Recipe Calorie Calculator
Add each ingredient with its calories from the label or package, set how many servings the recipe makes, and get the total and per-serving numbers instantly. The math is the annoying part; this does it live.
Or skip the labels entirely: Nouri estimates a whole recipe from one typed sentence, free to try. "Chicken stir fry for four: 500g chicken thighs, 2 cups rice, soy sauce, oil" comes back itemized with calories, macros, and per-serving math done. Estimate your recipe in Nouri →
How to price each ingredient
The reliable source is the package in your hand: take the label's calories per serving, multiply by how many servings you actually used, and enter that number. Half a 400-calorie jar of sauce is 200; three tablespoons of an oil labeled 120 per tablespoon is 360. For unpackaged produce and meat, the printed weight and the label of a comparable packaged product get you close, and being consistently close is the actual goal, as we argue in Why Calorie Tracking Apps Are Inaccurate.
A worked example
Suppose your labels read: chicken 660, rice 620, oil 240, sauce 180, vegetables 100. Total: 660 + 620 + 240 + 180 + 100 = 1,800 calories, and at 4 servings that is 450 per serving. Change the servings to 3 and the same pot becomes 600 per serving, which is the whole reason per-serving math matters: the recipe did not change, your portion did.
The three mistakes that break recipe math
| Mistake | The fix |
|---|---|
| Forgetting the cooking fat | Oil is the densest thing in the pot at 9 calories per gram; enter every spoonful you poured |
| Using per-serving label values without multiplying | Enter calories for the amount used, not the label's serving |
| Counting servings optimistically | Count how many bowls the pot actually produces at the size you actually eat |
These are the recipe-sized versions of the universal logging leaks in Common Food Logging Mistakes. For restaurant plates you did not cook, the component method in How to Log Restaurant Meals is the same idea without the labels.
FAQ
How do I calculate calories in a homemade recipe?
Sum every ingredient's calories for the amounts used, then divide by the servings the pot actually makes. This tool does the arithmetic live as you type.
Where do I get each ingredient's calories?
The package label, scaled to the amount you used. For loose produce and meat, the printed weight plus a comparable label is close enough for a consistent estimate.
Do I count calories lost in cooking?
Practical answer: enter what went into the pot and stay consistent. Absorbed-versus-drained oil is real but small next to the errors of skipping ingredients entirely.
How accurate is a recipe calorie estimate?
As accurate as its inputs: labels themselves carry legal tolerance, so treat the result as a good estimate. Consistency across your recipes matters more than any single number.
How do I handle leftovers?
The per-serving number is exactly for this: log one serving each time you eat one. If your bowls vary, count the pot in bowls of the size you really serve.
Can I track protein per serving too?
Yes, fill the optional protein column from each label and the per-serving protein updates alongside calories.
Is there a faster way than reading five labels?
That is what Nouri's sentence logging is for: type the recipe as you would describe it to a friend, servings included, and get an itemized estimate without touching a label.
Should I re-enter the recipe every time I cook it?
No, that is wasted work. Save the per-serving number once; in Nouri, saved meals re-log your regular recipes in one tap.