This is the one that trips people up, because “cost per serving” sounds like the right answer.
In theory, it is. In real life, it’s the number most likely to annoy you.
Cost per serving is a math problem
It assumes:
- You measured everything correctly
- You used exactly what the recipe says
- You got exactly the number of servings the recipe claims
If any of those drift (they do), cost per serving starts feeling like a fiction.
Cost per meal is a life problem
Cost per meal answers the question people actually mean:
“What did dinner cost us?”
It naturally handles things like:
- Leftovers (tomorrow’s lunch counts too)
- Second helpings
- “This fed three adults and one teenager” reality
A simple example
You cook chili.
- You use half a package of ground beef
- A can of beans
- Some onion, spices, tomatoes
It makes a pot. The pot feeds dinner, then lunch the next day.
Cost per serving asks you to pretend that “8 servings” is a real number with boundaries. Cost per meal just says: we ate it twice. Divide it that way.
When cost per serving is still useful
Cost per serving is great when:
- You meal prep on purpose
- You portion things consistently
- You’re comparing two recipe options
It’s just not the best default if you’re trying to understand your real spending.
The takeaway
If you’ve ever felt like you’re “doing the math wrong,” you might not be wrong—you might just be using the wrong unit.
Track meals the way you live: meals and leftovers, not theoretical servings.