What Is Yield in Cooking? Definition, Formula & Percentage Chart
Last updated: July 24, 2026 · Reviewed by the MenuPricer Team
Yield is the percentage of a purchased ingredient that is actually usable after prep. It is one of the most overlooked factors in food costing — and one of the most expensive to ignore.
Yield Percentage Formula
What does yield mean in cooking?
Yield in cooking refers to the amount of usable food you get from a raw ingredient after all preparation. That preparation can include trimming, peeling, deboning, seeding, cooking, or portioning — any process that reduces the weight or volume of the original ingredient.
Yield is always lower than purchase weight because something is always removed or lost:
- •Trimming fat, sinew, and silverskin from proteins
- •Removing peels, skins, and seeds from produce
- •Snapping tough stems from asparagus and broccoli
- •Moisture loss during cooking (especially proteins)
- •Waste from portioning (trim from cutting uniform pieces)
Worked example: calculating yield percentage
Example 1: Salmon fillet
Example 2: Whole cauliflower
Yield percentage chart by ingredient
Proteins
| Ingredient | Yield % | Loss % |
|---|---|---|
| Chicken breast (boneless) | 88% | 12% |
| Chicken thigh (bone-in) | 68% | 32% |
| Whole chicken | 65% | 35% |
| Beef tenderloin (whole) | 68% | 32% |
| Ground beef (cooked) | 84% | 16% |
| Salmon fillet (skin-on) | 76% | 24% |
| Shrimp (shell-on, raw) | 64% | 36% |
| Pork loin | 82% | 18% |
Vegetables
| Ingredient | Yield % | Loss % |
|---|---|---|
| Broccoli | 70% | 30% |
| Cauliflower | 52% | 48% |
| Carrots | 84% | 16% |
| Onions (yellow) | 88% | 12% |
| Bell pepper | 82% | 18% |
| Mushrooms (button) | 96% | 4% |
| Spinach (fresh) | 92% | 8% |
| Asparagus | 78% | 22% |
Produce & Starches
| Ingredient | Yield % | Loss % |
|---|---|---|
| Potatoes (russet) | 81% | 19% |
| Avocado | 75% | 25% |
| Strawberries | 87% | 13% |
| Mango | 60% | 40% |
| Lemons (juice yield) | 30% | 70% |
| Garlic (whole head) | 88% | 12% |
Note: Yield percentages vary by supplier quality, skill of prep staff, and seasonal factors. Use these as starting points and measure your own kitchen's actual yields.
How yield affects menu pricing
The impact of yield on pricing is most dramatic for high-cost proteins with significant prep loss. Here is what happens when you do — and do not — account for yield:
Beef tenderloin steak — with vs without yield adjustment
Without yield adjustment
With yield adjustment (68%)
Not adjusting for yield on this one item would result in pricing the steak $22 below where it needs to be to hit your food cost target.
Recipe yield vs ingredient yield
These are related but different concepts:
Ingredient yield
The usable % of a single ingredient after prep. Applies to raw materials before they enter a recipe.
Example: Chicken breast = 88% yield after trimming fat
Recipe yield
The total quantity a recipe produces — total weight, volume, or number of portions.
Example: This soup recipe makes 12 portions of 8oz each
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What does yield mean in cooking?
In cooking, yield means the usable amount of food you get from a raw ingredient after all prep work — trimming, peeling, cutting, and sometimes cooking. Yield is usually expressed as a percentage: if you start with 10 lbs of whole chicken and end up with 6.5 lbs of usable meat after breaking it down, your yield is 65%. Yield matters because you pay for the whole ingredient but can only serve the usable portion. Ignoring yield when pricing menu items leads to understated food costs and unprofitable prices.
How do you calculate yield percentage?
Yield percentage = (Usable weight ÷ Original purchase weight) × 100. Example: You buy 5 lbs of carrots. After peeling and trimming, you have 4.2 lbs of usable carrot. Yield % = (4.2 ÷ 5) × 100 = 84%. To apply this to costing: if carrots cost $1.20/lb, your true cost for usable carrot is $1.20 ÷ 0.84 = $1.43/lb.
What is the difference between recipe yield and ingredient yield?
Ingredient yield (also called trimming yield or prep yield) refers to the usable amount of a single ingredient after prep — for example, how much broccoli floret you get after removing the stems. Recipe yield refers to the total output of a recipe — how many portions or what total volume a recipe produces. A soup recipe might have an ingredient yield issue (trimming vegetables) AND a recipe yield question (how many quarts of finished soup does it make, and how many 8oz portions is that?).
Why does yield matter for menu pricing?
Yield matters for menu pricing because you pay the purchase price for the whole ingredient but can only sell the usable portion. If you cost a dish using the raw purchase price without adjusting for yield loss, your actual plate cost will be higher than your calculated cost. This leads to food cost percentages that run above budget, margins that disappear, and prices that feel right on paper but lose money in practice. Yield-adjusted costing is what separates a restaurant that runs at 30% food cost from one that budgeted 30% but actually runs at 35%.