Food Costing Template: How to Build a Recipe Cost Spreadsheet (Free)
Last updated: July 24, 2026 · Reviewed by the MenuPricer Team
A food costing template is the foundation of profitable menu pricing. This guide walks you through exactly what to include, how to structure the formulas, and shows you a worked example for a real dish.
Skip the spreadsheet
MenuPricer is a free online recipe costing tool — enter your ingredients and get your plate cost, food cost %, and suggested menu price instantly. No spreadsheet setup required.
Open Free Food Cost Calculator →What is a food costing template?
A food costing template (also called a recipe costing sheet, recipe cost card, or food costing form) is a structured document for calculating the exact ingredient cost of one serving of a menu item. It lists every ingredient, the quantity used per portion, the cost per unit, and produces a total plate cost and food cost percentage.
Every profitable restaurant uses some version of this — whether it is a handwritten card, an Excel spreadsheet, or a purpose-built tool like MenuPricer. Without it, menu pricing is guesswork, and guesswork costs you money.
What to include in your food costing template
A complete recipe costing sheet has a header section (dish info) and a data section (ingredient rows).
Header section — fill once per dish
Ingredient rows — one row per ingredient
| Col | Column header |
|---|---|
| A | Ingredient |
| B | Qty used (per serving) |
| C | Unit |
| D | Purchase unit |
| E | Purchase price |
| F | Cost per unit |
| G | Yield % |
| H | Row cost |
Summary rows (below the ingredient table)
Worked example: grilled salmon with roasted vegetables
| Ingredient | Qty | Unit | $/unit | Yield | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salmon fillet (skin-on) | 7 | oz | $0.88 | 75% | $0.82 |
| Asparagus | 3 | oz | $0.22 | 78% | $0.28 |
| Cherry tomatoes | 2 | oz | $0.18 | 100% | $0.36 |
| Olive oil | 0.5 | oz | $0.24 | 100% | $0.12 |
| Lemon + herbs | — | each | — | — | $0.20 |
| Butter sauce (2oz) | 2 | oz | $0.14 | 100% | $0.28 |
| Sea salt + pepper | — | — | — | — | $0.04 |
| Total plate cost | $2.10 | ||||
At 25% food cost
$8.40
min menu price
At 30% food cost
$7.00
min menu price
At 35% food cost
$6.00
min menu price
Note: This example uses simplified costs for illustration. Your actual costs will vary by supplier, region, and market.
Common food costing template mistakes
Skipping small ingredients
Salt, pepper, cooking oil, garnishes, and napkins each cost money. They feel negligible per dish but across hundreds of covers they can add 3–5% to your actual vs theoretical food cost variance.
Using purchase weight instead of yield-adjusted weight for proteins
An 8oz salmon fillet at 75% yield costs the same as 10.7oz of raw salmon. If you cost based on 8oz, your plate cost is understated by 25% on the protein — the most expensive ingredient on the plate.
Never updating prices
A costing card from a year ago is fiction. Salmon, beef, and avocado prices can swing 20–30% seasonally. Build a quarterly price update into your calendar.
One template for all portion sizes
If you offer a half-portion or a shareable version, it needs its own costing card. Do not multiply by 0.5 in your head — the ingredient proportions often do not scale linearly.
Forgetting house-made components
If your sauce, bread, or pasta is house-made, it needs a sub-recipe cost card before it can be included in the parent dish cost. Skipping this step systematically understates your plate cost on dishes with complex preparations.
Spreadsheet vs online food costing tool
Excel / Google Sheets
MenuPricer (online)
Cost every dish in 2 minutes — no spreadsheet needed
Enter your ingredients and quantities, MenuPricer handles the yield math, calculates your plate cost, and tells you exactly what to charge.
Open Free Food Cost Calculator →FAQ
What is a food costing template?
A food costing template (also called a recipe costing sheet or menu costing form) is a structured document that lists every ingredient in a dish, the quantity used per serving, the cost per unit, and the total ingredient cost. The template then calculates your plate cost (total ingredient cost per serving) and food cost percentage (plate cost divided by menu price). Restaurants use one costing sheet per dish to track costs across their entire menu.
What should a recipe costing template include?
A complete recipe costing template should include: dish name, portion size, recipe yield (number of servings), ingredient list (every item including garnishes), quantity per serving, unit of measure, purchase unit (e.g., 25 lb case), purchase price, cost per unit used, yield percentage for items that lose weight during prep, yield-adjusted cost, total plate cost, target food cost percentage, and suggested menu price. Optional additions include allergen notes, last-updated date, and supplier name.
How do I calculate food cost percentage in a spreadsheet?
In a spreadsheet: (1) Create a row for each ingredient. In column A: ingredient name. Column B: quantity used. Column C: unit. Column D: cost per unit. Column E: row cost (=B*D). (2) At the bottom, sum column E to get your plate cost. (3) In a separate cell, enter your menu price. (4) Food cost % = plate cost / menu price. Format as percentage. (5) For yield adjustment, add a column F for yield % and change the row cost formula to =B*D/F.
Is there a free recipe costing template I can download?
Yes — you can build one in Google Sheets or Excel using the column structure described in this guide. Alternatively, MenuPricer is a free online food costing tool that does the same calculation automatically: enter your ingredients, quantities, and costs, and it calculates your plate cost, food cost percentage, and suggests a menu price. No spreadsheet setup required, and your data is saved so you can update costs when supplier prices change.