Do you enjoy trying new recipes but more often than not they make too much food? This free printable will help you Cut a Recipe in Half or Double it even if math is not your strongest skill.
The number one question cooks as is “what is half of a ½ cup?” The printable shows you that the answer is ¼ cup is half of ½ cup.
There are numerous recipes created for larger families, like the Sausage Breakfast Casserole, so they offer four or more servings. What if you are single, just a couple, or a family of three? Or maybe you have a family with a big appetite and the original recipe doesn’t make enough.
You’re probably wondering how to adjust a recipe easily, without having to make complicated calculations.
This is exactly why I created this How To Half A Recipe or How to Double a Recipe. The free printable has the most common measurement conversions. Don’t confuse this with the Kitchen Conversions Chart that allows you to convert from cups to grams or ounces.
Bonus: We are also offering a lovely free printable wall art you can print and display in your kitchen!
🥚 Why This Works
Scale Conversions Given | Having a scale can help, but you will still need to make the calculations yourself to adjust the recipe. If the ingredients are measured in cups and/or tablespoons you will need to convert them to a scale measurement unit first.
Widely Used Quantities | Our cheat sheet offers conversions between the most widely used cup, tablespoon, and teaspoon quantities that will allow you to adjust a recipe with ease, whether you need to cut it in half or double it.
Allows Larger Portion Recipes to Be Used for Smaller Families or Couples | Whether you live alone or a new empty nester couple, most recipes are targeted towards larger serving counts. This allows you to start slashing ingredients in half to enjoy the same recipe.
Free Information | This is all ready to print out for free to use in your Kitchen Binder, Menu Binder or place inside a frame as kitchen art.
🥘 How This Works
Step 1: Ready the list of ingredients from the original recipe. Start with the first ingredient and locate its measurement unit & quantity in the middle column.
Step 2: If you want to cut the recipe in half, use the conversion available in the first column. If you want to double your recipe, use the value displayed in the third column.
Step 3: Repeat the same process for each ingredient of your recipe. Now you can enjoy putting your chef skills to good use!
🍳 Cut A Recipe In Half Or Double It Basic Conversions
No matter what new recipe you are planning to try, if the original quantities are too much or too little, these conversions will help you adjust it to your needs. Halving a recipe will be a snap going forward.
| Original Recipe | Half the Recipe | Double the Recipe |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Cup | ½ Cup | 2 Cups |
| ¾ Cup | 6 tbsp | 1 ½ Cups |
| ⅔ Cup | ⅓ Cup | 1 ⅓ Cups |
| ½ Cup | ¼ Cup | 1 Cup |
| ¼ Cup | 2 tbsp | ½ Cup |
| 1 tbsp | 1 ½ tsp | 2 tbsp |
| 1 tsp | ½ tsp | 2 tsp |
| ½ tsp | ¼ tsp | 1 tsp |
PRO TIP: If you were looking for how many tablespoons is a ¼ cup, look at the left hand side of the chart where it says ¼ cup and the middle column states that to cut the recipe in half it is 2 tablespoons. That would mean that there is four tablespoons in a ¼ cup.
🍳 How to Cut Recipe into Thirds
| Original | Half Amount | Third Amount |
|---|---|---|
| 1 cup | ½ cup | ⅓ cup |
| ¾ cup | 6 tablespoons | ¼ cup |
| ⅔ cup | ⅓ cup | 3 tablespoons + 1 ½ teaspoons |
| ½ cup | ¼ cup | 2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons |
| ⅓ cup | 2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons | 1 tablespoon + 1 ¼ teaspoon |
| ¼ cup | 2 tablespoons | 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon |
| 1 tablespoon | 1 ½ teaspoons | 1 teaspoon |
| 1 teaspoon | ½ teaspoon | ¼ teaspoon |
| ½ teaspoon | ¼ teaspoon | ⅛ teaspoon |
| ¼ teaspoon | Dash | Dash |
‼️ Expert Tips
Salt, herbs, and spices can be tricky for recipes. To stay on the safe side, use a bit less than half of the original quantities and only add more after a taste test if needed.
If your recipe has an odd number of eggs, doubling it is easy. To halve it, beat one egg and use just half of the contents. If you have a scale, you can use it to weigh the beaten egg and use only 50%. Another simple approximation for half an egg is two tablespoons.
When halving a baking recipe, you will also need to use a different pan. Try to choose one with the same depth but half the volume of the pan required by the original recipe.
Converting liquid ingredients is much easier if you simply use a measuring cup with small increment markings.
Regardless if you are halving or doubling a recipe, adjusting the cooking time is critical. That’s not so easy since in some cases it won’t be exactly half or double the original time. As a result, I recommend you keep an eye on your food, especially if it’s the first time you are using the adjusted recipe.
This will also work when you are trying to bake in a certain sized pan and will have to half or double the recipe that is called for.
If you need to cut a recipe into thirds, reference Taste of Home for a
🖨️ Grab it Here
The How To Cut A Recipe In Half Or Double It printable is a freebie and you can get it by entering your email in the address form below. The PDF also includes a charming piece of wall art perfect for decorating your kitchen. Happy cooking!
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Hi!
Ginny Collins is a passionate foodie and recipe creator of Savor and Savvy and Kitchenlaughter. Indoors she focuses on easy, quick recipes for busy families and kitchen basics. Outdoors, she focuses on backyard grilling and smoking to bring family and friends together. She is a lifelong learner who is always taking cooking classes on her travels overseas and stateside. Her work has been featured on MSN, Parade, Fox News, Yahoo, Cosmopolitan, Elle, and many local news outlets. She lives in Florida where you will find her outside on the water in her kayak, riding her bike on trails, and planning her next overseas adventure.
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