Question 1

How do I calculate the nutrition facts of my own recipe?

Accepted Answer

Search the 228-ingredient database and add each ingredient with its amount and unit (grams, cups, tbsp, oz, pieces and more). Set the number of servings your recipe makes. The calculator converts every amount to grams using per-ingredient densities, looks up the nutrition per 100 g, adds everything up, then divides by servings to give you per-serving calories, protein, carbs, fat, fiber, sugar and sodium — plus a macro split chart and % Daily Values.

Question 2

How many calories are in my homemade recipe?

Accepted Answer

Add your ingredients and the tool shows two numbers: total calories for the whole recipe, and calories per serving (total divided by your serving count). The big number at the top of the results is always per serving, since that is what most people want to know. Switch the toggle to see whole-recipe totals instead.

Question 3

How accurate is this recipe nutrition calculator?

Accepted Answer

Treat results as good estimates, not lab measurements. The ingredient values are USDA averages, and real foods vary by brand, ripeness, cut and cooking method — most homemade recipe estimates land within about 10 to 20 percent of a lab analysis. For the best accuracy, weigh ingredients on a kitchen scale instead of using cups, and pick the cooked version of an ingredient (for example cooked chicken breast) when the recipe is eaten cooked.

Question 4

Where does the ingredient nutrition data come from?

Accepted Answer

All 228 ingredients use values based on USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy), 2024 release, expressed per 100 grams. Each value is an average across samples — your specific tomato or chicken breast will differ slightly. The data vintage is shown on the page so you always know what the numbers are based on.

Question 5

Should I enter ingredients raw or cooked?

Accepted Answer

Enter them the way they are eaten when it matters for weight. Cooking mostly drives off water, so 200 g of raw chicken becomes about 150 g cooked — the database has separate raw and cooked entries for common meats, rice, pasta, beans and lentils. As a rule of thumb: if you weigh ingredients before cooking, use the raw entry; if you weigh the finished dish, use the cooked entry. Do not mix raw weights with cooked entries.

Question 6

How do the cup, tablespoon and gram conversions work?

Accepted Answer

Every ingredient has its own density in the database — 1 cup of all-purpose flour is 125 g, but 1 cup of honey is 340 g and 1 cup of rolled oats is 90 g. Tablespoons and teaspoons are derived from the cup weight (1 tbsp = 1/16 cup, 1 tsp = 1/48 cup), and milliliters use the same density. Units that do not make sense for an ingredient, like cups of hot dogs, are simply not offered instead of guessed. For scaling quantities alone, our dedicated recipe scaler goes deeper.

Question 7

What does % Daily Value (%DV) mean in the results?

Accepted Answer

The %DV columns use the FDA Daily Values for a 2,000-calorie reference diet: 50 g protein, 275 g carbohydrates, 78 g fat, 28 g fiber, 50 g sugar and 2,300 mg sodium. A %DV of 20% means one serving provides a fifth of that reference daily amount. Your own needs may be higher or lower, so %DV is a rough yardstick, not a personal target.

Question 8

How is net carbs calculated?

Accepted Answer

Net carbs = total carbohydrates minus fiber, per serving. Fiber is shown separately too, so you can see both numbers. Note that sugar alcohols are not tracked in this database, so for recipes using them the net-carb figure will be slightly high.

Question 9

Can I add an ingredient that is not in the database?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Open the custom ingredient form and enter the nutrition per 100 g from the product's label (calories, protein, carbs, fat, fiber, sugar, sodium), plus an optional cup weight or piece weight for volume conversions. Custom ingredients work exactly like database ones in the totals, and anything you add stays in your browser for the session.

Question 10

How do I scale my recipe to a different number of servings?

Accepted Answer

Use the servings stepper. Changing servings from 4 to 6, for example, multiplies every ingredient quantity by 1.5 automatically, so the per-serving nutrition stays the same while the whole-recipe totals grow. The rescale factor is shown next to the stepper so you always know what changed.

Question 11

What are the diet-goal modes: high-protein, low-carb and balanced?

Accepted Answer

They only change which macro the results spotlight — high-protein puts protein grams and protein share of calories front and center, low-carb spotlights net carbs and sugar, and balanced shows all three macros evenly. They do not judge your recipe, score it, or tell you what to eat. They are a display preference, not a diet plan.

Question 12

Is this medical advice? Can it help me lose weight?

Accepted Answer

No. This tool gives nutrition estimates for recipes — it is not medical advice, not a diet plan, and it makes no weight-loss or health claims. Everybody's needs differ by age, health conditions, medication and activity. If you are managing a condition like diabetes, kidney disease or heart disease, or planning a major diet change, talk to a doctor or registered dietitian.

Question 13

Why do my numbers differ from a packaged food label?

Accepted Answer

Three common reasons. First, labels round values by regulation, while this tool shows unrounded math. Second, a manufacturer's formulation differs from the USDA average ingredient — their bread is not the average bread. Third, serving sizes differ: labels use the manufacturer's serving, this tool uses the servings you entered. Small differences are normal; large ones usually mean a serving-size mismatch.

Question 14

How is this different from other free recipe nutrition calculators?

Accepted Answer

Most free calculators use a tiny generic database, convert all cups with one density, and show only calories. This one combines a curated 228-ingredient USDA-based database with per-ingredient cup weights, cooked and raw variants, custom ingredients, an automatic serving scaler, a macro energy split chart, % Daily Values, and macro-focus display modes — all in one page, free, with no signup and no data leaving your browser.

Question 15

Is my recipe data private?

Accepted Answer

Yes. The entire calculator runs in your browser — the ingredient database, the math and your recipe never leave your device. There is no account, no recipe upload and no tracking of what you enter. The page keeps working offline once it has loaded.

Question 16

Can I print or save my recipe's nutrition summary?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Use the print button for a clean, ink-friendly nutrition summary of your recipe, or the copy button to grab a text summary (per-serving calories, macros and %DV) for your notes, blog or meal-prep plan.

Recipe Nutrition Calculator

Build your recipe

Your recipe's nutrition

Nutrients per serving

What this recipe analyzer does

Per-serving nutrition facts

Macro split chart

% Daily Values

Automatic serving scaler

228-ingredient database

Macro focus modes

How it works

Methodology & data honesty

Frequently asked questions

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