Recipe scaler

Paste the ingredient list from any recipe, say how many people it serves and how many you're cooking for, and every amount comes back scaled to something you can measure.

How the scaler rounds

Multiplying a recipe gives you numbers like 0.375 cups, which no measuring cup has. The scaler turns every amount into the measures you have in the drawer:

Three teaspoons become a tablespoon, and sixteen tablespoons become a cup.
An amount that falls between cup marks is written as a cup mark plus spoons, so half of ¾ cup is “⅓ cup plus 2 tsp”.
Grams stay in whole grams, and ounces turn into pounds once there are 16 of them.
Eggs, cloves and cans are rounded to the nearest quarter or third. If you end up with half an egg, beat one and use half, about 25 g.
A range like “2 to 3 tbsp” scales both ends, and a can size like “(14 oz)” stays as written, because the can doesn't change size.
Lines with no amount, like “salt to taste”, are left alone.

The example above, at four sizes

Here's one batch of chocolate chip cookie dough at half, one and a half times and double the original.

Original	Half	1½ times	Double
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour	1 cup plus 2 tbsp all-purpose flour	3⅓ cups plus 2 tsp all-purpose flour	4½ cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda	½ tsp baking soda	1½ tsp baking soda	2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt	½ tsp salt	1½ tsp salt	2 tsp salt
1 cup butter, softened	½ cup butter, softened	1½ cups butter, softened	2 cups butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar	⅓ cup plus 2 tsp granulated sugar	1 cup plus 2 tbsp granulated sugar	1½ cups granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar	⅓ cup plus 2 tsp packed brown sugar	1 cup plus 2 tbsp packed brown sugar	1½ cups packed brown sugar
2 large eggs	1 large egg	3 large eggs	4 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract	1 tsp vanilla extract	1 tbsp vanilla extract	1 tbsp plus 1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups chocolate chips	1 cup chocolate chips	3 cups chocolate chips	4 cups chocolate chips

Kitchen measures that add up

The table uses US measures, where a cup is 236.6 ml. Recipes from Australia, New Zealand and Canada often use a 250 ml metric cup instead.

This much	Is the same as
3 teaspoons	1 tablespoon
2 tablespoons	⅛ cup (1 fl oz, about 30 ml)
4 tablespoons	¼ cup
5 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon	⅓ cup
8 tablespoons	½ cup
10 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons	⅔ cup
12 tablespoons	¾ cup
16 tablespoons	1 cup (236.6 ml)
2 cups	1 pint
4 cups	1 quart
16 ounces	1 pound (453.6 g)

What doesn't scale in a straight line

Ingredients scale cleanly, but the cooking around them doesn't always. If you double a cake and bake it in the same pan, the batter is twice as deep and needs longer, so use a bigger pan instead (the pan size converter tells you which). A big pot of soup takes longer to come to a boil, and a crowded pan steams instead of browning, so cook in batches when you double something you sear.

Salt, chili and strong spices are worth adding a little at a time when you triple a recipe or more, then tasting before you add the rest.

Questions people ask

How do I halve a recipe that uses one egg?

Beat the egg in a cup and use half of it. A large egg out of its shell weighs about 50 g by USDA's figures, so half is about 25 g, or roughly 2 tablespoons.

Do I change the baking time when I double a recipe?

Not if the batter stays the same depth. Bake it in a pan with twice the area, or in two pans, and the time stays close to the original. If you pour double the batter into the same pan, it needs longer and usually a slightly lower oven, so go by doneness rather than the clock.

Can I scale a recipe written in grams?

Yes, and it's the most accurate way, because weights multiply exactly. The scaler keeps grams in grams and rounds to whole grams.

How many tablespoons are in a cup?

Sixteen. A quarter cup is 4 tablespoons, a third of a cup is 5 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon, and half a cup is 8 tablespoons.

More free kitchen tools

Grams to cups converter: Pick what you're measuring and convert between grams, cups, spoons and ounces, using USDA's weights for 56 everyday ingredients.
Pan size converter: If you don't have the pan a recipe asks for, see how much to scale it for the pan you do have and what that does to the bake time.