Meal Prep Portion Calculator

How this meal prep portion calculator works

The batch is whatever you type. Calories are required. Protein, carbohydrate, and fat grams are optional, and the cross-check runs only when all three gram fields have a number, including a typed zero. There is no food database behind the form. If the grams came from a label or from the macro calculator recipe mode, type those grams. This page will not look them up.

When you know the container count, each portion is the batch total divided by that count. Six portions of a 2,400 kcal batch are 2,400 / 6. The same division applies to each gram field you filled in. The headline uses the calorie field you typed, not a recalculation from the grams, so a recipe card that already states calories can be portioned even when you leave the gram boxes empty.

When you set a calorie target instead, the script divides batch calories by that target. The exact quotient is kept. Whole portions are the integer part, using floor. The remainder calories are batch calories minus whole portions times the target. If the remainder is above zero, it is one extra container, so the container count is the whole portions plus one. Grams follow the same calorie share: a full target portion gets grams times target calories divided by batch calories, and the remainder container gets grams times remainder calories divided by batch calories. A 2,400 kcal batch aimed at 500 kcal per full portion is 4.8 in exact arithmetic, which is 4 full portions and 400 kcal left over.

If all three gram fields are filled, the page also adds 4 times protein grams, plus 4 times carbohydrate grams, plus 9 times fat grams. Those are the general factors in 21 CFR 101.9(c)(1)(i)(B): 4 calories per gram of protein, 4 calories per gram of total carbohydrate, and 9 calories per gram of total fat, as described in USDA Handbook No. 74. The same section allows other calorie methods, including specific Atwater factors and a method that removes non-digestible carbohydrate and sugar alcohols before using 4, 4, and 9. This page uses only the plain factors, and only as a comparison. The portion split still follows the calorie number you typed. A difference is reported in calories. It is not labeled as a bad recipe.

The fridge and freezer split uses the container count, not a fraction of a container. Fridge slots equal the window you pick, 3 or 4, times the portions you say you will eat on each fridge day. Fridge containers are the smaller of the container count and those slots. Freezer containers are the rest. The result always prints the other end of the 3-to-4 range with the same meals-per-day figure, so choosing 4 days does not hide what 3 days would have done. The weekday names start the day after the cook day you select. Sunday plus a 4-day window lists Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. That weekday shift is this page's layout. It is not a sentence on the FSIS page. FSIS measures holding time, not a day of the week. If you eat from the pot the night you cook, lower the window or the portions-per-day number. The form will not assume that meal for you.

The storage sentences this split relies on are from the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service leftovers page, read October 1, 2026. Bacteria grow rapidly between 40°F and 140°F. Within 2 hours of cooking, or after food is removed from an appliance that was keeping it warm, leftovers must be refrigerated. Perishable food left at room temperature more than 2 hours should be thrown away, and the limit is 1 hour if the temperature is over 90°F. Cool food quickly by dividing large amounts into shallow containers so it reaches 40°F or below. Hot food may go straight into the refrigerator or through an ice bath first. Leftovers can be kept in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days or frozen for 3 to 4 months. FSIS also says frozen leftovers are safe indefinitely, while moisture and flavor can decline if they stay frozen longer. Reheat leftovers to 165°F measured with a food thermometer. Sauces, soups, and gravies should come to a rolling boil. This calculator does not watch your fridge, your clock, or your thermometer. The 3-or-4 choice only caps how many containers the plan parks in the fridge.

Cost is optional and always typed by you. In portion-count mode, cost per container is the batch cost divided by the container count. In target mode, cost follows calories: batch cost times the container's calories, divided by batch calories. A full 500 kcal piece of a 2,400 kcal batch is 500/2,400 of the typed cost, and the 400 kcal remainder is 400/2,400 of it. Those two shares add back to the batch cost. Leave the cost field blank and the result has no dollar line. Nothing on the page inserts a grocery price.

Worked examples

Example 1: Six portions of a 2,400 kcal batch

Type 2400 calories, 180 grams protein, 240 grams carbohydrate, 80 grams fat, 6 portions, cooked Sunday, fridge window 4, one portion per fridge day. Each portion is 2,400 / 6 = 400 kcal, 180 / 6 = 30 g protein, 240 / 6 = 40 g carbohydrate, and 80 / 6 = 13.333… g fat, which the display rounds to 13.33 g. The general factors agree with the typed calories: 4 × 180 + 4 × 240 + 9 × 80 = 720 + 960 + 720 = 2,400, so the gap is 0. Fridge slots are 4 × 1 = 4. Fridge containers are the minimum of 6 and 4, which is 4, on Monday through Thursday. Freezer containers are 2. The other end of the range, 3 days, would put 3 in the fridge Monday through Wednesday and 3 in the freezer. A hypothetical batch cost of $12, typed by you and not taken from a store, is 12 / 6 = $2.00 per container.

Example 2: The same batch divided into eight portions

Change only the portion count from 6 to 8. Calories per portion become 2,400 / 8 = 300. Protein becomes 180 / 8 = 22.5 g. Carbohydrate becomes 30 g. Fat becomes 10 g. The batch did not grow. The containers got smaller. With Sunday, a 4-day window, and one portion per fridge day, fridge containers stay 4 and freezer containers become 4. The 3-day end of the same range is 3 fridge and 5 freezer. Eight lunches from a Sunday cook do not all belong in the refrigerator if you are using the 3-to-4-day window and eating one a day. The extra containers are the freezer count on this page.

Example 3: A 500 kcal target inside the same 2,400 kcal batch

Switch to target mode and type 500. The exact quotient is 2,400 / 500 = 4.8. Whole portions are 4. Remainder calories are 2,400 − 4 × 500 = 400. Container count is 5. Each full portion is 500 kcal, with protein 180 × 500 / 2,400 = 37.5 g, carbohydrate 50 g, and fat 80 × 500 / 2,400 = 16.666… g, shown as 16.67 g. The remainder container is 400 kcal, 30 g protein, 40 g carbohydrate, and 13.33 g fat. Sunday, 4-day window, one portion per fridge day: 4 fridge containers and 1 freezer container. The 3-day window would be 3 fridge and 2 freezer. A hypothetical $12 batch cost assigns 12 × 500 / 2,400 = $2.50 to each full portion and 12 × 400 / 2,400 = $2.00 to the remainder. 4 × $2.50 + $2.00 = $12.00.

Example 4: Typed calories that do not match 4, 4, and 9

Keep 2400 calories, 180 g protein, and 240 g carbohydrate, and change fat from 80 g to 60 g, still 6 portions. Portion calories stay 400 because they follow the calorie field. Protein per portion stays 30 g, carbohydrate stays 40 g, and fat is 60 / 6 = 10 g. The general-factor total is 4 × 180 + 4 × 240 + 9 × 60 = 720 + 960 + 540 = 2,220. The gap is 2,400 − 2,220 = 180 kcal on the batch, which is 30 kcal on each of the six portions if you spread the gap evenly. The page shows the gap. It still divides the 2,400 you typed. Use the label's calorie figure when you have one. The regulation allows more than one calorie method, and it rounds calories on the label.

When to use this

Use it after a batch is cooked, or while you are planning the batch, once you know the totals you are willing to type. A pot of chili, a tray of rice and beans, or a sheet of chicken becomes a container count, a per-container calorie line, and a fridge cap you can see before you fill the boxes. Pair it with the grocery list generator when the earlier problem is buying the ingredients, and with the protein intake calculator when you want a daily gram reference to compare with the grams per container. A container's grams are not a daily target. They are the batch divided by the count you chose.

The TDEE calculator is where a maintenance estimate comes from if you do not already have a calorie number to aim at. This page will accept any positive calorie total. It does not check that total against Mifflin-St Jeor, and it does not tell you to eat a deficit. The protein cost calculator answers a different money question: package price divided by protein grams. A batch cost divided by portions is the figure on this page, and only after you type the batch cost.

Common mistakes

• Typing per-serving grams into the batch fields. The form asks for the whole pot. If the card already says 400 kcal and 30 g protein per serving, and you made 6 servings, the batch is 2,400 kcal and 180 g protein. Dividing a per-serving figure by 6 again makes the containers look tiny.
• Reading 4 fridge days as a guarantee through Thursday night. The weekday list is this page's layout for a Sunday cook. FSIS gives a 3-to-4-day refrigerator range and a 2-hour cooling rule. A pot that sat out too long does not get the full window back because a calculator named Thursday.
• Counting the cook day and the next four days. The script starts naming days on the following weekday. Add the cook-night portion yourself by lowering the later count, or the fridge number will be one meal too generous.
• Treating freezer months as a safety cliff. FSIS pairs 3 to 4 months with the statement that frozen leftovers are safe indefinitely and can lose moisture and flavor. This page's freezer number is "not in the fridge window." It is not an expiration date.
• Ignoring a 4/4/9 gap. Example 4 still prints 400 kcal per portion from the typed total while the grams support 2,220 kcal for the batch. Decide which figure you meant before you label the lids.
• Entering a market price you did not pay. The cost box is your number. The $12 lines in the examples are marked hypothetical so they cannot be mistaken for a survey.

Limitations

Adults and general leftovers guidance only, in the sense that the red notice above the form still applies and this tool adds no clinical diet. The FSIS page is about handling leftovers safely. It is not a meal plan, and this calculator is not a substitute for a food thermometer. The script does not know whether the batch is meat, a vegetarian stew, rice that was cooled slowly, or a dish someone with a medical condition was told to avoid. It will divide any positive numbers. Shallow containers, the 40°F refrigerator, the 2-hour or 1-hour limit, and reheating to 165°F are reminders copied from FSIS. They are not sensors.

Equal portions assume the pot was stirred and scooped evenly. The last ladle can be thicker. The page cannot see that. Target mode can produce a remainder container that is a different size from the others, which is the point of showing 400 kcal beside four containers of 500. If the calorie target is larger than the batch, whole portions are 0 and the remainder is the entire batch as one container. A proportional "cost of a target-sized portion" can then exceed the batch cost, because the target is larger than the food you have. Read that line as arithmetic, and use the remainder cost, which is the whole typed cost, as the pot you actually cooked. Container material is outside the math. Cooling advice from FSIS is about shallow containers and speed, not about a brand of box.

FAQ

How long does FSIS say leftovers keep in the refrigerator?

The FSIS leftovers page says leftovers can be kept in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days or frozen for 3 to 4 months. This calculator uses 3 or 4, the number you select, as the fridge window. It does not pick a single day count and call it the rule.

Does freezing make the extra portions last forever?

FSIS says frozen leftovers are safe indefinitely, and that they can lose moisture and flavor when stored for a longer time. The same page gives 3 to 4 months as the freezer storage time next to the 3-to-4-day refrigerator time. This page treats the freezer count as the portions that do not fit in the fridge window. It does not assign a quality date to each container.

Why does the weekday list start the day after cooking?

That is a planning choice on this page so a Sunday cook lines up with Monday as the first fridge day. FSIS counts time in the refrigerator, not a named weekday. If you eat a portion the night you cook, shorten the window or the portions-per-day figure yourself. The page will not guess that you did.

What reheating temperature does the leftovers page give?

FSIS says to reheat leftovers to 165 degrees Fahrenheit as measured with a food thermometer. Sauces, soups, and gravies should be brought to a rolling boil. This calculator does not measure temperature. The 165 degree figure is a reminder from that page, not a reading from your kitchen.

Why can the typed batch calories differ from 4, 4, and 9?

Portion calories follow the calorie total you type. If protein, carbohydrate, and fat grams are all filled in, the page also computes 4 times protein plus 4 times carbohydrate plus 9 times fat, from the general factors in 21 CFR 101.9. A gap between those two calorie figures is shown. Labels may use other allowed methods and they round calories, so a recipe card can differ from both numbers.

Does the container material change the portion math?

No. The page divides the batch you type. It does not compare glass and plastic, and it does not give a health ranking of container materials. FSIS does say to divide large amounts into shallow containers so the food cools quickly toward 40 degrees Fahrenheit.

Is the fridge and freezer split a promise that the food is safe?

No. It is arithmetic plus the published 3-to-4-day refrigerator window. Cooling speed, the two-hour rule, and the 165 degree reheating step still apply. When the dish, the temperature, or someone's health makes the general leftovers page a poor fit, use FSIS guidance and a food thermometer, not this split.

Where does cost per portion come from?

From a batch cost you type, divided by the container count, or, in calorie-target mode, multiplied by the share of batch calories in that container. Leave the cost blank and no dollar figure appears. Example dollars on this page are hypothetical. They are not store prices.

Related calculators

• Macro Calculator for calories from grams, or grams from a calorie target
• Grocery List Generator for the ingredient list before you cook
• Weekly Meal Planner for the week those portions are meant to cover
• Protein Intake Calculator for a daily gram reference from body weight
• Protein Cost Calculator for package price divided by protein grams
• TDEE Calculator if you still need a maintenance estimate
• Recipe Scaler if the batch size changes before you know the cooked totals

Sources

Checked October 1, 2026.

• USDA FSIS, Leftovers and Food Safety. Refrigerator holding of 3 to 4 days, freezer note of 3 to 4 months, the statement that frozen leftovers are safe indefinitely while quality can decline, the 40°F refrigerator, the 2-hour rule and the 1-hour rule above 90°F, shallow containers for rapid cooling, and reheating to 165°F. The page's own "last updated" line said Jul 31, 2020, when read on October 1, 2026. FSIS leftovers and food safety.
• 21 CFR 101.9(c)(1)(i)(B), general factors of 4, 4, and 9 calories per gram for protein, total carbohydrate, and total fat, used only for the optional comparison with the calorie total you type. 21 CFR 101.9.