions (¼, ⅓, ½, ¾), or show plain decimals.
6 ÷ 4 servings = 1.5× — every quantity is multiplied by 1.5.
3 cups all-purpose flour 2¼ tsp baking powder 4½ eggs ¾ cup sugar 1½ tsp vanilla extract 1⅛ cup milk a pinch of salt
Lines without a leading number (like “a pinch of salt”) pass through unchanged.
To scale a recipe, multiply every ingredient by a factor of desired ÷ original servings. Doubling a 4-serving recipe to 8 gives a factor of 2, so 2 cups flour becomes 4 cups and 1½ tsp salt becomes 3 tsp. Units and ingredient names stay the same — only the amounts change.
Resizing a recipe up or down
Scaling keeps a recipe’s proportions while changing the yield. Pick a target — either a new serving count or a direct multiplier like ½× or 2× — and multiply each ingredient amount by that single factor. This tool parses the leading quantity on every line, including simple fractions and mixed numbers, and rewrites it while leaving the unit and ingredient name untouched.
then new amount = original amount × factor
Worked example
Scaling a 4-serving recipe up to 6 servings.
- 1 Find the factor. Divide the desired servings by the original: 6 ÷ 4 = 1.5.
- 2 Multiply each amount. 2 cups flour × 1.5 = 3 cups flour; 1½ tsp salt × 1.5 = 2.25 tsp salt.
- 3 Keep units and names. Only the number changes — “cups flour” and “tsp salt” carry through unchanged.
- 4 Round sensibly. Amounts are rounded to two decimals; measure with the nearest practical spoon or cup.
Common scaling factors
Multiply every ingredient amount by the factor to reach the new yield.
| Goal | Factor | Example: 2 cups → |
|---|---|---|
| Halve | 0.5× | 1 cup |
| Same | 1× | 2 cups |
| One and a half | 1.5× | 3 cups |
| Double | 2× | 4 cups |
| Triple | 3× | 6 cups |
Where scaling needs judgment
Cooking time does not scale linearly. Doubling a batch rarely doubles the bake or simmer time — a bigger pan or deeper dish changes heat transfer more than volume does. Keep the temperature the same and check for doneness a little early, adding minutes as needed rather than multiplying the clock.
Season to taste. Salt, spices, leavening, and strong aromatics often don’t scale in a straight line. When tripling a recipe, add the scaled amount gradually and taste as you go rather than dumping it all in.
Pan size matters. Doubling a cake usually means a larger or extra pan, not a taller batter — depth affects how evenly the centre cooks.