Portion Yield Calculator

Estimate usable yield, number of portions and cost per portion after preparation waste.

Calculate recipe or batch yield

Enter purchased batch quantity, waste percentage and portion size to estimate usable portions.

Purchased batch quantity

Trim / waste (%)

Portion size in same quantity unit

Batch purchase cost

Usable quantity—

Full portions—

Cost per full portion—

Yield %—

How the calculation works

Usable quantity = purchased batch quantity × (1 − waste rate). Full portions = usable quantity ÷ portion size, rounded down to complete portions. When batch cost is supplied, cost per full portion = batch cost ÷ full portions.

How to use the result

Use yield calculations for meats, produce, dough, sauces or other ingredients where trim, cooking or preparation losses affect usable quantity. Consistent yield assumptions improve recipe costing and purchasing forecasts.

Assumptions and limitations

Waste can vary by supplier, product grade, staff technique and cooking method. The calculator treats the entered waste rate as one combined loss and does not distinguish trim, cooking shrinkage or spoilage.

Example

If 10 kg has 15% loss, usable yield is 8.5 kg. At 0.25 kg per portion, that supports 34 full portions.

Frequently asked questions

What units should I use?

Any quantity unit works as long as batch quantity and portion size use the same unit.

Why are portions rounded down?

The calculator reports complete portions rather than counting a partial remainder as a full serving.

Is waste the same as cooking loss?

You can use the field for total expected loss, but operationally you may want to track trim and cooking loss separately.

How is cost per portion calculated?

The entered batch purchase cost is divided by the number of full usable portions.