Recipe Costing with Yield

Excel Formulas › Restaurant & Hospitality

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A recipe’s true cost depends on yield — raw ingredients shrink after trimming and cooking. Divide the as-purchased cost by the yield percentage to get the real cost of the usable portion.

Quick formula: edible-portion cost from as-purchased cost and yield:

=as_purchased_cost / yield_percent

As-purchased cost divided by yield gives the cost of what's actually usable after trim and cook loss.

The example

$10/lb beef, 80% yield.

	A	B
1	Item	Value
2	AP cost/lb	10
3	Yield 80%	→ $12.50/lb usable

The formula

The formula:

=B2 / B3 // AP cost ÷ yield %

How it works

How it works:

As-purchased (AP) cost is what you pay per unit of raw ingredient.
Yield percent is the usable share after trimming, cleaning, and cooking loss.
Dividing AP cost by yield gives the edible-portion (EP) cost — the real cost of what reaches the plate.
A recipe’s total cost sums the EP cost × quantity for every ingredient.

Yield turns a recipe into a true cost: ignoring it understates cost on every trimmed or cooked item. A $10/lb roast at 80% yield really costs $12.50 for each usable pound. Build a yield column into your recipe sheet and the plate cost — and your menu pricing — finally reflect reality.

Try it: interactive demo

Live demo

As-purchased cost and yield.

AP cost

Yield %

EP cost:

Variations

Yield percent

Usable ÷ raw:

=edible_weight / as_purchased_weight

Ingredient line cost

EP cost × qty:

=EP_cost * recipe_quantity

AP quantity needed

Buy enough raw:

=needed_edible / yield_percent

Pitfalls & errors

Don’t skip yield. AP cost alone understates the true plate cost of trimmed items.

Yield as decimal. 80% is 0.80 — check the cell isn’t storing 80.

Buy enough raw. To plate a given edible weight, purchase edible ÷ yield.

Practice workbook

📊

Download the free Recipe Costing with Yield practice workbook

A recipe-costing sheet with the yield-percent, line-cost, and AP-quantity variants, plus 4 challenges with answers. No sign-up required.

Frequently asked questions

How do I cost a recipe with yield in Excel?

Divide as-purchased cost by yield percent: =as_purchased_cost / yield_percent. A $10/lb item at 80% yield costs $12.50 per usable pound.

What is yield percentage?

The usable share of an ingredient after trimming and cooking: =edible_weight / as_purchased_weight.

How much raw product should I buy?

Divide the edible quantity you need by the yield: =needed_edible / yield_percent.

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