Recipe Converter & Scaler
Scale a recipe up or down by servings, or by a quick factor like half, 1.5x, double, or triple. Every ingredient is rounded to a fraction you can actually measure, not a raw decimal.
Scale factor: 1.5x
Why scaling isn't just multiplying
Multiplying 3/4 cup by 1.5 gives 1.125 cups -- correct math, but not a measurable amount with a standard set of measuring cups. This converter finds the closest fraction a real kitchen actually has (halves, thirds, quarters, eighths) instead of leaving you to round a decimal by hand.
Servings-based scaling and factor-based scaling (half, double, triple) do the same math from two different starting points: entering "serves 4" and "serves 6" computes the same 1.5x factor as picking the 1.5x preset directly.
Worked example
Halve a recipe that calls for 3/4 cup butter and 1 1/2 tsp baking soda.
3/4 cup × 0.5 = 0.375 cup, which rounds to the nearest eighth: 3/8 cup.
1 1/2 tsp × 0.5 = 0.75 tsp, which is already an exact eighth-friendly fraction: 3/4 tsp.
Common mistake
Scaling only the ingredients and forgetting the pan and time. A doubled batch of batter in the same size pan bakes deeper and needs longer in the oven, sometimes at a slightly lower temperature so the center cooks through before the edges overbake -- the ingredient math is only half the adjustment.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I divide a recipe in half?
Set the scale factor to Halve (1/2x), or enter your original yield and half of it as the desired yield -- every ingredient's quantity is multiplied by 0.5 and rounded to the nearest measurable fraction, so 3/4 cup becomes 3/8 cup shown as the nearest measuring-spoon amount, not an unmeasurable decimal.
Why does the converter round some amounts instead of giving the exact math?
Standard US measuring cups and spoons only come in halves, thirds, quarters, and eighths -- an exact multiply often produces something like 0.667 cup, which no measuring cup can measure directly. This tool rounds to the nearest fraction a real kitchen set actually has, the same way a cook would round by hand.
Does scaling a recipe change the oven temperature or bake time?
No -- oven temperature stays the same regardless of batch size. Bake time and pan size are what usually need adjusting: a doubled batch in the same pan may need a longer bake, and a very small batch may need a smaller pan to keep the same depth.
What if my recipe lists an ingredient as "a pinch" or "to taste"?
Leave those out of the scaler and adjust by taste after scaling everything else -- amounts described that way (salt, pepper, spice to taste) aren't meant to scale linearly with the rest of the recipe.
Can I scale a recipe by more than the yield, like tripling it?
Yes -- use the Triple preset, or enter any custom desired yield. Very large scale-ups are also where doubling pan count (two 9-inch pans instead of one very large one) often works better than one oversized pan, since bake time doesn't scale linearly with batch size.