How to Halve a Recipe — A Complete Guide With Common Conversions

Halving a recipe sounds simple but it gets tricky fast. What is half of ¾ cup? What do you do with half an egg? Here is the quick-reference answer first — full detail underneath.

Quick reference — halved measurements

For guaranteed accuracy when halving any recipe, weigh your ingredients in grams using a kitchen scale rather than trying to eyeball half a cup. See our recommended scales in the Kitchen Essentials section.

Need an exact gram weight for a specific ingredient? Use our free ingredient converter, or read the full cups to grams guide. For a refresher on the underlying units see our overview of cooking measurements. Or skip the maths entirely with our free recipe scaler.

The Simple Math

To halve any ingredient simply divide the amount by 2. The table above covers the conversions you will reach for most often.

What to Do With Half an Egg

Beat the egg lightly and use half by volume — roughly 1.5 tablespoons for half a large egg.

Adjusting Baking Times

When halving a recipe baked in a pan, use a smaller pan to maintain the same depth of batter. Reduce baking time by about 25% and check for doneness early.