UtilibyWritten by the Utiliby editorial team · Last updated October 13, 2026 · Rules and formulas reviewed October 2026
What this free recipe nutrition calculator does
This free online recipe nutrition calculator turns a list of ingredients into the calories, protein, carbohydrate, fat, fibre, sugars, sodium and cholesterol in your recipe, per serving and per 100 g, with % Daily Values and a chart of where the calories come from. It is useful for meal prep, weight management, macro tracking, diabetic and low-sodium cooking and for anyone who wants to know what is in a favourite dish.
You can paste a recipe exactly as written, such as "2 cups all-purpose flour" or "3 large eggs". The tool reads the amount, the unit and the ingredient name, matches it to about 150 common foods and converts cups, spoons and counts to grams. A food database tab lets you browse and search every food's nutrition per 100 g. Everything runs in your browser and your recipe is saved only on your device.
How to use the recipe nutrition calculator
- Paste the ingredients and press Analyse. Each line becomes a row with its amount, unit and matched food. The example is banana bread.
- Check the matches. Rows with no match are marked in red. Type a different name from the suggestions, change the unit or amount, or add your own ingredient.
- Set servings. Enter how many servings the recipe makes and a serving size description such as "1 slice". Add the cooked weight if you know it.
- Read the results. The Recipe tab shows calories, macros, flags and the nutrition of each ingredient. The Nutrition facts tab shows per serving, % DV and per 100 g.
- Print, download or copy, or take the result to the nutrition facts label generator.
How recipe calories and nutrients are calculated
For each ingredient the weight in grams is multiplied by its nutrient content per 100 g and divided by 100. The totals of all ingredients are the nutrition of the whole recipe; dividing by the number of servings gives the nutrition per serving. Per 100 g divides the recipe total by its weight, so it is useful for comparing recipes of different sizes.
Example. A banana bread of 2 cups flour (250 g), ¾ cup sugar (150 g), ½ cup butter (113 g), 2 eggs (100 g), 3 bananas (354 g), plus baking soda, salt, vanilla and ½ cup walnuts totals about 3,150 kcal. Cut into 12 slices it is about 260 kcal each, and the flour, sugar and butter account for roughly three quarters of it.
Calories from macronutrients use the Atwater factors: 4 kcal per gram of protein and carbohydrate and 9 kcal per gram of fat. Food database values already include fibre and other factors, so the sum of macros can differ slightly from the listed calories.
Converting cups, spoons and items to grams
| Ingredient | 1 cup is about | 1 tablespoon |
|---|---|---|
| All-purpose flour | 125 g | 7.8 g |
| Granulated sugar | 200 g | 12.5 g |
| Brown sugar (packed) | 213 g | 13.3 g |
| Butter | 227 g | 14.2 g |
| Olive oil | 216 g | 13.5 g |
| Milk | 245 g | 15.3 g |
| Honey | 340 g | 21 g |
| Rolled oats | 90 g | 5.6 g |
Cup measures are the largest source of error in home recipe nutrition: flour scooped from the bag can weigh 20% more than flour spooned and levelled. If you can, enter weights in grams. Items counted by number use typical sizes: a large egg is 50 g, a medium banana 118 g peeled, a medium onion 110 g and a garlic clove 3 g.
Understanding % Daily Value
The % Daily Value (%DV) tells you how much of a nutrient a serving contributes to a daily diet of 2,000 calories. As a guide, 5% DV or less per serving is low and 20% or more is high. Look for lower values of saturated fat, sodium and added sugars, and higher values of fibre.
| Nutrient | Daily reference value |
|---|---|
| Total fat | 78 g |
| Saturated fat | 20 g |
| Cholesterol | 300 mg |
| Sodium | 2,300 mg |
| Total carbohydrate | 275 g |
| Dietary fibre | 28 g |
| Protein | 50 g |
These are the US FDA values. Other countries have their own reference intakes, and your own needs depend on your age, sex, size, activity and health.
Calories, macros and balance
A common split is 45 to 65% of calories from carbohydrate, 20 to 35% from fat and 10 to 35% from protein for adults. Active people, and those following high-protein or low-carb eating plans, vary from this. The donut chart in the results shows your recipe's balance so you can see whether it leans on carbohydrate, fat or protein, and the ingredient table shows which ingredients contribute the most.
Tips for more accurate recipe nutrition
- Weigh ingredients on a kitchen scale, and use the raw weight for meat, rice and pasta unless you pick the cooked version.
- Choose the closest food: salted or unsalted butter, whole or skim milk, 80% or 90% lean beef.
- For packaged ingredients, add them as your own food using the label.
- Include oil used for pan frying, but not marinade you throw away.
- Count servings by weighing the finished dish and dividing, not by guessing portions.
- Enter the cooked weight when a dish absorbs or loses a lot of water.
Using the results for meal prep and special diets
Calories and macros per serving help with weight management, high-protein, low-carb and balanced meal prep. The flags highlight when a serving meets FDA-style thresholds such as low fat (3 g or less), low sodium (140 mg or less), a good source of fibre (2.8 g or more) or high protein (10 g or more). People managing diabetes, kidney disease, high blood pressure or food allergies should rely on their healthcare professional's advice and on product labels, because ingredient databases cannot capture allergens, additives or every brand's formulation.
From recipe nutrition to a nutrition facts label
Once you know your per-serving values you can create a US-style label with the companion nutrition facts label generator. This tool saves the latest result in your browser so the label generator can load it. For selling packaged food, labelling regulations apply, including rounding rules, serving size rules and allergen declarations, and laboratory analysis or an approved database may be required.
Limits of recipe nutrition calculators
No calculator can be perfect. Natural foods vary in nutrient content, brands reformulate, cooking can add or remove fat and water, and home measuring is imprecise. This tool does not include vitamins and minerals other than sodium, does not separate added sugars, and does not estimate nutrient losses from cooking. Treat the numbers as a reliable guide, not a laboratory result.
Privacy
Calculations run in your browser. Your recipe, any custom ingredients and the latest nutrition result are stored only in your browser's local storage so they are available when you return and to the label generator. Nothing is uploaded. You can remove them with the reset button or by clearing site data.
Related free tools
Use these free online tools together with this one:
- Convert cups, grams and spoons with the cooking measurement converter.
- Get the water ratio right for different rice types with the rice to water ratio calculator.
- Swap between fresh, instant and active dry yeast with the yeast conversion calculator.
- Add a stretching routine to a healthy plan with the stretching routine generator.
- Average out costs or nutrition values with the average calculator.
- Track healthy eating habits with the habit tracker.
Frequently asked questions
How do I calculate the calories in a recipe?
Add up the calories of every ingredient, then divide by the number of servings. Each ingredient's calories are its weight in grams ÷ 100 × the calories per 100 g. For example, 250 g of all-purpose flour (364 kcal per 100 g) is about 910 kcal. The calculator does all of this and also converts cups and spoons to grams.
How accurate is this recipe nutrition calculator?
It is a good estimate, usually within about 5 to 10% for common recipes made with standard ingredients, but not exact. Brands, ripeness, trimming, cooking method and how you measure change real values. Weigh ingredients on a scale for the best accuracy.
Where does the nutrition data come from?
The calculator contains about 150 common ingredients with typical values per 100 g, based on the USDA FoodData Central reference data and rounded for clarity. For packaged foods, use the nutrition facts panel and add them as your own ingredient.
How do I enter ingredients?
Paste your ingredient list, one per line, such as '2 cups flour', '1/2 cup butter' or '3 large eggs', and press Analyse. The tool reads the amount, unit and name and matches it to a food. You can fix any row, change units or add rows by hand.
What if an ingredient is not in the list?
Open 'Add your own ingredient' and enter its values per 100 g from the product label or a nutrition database. It is saved in your browser and can be used in any recipe.
How are cups and spoons converted to grams?
Using average grams per US cup for each food, for example 125 g for all-purpose flour, 200 g for sugar and 227 g for butter. A tablespoon is 1/16 cup and a teaspoon 1/48 cup. Items counted by number, such as eggs or bananas, use an average weight.
Is the nutrition for raw or cooked ingredients?
It uses the form you name. For example, 'white rice, uncooked' and 'white rice, cooked' have different values. If your recipe loses or gains water in cooking, enter the final cooked weight to get per 100 g correctly. Calories per serving are not affected.
How do I choose the number of servings?
Use the number of portions you actually cut or serve, such as 12 slices or 24 cookies. For per-serving accuracy, weigh the finished dish and divide by the servings, or enter the serving size text so labels are clear.
What does % Daily Value mean?
It shows how much a serving contributes to a nutrient's daily reference amount on a 2,000 calorie diet: total fat 78 g, saturated fat 20 g, cholesterol 300 mg, sodium 2,300 mg, carbohydrate 275 g, dietary fibre 28 g and protein 50 g (US FDA values). 5% or less is low, 20% or more is high.
What are net carbs?
Net carbs are total carbohydrate minus fibre. The calculator shows it on the Nutrition facts tab. It is not an official label value and some people also subtract sugar alcohols, which this tool does not.
Does it count added sugars?
It reports total sugars. It cannot tell added sugars from natural sugars. The nutrition facts label generator lets you type added sugars yourself.
Can I use it for weight loss or meal prep?
Yes. It gives calories and macros per serving so you can plan portions. It is a planning aid, not a diet prescription. Ask a doctor or dietitian for advice about your needs.
Can I use these numbers on a nutrition label to sell food?
Not as they are. Legal labels have rules on methods, rounding and databases, and may require laboratory analysis. Use this as a starting estimate, and open the nutrition facts label generator to prepare a draft that you check against your local regulations.
Why do the macros not add up to the calories exactly?
Calories are taken from the food data, which uses specific energy factors for each food, while the macro chart uses 4 kcal per gram of protein and carbohydrate and 9 kcal per gram of fat. Small differences are normal, especially for foods with fibre or alcohol.
Does it include vitamins and minerals?
This version covers calories, protein, carbohydrate, fibre, sugars, fat, saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium. These are the main values people need for tracking and labels. Micronutrients are not included.
Is my recipe saved?
Your recipe is kept in your own browser's local storage so it is there when you return, and the latest result is available to the nutrition facts label generator. Nothing is sent to a server.
Can I print or save the nutrition information?
Yes. Print / save as PDF prints only the tab you are viewing, CSV downloads the table for a spreadsheet and copy summary puts it on your clipboard.
Is this tool free?
Yes. It is free with no sign-up and no limits.
Sources and further reading
- USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy and Foundation Foods), the basis for the per 100 g nutrient values (rounded and averaged for this tool).
- US FDA, Daily Value on the Nutrition and Supplement Facts Labels, for the %DV reference amounts.
- King Arthur Baking ingredient weight chart, for grams-per-cup conversions (rounded averages).
- US FDA nutrient content claim definitions, for the guidance thresholds used in the flags.
Sources were consulted in October 2026. Standards and rules can change, so always check the official page for your situation.