How to use the recipe scaler
- Paste the ingredients. Copy the ingredient list from any recipe, one ingredient per line. Headings like "For the frosting" and the method steps can come along too; they're left as they are.
- Choose how much you need. Use a multiplier (½ to halve, 2 to double) or switch to servings and enter what the recipe makes and what you need, such as 12 muffins to 18.
- Measure from the new list. Every amount is rewritten in cups and spoons you can actually measure. Common baking ingredients also show their weight, and you can switch the whole list to grams.
Half, a third and double of common measures
The awkward part of scaling is that measuring cups don't divide neatly. Half of ¾ cup is 6 tablespoons, and half of ⅓ cup is 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons. These are the ones people look up most:
| Amount | Half | A third | Double |
|---|---|---|---|
| ¼ cup | 2 tbsp | 1 tbsp + 1 tsp | ½ cup |
| ⅓ cup | 2 tbsp + 2 tsp | 1 tbsp + 2 ½ tsp | ⅔ cup |
| ½ cup | ¼ cup | 2 tbsp + 2 tsp | 1 cup |
| ⅔ cup | ⅓ cup | 3 tbsp + 1 ½ tsp | 1 ⅓ cups |
| ¾ cup | 6 tbsp | ¼ cup | 1 ½ cups |
| 1 cup | ½ cup | ⅓ cup | 2 cups |
| 1 ¼ cups | ½ cup + 2 tbsp | ⅓ cup + 1 tbsp + 1 tsp | 2 ½ cups |
| 1 ½ cups | ¾ cup | ½ cup | 3 cups |
| 1 ¾ cups | ¾ cup + 2 tbsp | ½ cup + 1 tbsp + 1 tsp | 3 ½ cups |
| 1 tbsp | 1 ½ tsp | 1 tsp | 2 tbsp |
There are 16 tablespoons in a cup and 3 teaspoons in a tablespoon, so any amount can be built from spoons. See the full cups, tablespoons and teaspoons chart.
What the scaler understands
It reads the amount at the start of each line and leaves the rest of the line alone. It handles fractions written as 1/2, ½ or 1-1/2, decimals, ranges like 2-3 tbsp, amounts in two parts like "1 cup plus 2 tbsp" or "1 lb 4 oz", lists written as "Flour: 2 cups", short and long unit names, grams, ounces, pounds, milliliters, sticks of butter and packets of yeast. For a line like "1 (14 oz) can", it scales the number of cans and keeps the can size as written.
Lines without an amount, such as "salt to taste" or "Preheat the oven to 350°F", pass through unchanged. If a line already gives a weight in brackets, like "2 cups flour (250 g)", the scaler scales that weight too and uses it instead of ours, because that's the weight the recipe was written with.
Eggs and other things you can't split easily
Halving a recipe with 3 eggs leaves you with 1½ eggs. The easiest fix is to beat the eggs and weigh what you need: a large egg is about 50 grams without the shell, so half an egg is about 25 grams. The scaler does this math for you and shows it under the egg line. A large yolk is about 17 grams and a large white about 33 grams.
Cans and packages are similar. If you need ½ can of condensed milk, weigh or measure out half and keep the rest in the fridge.
Choosing a pan when you double or halve
When you scale a cake or a bar recipe, the batter needs a pan with a matching area. Doubling a recipe doubles the area it needs; halving it halves it. An 8 × 8-inch pan has 64 square inches, so a doubled 8 × 8 recipe (128) fits a 9 × 13-inch pan (117) with the batter a little deeper. Half of a 9 × 13 recipe (about 59) fits an 8 × 8 square or an 8-inch round.
| Pan | Area (sq in) |
|---|---|
| 9 × 5-inch loaf | 45 |
| 8-inch round | 50 |
| 9-inch round | 64 |
| 8 × 8-inch square | 64 |
| 10-inch round | 79 |
| 9 × 9-inch square | 81 |
| 9 × 13-inch rectangle | 117 |
| 13 × 18-inch half sheet | 234 |
Areas are rounded to the nearest square inch.
Baking time, salt and leavening
Baking time follows the pan, not the batch. Twelve cookies bake in the same time as twenty-four, as long as they're the same size. A cake baked in a deeper pan takes longer, so start checking at the original time and keep going until it's done.
Baking soda, baking powder and yeast scale along with everything else for the double or half batches most home bakers make. For a big change in size, bake one test batch first.
Salt and spices scale the same way. When a scaled amount lands between spoon sizes, round down and taste where you can.
Why grams make scaling easier
Scaling multiplies small measuring errors along with the recipe, and it turns simple amounts into awkward ones. Two-thirds of 1¼ cups of flour is ¾ cup plus 1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon. The same flour weighed is 150 grams, and two-thirds of it is simply 100 grams. If you have a kitchen scale, switch the scaler to grams: it converts all 48 ingredients in our weight data, from flour and sugar to butter and yeast. For anything else, it keeps the cups and spoons.
Frequently asked questions
What is half of ¾ cup?
Half of ¾ cup is 6 tablespoons, which is the same as ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons.
What is half of ⅓ cup?
Half of ⅓ cup is 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons. A third of a cup is 5 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon, so it doesn't halve into whole tablespoons.
What is half of ⅔ cup?
Half of ⅔ cup is ⅓ cup, which is 5 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon.
What is half of 1 ¾ cups?
Half of 1 ¾ cups is ⅞ cup. Most cup sets don't have a ⅞ cup, so measure ¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons.
What is half of 1 tablespoon?
Half of a tablespoon is 1½ teaspoons, because a tablespoon holds 3 teaspoons.
How do I halve a recipe that uses 1 egg or 3 eggs?
Beat the egg and weigh it. A large egg is about 50 grams without the shell, so half an egg is about 25 grams, and 1½ eggs is one egg plus about 25 grams of a second one.
Do I need to change the baking time when I double a recipe?
Not if the pan size and depth stay the same, as with a double batch of cookies baked on more trays. If the batter ends up deeper, it needs longer. Start checking at the original time.
Can the recipe scaler convert a recipe to grams?
Yes. Choose Grams under "Show amounts in" and every ingredient we have a weight for, 48 common baking ingredients, is shown in grams. You can keep the multiplier at 1 to convert a recipe without scaling it.
Does the scaler save my recipe?
No. It runs entirely in your browser. The recipe you paste is not sent to a server or saved, so it's gone when you close the page.