Food & cooking · Meal prep cost
Cooked meat cost per pound calculator.
Meat is priced raw but eaten cooked. Enter the shelf price and see the real cost per pound, per 100 g and per serving after it shrinks.
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Real cost of cooked meat
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What does a pound of cooked chicken really cost?
Shelf prices are for raw weight, but a meal prep container holds cooked meat. Because meat loses water and fat when it cooks, the cost per cooked pound is the raw price divided by the cooking yield. At a 72% yield the real cost is 1 divided by 0.72, or about 39% more than the shelf price.
Worked example. Chicken breast at $5.00 per lb raw and the USDA roasting yield of 72% costs about $6.94 per cooked pound, which is $1.53 per cooked 100 g and about $2.30 for a 150 g serving. Bacon at 32% yield costs more than three times its shelf price per cooked pound.
Use the optional yield box if you weighed your own batch. This compares meat cost only, not protein, fat or taste. To compare protein value use the cost per gram of protein calculator.
Frequently asked questions
How do I calculate the cost per cooked pound of meat?
Divide the raw price per pound by the cooking yield as a decimal. $5.00 per raw lb at 72% yield is 5 divided by 0.72, which is $6.94 per cooked lb.
Why is cooked meat more expensive per pound than the shelf price?
Meat loses water and fat when cooked, so you pay for raw weight but eat less. A 72% yield means the cooked meat costs about 39% more per pound.
What yield should I use?
Pick the matching cut and method for the USDA mean yield, or type your own percent after weighing the meat before and after cooking.
Does this include trimming and bones?
No. It uses the cooking yield only. If you trim fat or remove bone, weigh the trimmed raw meat or add the loss to the price yourself.
Which cut loses the least weight?
Among the cuts listed, grilled rib eye steak (about 84%) and flank steak (about 81%) keep the most. Bacon keeps the least at about 32%.
Sources
Retrieved
Method: cost per cooked unit = raw price per unit divided by (yield percent / 100). Yields are the USDA means for the cut and cooking method chosen. Runs entirely in your browser. Nothing you type is sent or stored.
Scope
Arithmetic on the raw price you enter and a published average yield. Always cook meat and poultry to the safe internal temperature on a food thermometer, whatever the weight says. General cooking information, not medical or dietetic advice.