Tacos Food Cost Calculator
This serving contains three chicken tacos, so the tortilla count and total cooked meat weight belong to one plate rather than three separately priced portions on the menu.
Chicken thigh yield accounts for cooking loss to deliver four and a half ounces of cooked meat; salsa is a prepared subrecipe, and onion and cilantro are measured after trimming to keep garnish costs visible.
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 ($) | Used | Yield % | Line cost ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Corn tortilla (each) | 30 | 1.80 | 3 | 100 | 0.18 |
| Chicken thigh (oz, cooked needed) | 16 | 2.00 | 4.5 | 75 | 0.75 |
| Prepared salsa (oz) | 32 | 3.00 | 2 | 100 | 0.19 |
| Onion (oz, trimmed) | 16 | 0.70 | 0.75 | 90 | 0.04 |
| Cilantro (oz, usable) | 4 | 0.80 | 0.15 | 70 | 0.04 |
| Lime wedge (each) | 8 | 0.50 | 2 | 100 | 0.13 |
| Seasoning and oil (portion) | 1 | 0.12 | 1 | 100 | 0.12 |
Example menu price
Example cost per plate: $1.44. At 30% food cost, the unrounded price is $4.81. Suggested price rounded up to the next $0.50: $5.00, giving 28.84% 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/tacos