Margherita pizza (12-inch): how much it costs to make, per portion
A 12-inch takeaway margherita: 250 g dough ball (pizza flour, water, yeast, salt, oil), 80 g of seasoned pizza sauce and 130 g of mozzarella, finished with oregano. Costed from JJ Foodservice wholesale prices dated 9 October 2026. The box is not included; add it as a line for delivery.
The menu price is the one ChefSums uses for this dish on its sample takeaway menu, a realistic UK menu price. The lowest price is the one that just reaches 68% GP, the UK food GP benchmark (UKHospitality × Christie & Co, 2022: 65.9–69% food GP across every segment). It covers the ingredients at a normal margin, not staff, rent or energy, and most cafés, pubs and takeaways charge more for simple dishes. Check what places near you charge. GP is worked out on the ex-VAT price.
Open in ChefSums — edit, cost, scale →
Ingredients and cost, 10 portions
| Ingredient | Pack price | Pack size | Used | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pizza flour | £13.49 | 16000 g | 1550 g | £1.31 |
| Instant yeast | £6.29 | 500 g | 8 g | £0.10 |
| Table salt | £10.99 | 6000 g | 30 g | £0.05 |
| Vegetable oil | £8.50 | 5000 ml | 40 ml | £0.07 |
| Pizza sauce | £9.99 | 4100 g | 800 g | £1.95 |
| Mozzarella, block | £12.74 | 1000 g | 1300 g | £16.56 |
| Dried oregano | £8.99 | 800 g | 5 g | £0.06 |
| Batch total | £20.10 | |||
| Per portion (÷ 10) | £2.01 | |||
Cost per line is pack price × (amount used ÷ pack size), the same sum the tool runs. Change one pack price and every line that uses it moves.
What it really costs: waste and staff time
| Ingredients | £2.01 |
| Waste allowance, 5% (trim, ends, the odd one binned) | £0.10 |
| Staff time: 20 min hands-on for the batch of 10 at £12.71/hr + 25% on-cost | £0.53 |
| Food, waste and staff per portion | £2.64 |
At the sample takeaway menu price (£9.99 ex VAT) that is 26% of the price, before rent, energy and everything else. Many UK sites aim to keep food plus staff (prime cost) at or under 60–65% of sales. The staff line counts hands-on prep only, not unattended cooking, and uses the April 2026 National Living Wage; put your own rate, minutes and waste in the calculator's real cost section or the prime cost calculator. Every dish side by side: the UK dish cost index.
Method
- Mix the flour, about 950 ml of cold water (costed at zero), the yeast, salt and oil into a smooth dough; this makes ten 250 g balls.
- Ball, cover and cold-prove for 24-48 hours in the fridge; take out 2 hours before service.
- Stretch to 12 inches, spread 80 g of sauce to 2 cm from the edge, add 130 g of torn or grated mozzarella and a pinch of oregano.
- Bake in a deck oven at around 280-300 °C for 6-8 minutes, until the base is spotted underneath.
Costing notes
Cheese is over three-quarters of the cost of a margherita, so the cheese spec decides your margin: a 70/30 or 80/20 mozzarella-cheddar pizza blend (about £4.75 a kilo by the 5×2 kg case at JJ the same day) is cheaper than a block mozzarella and melts well on a deck. Dough is pennies; the flour for a whole ball is under 15p.
For delivery, add the box (typically 15-25p for a 12-inch) and the platform commission to the price, not to the food cost.
Where the prices came from
JJ Foodservice collection prices as shown on its public search pages on 9 October 2026 (delivery runs about £1-2 a case higher). A few lines JJ did not list in that day's searches reuse the dated prices already on our other starter recipes (7 September 2026, JJ Foodservice or Tesco retail, marked on each line). JJ does not label VAT on most lines: raw food is zero-rated in the UK, while soft drinks, alcohol, confectionery and some ingredients carry standard-rate VAT. Your supplier's price is the one that matters: open the recipe and type it in.
- Pizza flour: JJ Pizza Flour 1x16kg (PIZ199), 16 kg, £13.49 collection — JJ Foodservice, accessed 2026-10-09
- Instant yeast: Fermipan Instant Yeast 1x500g (MIS078), 500 g, £6.29 collection — JJ Foodservice, accessed 2026-10-09
- Table salt: DP Table Salt Tub 1x6kg (SPI277), 6 kg, £10.99 collection — JJ Foodservice, accessed 2026-10-09
- Vegetable oil: Tesco Vegetable Oil 5 Litre (list price, not the Clubcard promo), 5 L, £8.50 — Tesco (retail), accessed 2026-09-07
- Pizza sauce: Mutti Classic Pizza Sauce 1x4.1kg, 4.1 kg, £9.99 collection — JJ Foodservice, accessed 2026-10-09
- Mozzarella, block: Galbani Mozzarella Block 1x1kg (CHE219), 1 kg, £12.74 collection — JJ Foodservice, accessed 2026-10-09
- Dried oregano: JJ Oregano 1x0.8kg (SPI597), 800 g, £8.99 collection — JJ Foodservice, accessed 2026-10-09
More costed dishes: takeaway
- Lamb doner kebab in pitta — £2.62 a serve
- Portion of chips — £0.40 a portion
- Southern fried chicken burger — £1.56 a serve
- Buffalo chicken wings — £1.72 a portion