Get dinner right, first time.
Simple cooking times, measurements, portions and meal planning for UK kitchens.
What are you preparing?
AI-poweredPopular cooking tasks
All 109 calculators- How long to cook chickenRoasting time by weight
- Pasta per personDried and fresh amounts
- Cups to gramsFor the ingredient you use
- Oven temperaturesFan, conventional, gas mark
- Defrost a turkeyFridge thawing time
- Air fryer conversionFrom oven times
- Rice per personHow much to cook
- Kitchen timerSeveral timers at once
Meal Planner
Get everything ready at the same time.
Add each dish as you work out its cooking time, then choose when you want to eat. You get one timetable for the whole meal, with a warning if two dishes need the oven at different temperatures.
Plan a meal
Seasonal
Planning Christmas dinner?
Work out quantities, cooking times and a practical plan to get everything ready together.
Browse all calculators
Pick what you are trying to do.
- Conversions14 toolsWeights, volumes, spoons, cups and oven temperatures.
- Portions & scaling13 toolsHow much to cook, and how to resize a recipe.
- Cooking times34 toolsRoasting times for meat and poultry, plus appliance conversions.
- Appliances4 toolsSlow cooker, pressure cooker and air fryer times.
- Baking15 toolsTins, dough, cake portions and brines.
- Storage & leftovers3 toolsHow long food keeps, defrosting times and reheating safely.
- Entertaining8 toolsBarbecues, buffets and feeding a crowd.
- Sauces & ratios6 toolsRoux, béchamel, stock, marinades, dressings and syrups.
- Nutrition & dietary12 toolsWhat is in a recipe or an ingredient, using official UK food composition data.
- Plan a meal2 toolsWork backwards from the time you want to eat.
- Timers1 toolsRun several kitchen timers at once.
Step-by-step guides
When you want the whole job explained rather than one number.
- How to Roast a Chicken
- How to Roast Beef
- How to Cook a Turkey for Christmas
- How to Make a Roast Dinner Finish at the Same Time
- Fan Oven vs Conventional Oven
- Cups to Grams: Why the Ingredient Matters
Why you can trust these numbers
- Transparent assumptionsEvery cooking time comes from a written rule: minutes per kilogram, a fixed extra allowance, an oven temperature and a resting time, rather than a guess.
- UK measurementsGrams, millilitres, gas marks and fan ovens first, with cups and ounces converted for the ingredient you are using.
- Food-safety guidanceWhere safety is involved we follow NHS and Food Standards Agency guidance and say where the figure comes from. Always check meat is properly cooked before serving.
Questions and answers
Common cooking questions
How long should I cook a chicken for?
It depends on the weight of the bird and whether your oven is fan or conventional, so enter both on the chicken calculator and you get the roasting time, oven temperature, resting time and how to check it is cooked through.
How do I convert cups to grams?
You need to know the ingredient: a cup of flour and a cup of sugar weigh very different amounts because a cup measures volume, not weight. Pick the ingredient on the converter and it gives the weight in grams.
How much food do I need per person?
Start with the food itself (meat, potatoes, rice, pasta and vegetables all have their own sensible portion), then adjust for how many side dishes you are serving and whether you want leftovers.
How do I get several dishes to finish at the same time?
Work each dish out on its own calculator and add it to My Meal, then choose when you want to eat. You get one running order with start times, plus a warning when two dishes want the oven at different temperatures or there is not enough time left.
What is the fan oven equivalent of 180°C?
Fan ovens are normally set about 20°C lower than conventional ovens for the same dish, and gas marks follow their own scale. The oven temperature converter shows conventional, fan and gas mark side by side.
How long can I keep leftovers?
Cool them quickly, refrigerate them, and reheat until steaming hot only once. The leftovers calculator gives the fridge and freezer guidance for the specific food, with the Food Standards Agency source it comes from.