To divide a recipe, multiply every quantity by wanted servings ÷ original servings. Cutting an 8-serving recipe to 4 gives a factor of 0.5, so 3/4 cup of flour becomes 3/8 cup, which is 6 tablespoons because one cup holds 16. Bake times and pan sizes need separate judgement.
Small households, people cooking for one, and anyone testing a new recipe before committing a full batch often need to cut quantities down. Doing it by hand is where errors creep in: a third of 3/4 cup or a quarter of a tablespoon is awkward to work out mid-recipe. Paste the ingredient list, say how many servings the recipe makes and how many you want, or pick half, a third or a quarter. Each line is divided and shown as a kitchen fraction to the nearest eighth where it fits, with cup amounts that fall between quarter-cup marks restated in tablespoons and small tablespoon amounts in teaspoons. Lines with no leading number, such as salt to taste, are kept and flagged. The tool scales ingredients only; baking time, pan size and leavening behaviour do not shrink in a straight line.
Pick Servings to go from the recipe's yield to yours, or Fixed divisor for a half, third or quarter.
Use the − and + buttons for servings, or tap the divisor you want.
One ingredient per line, amount first: 2 cups flour, 1 1/2 tsp salt, 3/4 cup milk.
The table shows each original amount beside the reduced one, with tablespoon or teaspoon equivalents where a cup or spoon measure would be awkward.
Result Scaling factor: 0.5
Lines divided: 2
First line, divided: 3/8 cup (6 tbsp) flour
Half of 3/4 cup is 3/8 cup, which no standard cup measure holds, so the tool also gives it as 6 tablespoons.
Result Scaling factor: 0.3333
Lines divided: 2
First line, divided: 1 cup sugar
Four of twelve servings is a factor of 1/3, so 3 cups of sugar becomes 1 cup; the seasoning line without an amount is left to taste.
Result Scaling factor: 0.25
Lines divided: 1
First line, divided: 1/4 tbsp (0.75 tsp) butter
A quarter tablespoon is 3/4 of a teaspoon, since a tablespoon holds 3 teaspoons.
divided amount = original amount × (wanted servings ÷ original servings)
original amountwanted servings ÷ original servingsEvery quantity is multiplied by the same factor, so proportions stay the same. Mixed numbers (1 1/2), fractions (3/4), decimals and the characters ½ ¼ ¾ are read. Results that land on an eighth are shown as a fraction. A cup result that is not a whole quarter cup is also given in tablespoons (1 cup = 16 tbsp), and a tablespoon result under one is given in teaspoons (1 tbsp = 3 tsp). Grams and millilitres are shown as decimals.
Half of 3/4 cup is 3/8 cup. Most cup sets have no 3/8 measure, so use 6 tablespoons, since a US cup holds 16 tablespoons. The tool shows both forms on the same line.
Beat the egg, then weigh or measure the part you need. A large egg out of its shell weighs about 50 g, so half is roughly 25 g and a third about 17 g. The tool adds a note whenever an ingredient line mentions eggs.
Usually it shortens, but not in proportion. A half batch of cookies bakes in about the same time per tray, while a smaller cake in a smaller pan may finish 5 to 15 minutes sooner. Check doneness early rather than dividing the time.
Lines that do not start with a number are kept in the table and marked to adjust to taste, so nothing from your list goes missing.
Yes. Lines in grams, kilograms, millilitres or litres are divided the same way and shown as decimals, which suits a kitchen scale better than fractions.
The factor is wanted servings divided by original servings. Four servings from a twelve-serving recipe is 4 ÷ 12, one third, so every amount is multiplied by 0.3333.