How To Scale Your Recipe
Most recipes can be scaled to increase or decrease the amount you are making of an item. Scaling will affect the ingredients you use, the pan size, the cooking temperature and cooking time. Shown below are some guidelines that will help you to succeed in scaling your recipes.
Scaling
When scaling your recipe, try to stick to increasing or decreasing it by an even number. This will help the ingredient amounts be closer to standard measurements. You can scale proportionately but you may end up with uncommon measurements, making it harder to get the amounts measured accurately. If you have a six serving recipe and you want to scale it for 10 servings, you would take the quantity you are scaling to and divide it by the original serving size to get your conversion factor. The ingredient measurements are then multiplied by the conversion factor to get the scaled quantity to use.
Scaling Examples:
Scaling - Proportionately
10 servings / 6 servings = 1.667 conversion factor
If the original recipe called for 2/3 cups of sugar, the 10 servings would require 1.112 cups.
2/3 cups of sugar x 1.667 conversion factor = 1.112 cups
Scaling - By Doubling the Servings
12 servings / 6 servings = 2.0 conversion factor
If the original recipe called for 2/3 cups of sugar, the 12 servings would require 1 1/3 cups.
2/3 cups of sugar x 2.0 conversion factor = 1 1/3 cups
(The 1 1/3 cups will be easier to measure with accuracy than the 1.112 cups)
The chart below shows the half scaled measurement and the double-scaled measurement of some common measurements.
Scaled Measurements
| Original Measurement |
Half Scaled |
Double Scaled |
| 1/8 tsp. |
Dash or Pinch |
1/4 tsp. |
| 1/4 tsp. |
1/8 tsp. |
1/2 tsp. |
| 1/2 tsp. |
1/4 tsp. |
1 tsp. |
| 1 tsp. |
1/2 tsp. |
2 tsp. |
| 1 1/4 tsp. |
5/8 tsp. |
2 1/2 tsp. |
| 1 1/2 tsp. |
3/4 tsp. |
3 tsp. (1 tbsp.) |
| 1 3/4 tsp. |
7/8 tsp. |
3 1/2 tsp. |
| 2 tsp. |
1 tsp. |
4 tsp. |
| 2 1/2 tsp. |
1 1/4 tsp. |
5 tsp. |
| 1 tbsp. |
1 1/2 tsp (1/2 tbsp.) |
2 tbsp. |
| 1 1/2 tbsp. |
1 1/4 tsp. |
3 tbsp. |
| 2 tbsp. (1/8 cup) |
1 tbsp. |
1/4 cup |
| 3 tbsp. |
1 1/2 tbsp. (4 1/2 tsp.) |
6 tbsp. |
| 4 tbsp. (1/4 cup, or 2 fl. oz.) |
2 tbsp. |
1/2 cup |
| 1/3 cup |
2 tbsp. + 2 tsp. |
2/3 cup |
| 1/2 cup (4 fl. oz.) |
1/4 cup |
1 cup |
| 2/3 cup |
1/3 cup |
1 1/3 cups |
| 3/4 cup |
3 tbsp. |
1 1/2 cups |
| 1 cup (1/2 pint) |
1/2 cup |
2 cups |
| 1 1/4 cups |
1/2 cup + 2 tbsp. |
2 1/2 cups |
| 1 1/3 cups |
10 tbsp. + 2 tsp. |
2 2/3 cups |
| 1 1/2 cups |
3/4 cup |
3 cups |
| 1 2/3 cups |
1/2 cup + 1/3 cup |
3 1/3 cups |
| 1 3/4 cups |
3/4 cup + 2 tbsp. |
3 1/2 cups |
| 2 cups (1 pint) |
1 cup |
4 cups (1 quart) |
| 2 1/2 cups |
1 1/4 cups |
5 cups |
| 3 cups (1 1/2 pints) |
1 1/2 cups |
6 cups (1 1/2 quarts) |
| 3 1/2 cups |
1 3/4 cups |
7 cups |
| 4 cups (2 pints, or 1 quart) |
2 cups (1 pint) |
8 cups (1/2 gal.) |
| 4 1/2 cups |
2 1/4 cups |
9 cups |
| 5 cups (1 1/4 quarts) |
2 1/2 cups |
10 cups (2 1/2 quarts) |
| 5 1/2 cups |
2 3/4 cups |
11 cups |
| 6 cups (1 1/2 quarts) |
3 cups (1 1/2 pints) |
12 cups (3 quarts) |
| 7 cups (1 3/4 quarts) |
3 1/2 cups |
14 cups |
| 8 cups (2 quarts, or 1/2 gal.) |
4 cups (1 quart) |
1 gal. |
| 10 cups (2 1/2 quarts) |
5 cups |
5 quarts |
| 3 quarts (3/4 gal.) |
6 cups (1 1/2 quarts) |
1 1/2 gal. |
| 14 cups (3 1/2 quarts) |
7 cups |
7 quarts |
| 1 gal. |
1/2 gal. |
2 gal. |
| 2 gal. |
1 gal. |
4 gal. |
Ingredients
When cooking savory dishes such as casseroles, soups, stews, pasta, rice and meats, most ingredients can be increased or decreased according to the conversion factor but there are some exceptions – seasonings such as salt, pepper, herbs and spices should be added according to taste. If you are doubling a recipe that calls for one teaspoon of salt, start by adding 1 ½ teaspoons. If tripling the recipe, add two teaspoons of salt and when halving a recipe use 1/3 teaspoon of salt. For recipes that can be tasted as you are making them, you can always add more seasoning if necessary but for recipes that will have to be completely cooked before you can taste them, you will just have to experiment by trying the converted amount and adjust accordingly the next time you make the recipe.
When baking, the success of the recipe depends more on the precise quantity of ingredients. Ingredients such as flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and yeast are not recommended for scaling. If you want to double a recipe that contains these ingredients, it is best to do it by making two separate batches.
Eggs should be scaled with caution. When making a dish such as an omelet, where eggs is the major ingredient, doubling a recipe may cause the eggs to have to cook too long, which may result in rubbery eggs. It is better to cook in separate batches to avoid this problem. Scrambled eggs could be doubled if a larger pan is used and they can be cooked on a burner that will provide even heat for the larger size pan.
Pan Size
Scaling a recipe will generally mean adjusting the pan size you use. When reducing, a smaller pan should be used and when increasing, a larger pan will need to be used. When selecting a pan for the scaled recipe, select one that will keep the depth of the ingredients approximately the same as the original recipe.
Cooking Time and Temperature
When scaling a recipe, you will generally have to adjust the cooking time or cooking temperature or both. Reducing the recipe will mean you are cooking less in a pan and will generally have to reduce the cooking time and possibly the cooking temperature so that the food does not overcook. Increasing the recipe may require increased cooking time and temperature, or depending on what you are cooking, one may need to be increased and one decreased. Shown below are some examples of when and how the time and temperatures may need to be adjusted.
Sautéing and Frying
When decreasing the amount you are cooking, decrease the cooking time so that the food does not overcook. You may have to use a smaller pan and reduce the temperature also.
When increasing the amount you are cooking, use a pan with a larger cooking surface so that all ingredients will be exposed to the heat evenly. Be sure the pan fits the burner size so that it will be heated evenly. The ingredients must not be too crowded in the pan or steaming may occur, preventing the food from cooking properly. If overcrowding is a problem, cook in smaller batches.
When adding oil to the pan before cooking, do not increase the amount of oil. Start with the same amount as for a single batch and add more if needed.
Soups, Stew, and Sauces
When increasing or decreasing, try to keep the depth of the ingredients the same depth as the single recipe. If you have to use a pan that causes the depth to vary from the original, adjust cooking times and temperatures as shown below:
- Deeper Depth - Increase cooking time and if the dish contains a lot of liquid, decrease the amount of liquid by a small amount.
- Shallowed Depth - Decrease the cooking time and if the dish contains a lot of liquid, increase the liquid ingredients slightly.
Baked Goods/Dishes
When increasing or decreasing baked goods or baked dishes, try to use a pan size that will hold the ingredients at the same depth as the original size. If the depth varies, adjust the baking time according to the suggestions shown below:
- Deeper Depth - Increase the cooking time and slightly decrease the temperature.
- Shallower Depth - Decrease the cooking time and slightly decrease the temperature.
Same Depth / Two Dishes
When doubling a recipe by making two separate batches to bake at the same time, allow a little more cooking time and increase the cooking temperature by 25°. Place the pans on the same rack with even spacing between the pans and the sides of the oven. If placed on two racks, switch positions and turn them one half of a turn (180°) when the cooking time is just a little over half.
Because adjusting the cooking time and temperature for a recipe that has been scaled can be uncertain, it is important to use the visual descriptions or the internal temperature readings given by the recipe to determine when it is fully cooked.
There are some recipes that do not scale well. Foods like cakes, breads, pies and soufflés have ingredients that are critical to be proportioned as specified in the recipe and baking temperatures and times that are critical to the success of the end product. If you are going to need foods of this type in two or three times the amount, it will be best to mix three separate batches and bake them separately. If you only need half the amount, make a full recipe and enjoy the leftovers.
In scaling a recipe it is best to avoid increasing or decreasing it by more than four times. Some cooks even advise to not scale more than two times. Even though a recipe can be scaled by a larger multiple, you will have better success if you stay within these boundaries.