Carbonara Food Cost Calculator
Guanciale and Pecorino are the costly components of this carbonara, while the dry spaghetti weight determines the pasta portion before it absorbs water during cooking in the kitchen.
The example uses one egg and an additional yolk without cream; the yolk price allocates a whole egg unless the white is recovered elsewhere, and pancetta can replace guanciale at your actual purchase cost.
Editable example: quantities are a typical standard spec and prices are plausible US wholesale estimates, not supplier quotes or current market data. Replace them with your own.
Example ingredient spec
Purchase and usage quantities use the same unit named in each row. Batch portions: 1.
| Ingredient / unit | Purchase qty | Purchase cost ($) | Used | Yield % | Line cost ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dry spaghetti (oz) | 16 | 1.20 | 4 | 100 | 0.30 |
| Guanciale or pancetta (oz, raw) | 16 | 10.00 | 2 | 100 | 1.25 |
| Pecorino Romano (oz) | 16 | 9.00 | 1 | 100 | 0.56 |
| Egg (each) | 30 | 6.00 | 1 | 100 | 0.20 |
| Yolk (each, whole egg allocated) | 30 | 6.00 | 1 | 100 | 0.20 |
| Black pepper (oz) | 16 | 6.00 | 0.03 | 100 | 0.01 |
Example menu price
Example cost per plate: $2.52. At 30% food cost, the unrounded price is $8.41. Suggested price rounded up to the next $0.50: $8.50, giving 29.69% actual ingredient cost.
These example prices exclude labor, overhead and tax. The ingredient table and suggestion describe the starting spec; edit the calculator to cost your own version.
Formula
Ingredient cost = purchase cost ÷ purchase quantity × quantity used ÷ (yield % ÷ 100). Plate cost = total ingredient cost ÷ portions.
More to cost
Calculated free at thehospitalityinsider.com/food-cost/carbonara