Mince pies: how much it costs to make, per portion
Mince pies costs £0.30 a portion in ingredients (£7.12 for a batch of 24), from UK pack prices dated 25 October 2026. To reach 68% GP it needs at least £0.93 to take away (zero-rated) or £1.11 eaten in, including 20% VAT.
Mince pies for a café counter or a festive menu: catering shortcrust pastry and two jars of mincemeat make twenty-four pies with lids. Costed from JJ Foodservice and Morrisons prices read on 25 October 2026.
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.
VAT: cold cake sold to take away is zero-rated; eaten on your premises (including your own tables outside) it is standard-rated at 20%. HMRC VAT Notice 709/1, section 4.1: “Cold takeaway food and drink is zero-rated, as long as it’s not of a type that’s always standard-rated” (Catering, takeaway food).
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Ingredients and cost, 24 portions
| Ingredient | Pack price | Pack size | Used | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shortcrust pastry | £17.99 | 6000 g | 700 g | £2.10 |
| Mincemeat, 2 jars | £2.40 | 411 g | 822 g | £4.80 |
| Egg (to glaze) | £3.79 | 30 each | 1 each | £0.13 |
| Icing sugar | £6.99 | 3000 g | 30 g | £0.07 |
| Plain flour (to roll) | £12.99 | 16000 g | 30 g | £0.02 |
| Batch total | £7.12 | |||
| Per portion (÷ 24) | £0.30 | |||
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 | £0.30 |
| Waste allowance, 5% (trim, ends, the odd one binned) | £0.01 |
| Staff time: 30 min hands-on for the batch of 24 at £12.71/hr + 25% on-cost | £0.33 |
| Food, waste and staff per portion | £0.64 |
At the lowest price (£0.93 ex VAT) that is 69% 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
- Roll the pastry on a floured surface to 3 mm and cut 24 bases and 24 lids.
- Line a greased bun tin, add about 34 g of mincemeat to each and top with the lids.
- Brush with beaten egg and bake at 200 °C for 18 to 20 minutes until golden.
- Cool in the tin for 5 minutes, then dust with icing sugar.
Where the prices came from
JJ Foodservice collection prices (single-unit price, no multi-buy tiers) and Morrisons shelf prices, read on 25 October 2026. Morrisons lines are used where JJ Foodservice listed no equivalent that day; wholesale is usually lower, so treat those lines as cautious. Prices are as listed; JJ does not label VAT on most lines, and most raw food is zero-rated in the UK while alcohol and some ingredients carry standard-rate VAT. Your supplier's price is the one that matters: open the recipe and type it in.
- Shortcrust pastry: Jus-Rol shortcrust pastry block, 4 x 1.5 kg (PAS161), 6 kg, £17.99 collection — JJ Foodservice, accessed 2026-10-25
- Mincemeat: Morrisons Mincemeat (retail), 411 g, £2.40 shelf price — Morrisons (retail), accessed 2026-10-25
- Egg: Medium eggs, tray of 30 (EGG024), 30, £3.79 collection — JJ Foodservice, accessed 2026-10-25
- Icing sugar: Tate & Lyle icing sugar (SPI030), 3 kg, £6.99 collection — JJ Foodservice, accessed 2026-10-25
- Plain flour: JJ plain flour (FLO016), 16 kg, £12.99 collection — JJ Foodservice, accessed 2026-10-25
More costed dishes: seasonal
- Nut roast — £0.72 a portion
- Bread sauce — £0.13 a portion
- Braised red cabbage — £0.20 a portion
- Smoked salmon starter — £1.87 a portion