Sage and onion stuffing: how much it costs to make, per portion
Sage and onion stuffing costs £0.14 a portion in ingredients (£1.45 for a batch of 10), from UK pack prices dated 25 October 2026. To reach 68% GP, the UK food benchmark, it needs to sell for at least £0.54 including 20% VAT (£0.45 without).
Stuffing balls made from a catering stuffing mix lifted with fresh onion, butter and extra sage. Twenty balls, two a portion, 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.
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Ingredients and cost, 10 portions
| Ingredient | Pack price | Pack size | Used | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sage and onion stuffing mix | £7.79 | 3000 g | 300 g | £0.78 |
| Brown onions | £7.49 | 10000 g | 150 g | £0.11 |
| Salted butter | £29.99 | 5000 g | 60 g | £0.36 |
| Dried sage | £1.09 | 11 g | 2 g | £0.20 |
| Batch total | £1.45 | |||
| Per portion (÷ 10) | £0.14 | |||
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 | £0.14 |
| Waste allowance, 5% (trim, ends, the odd one binned) | £0.01 |
| Staff time: 15 min hands-on for the batch of 10 at £12.71/hr + 25% on-cost | £0.40 |
| Food, waste and staff per portion | £0.55 |
At the lowest price (£0.45 ex VAT) that is 121% 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
- Finely chop the onion and soften in the butter without colour.
- Mix the stuffing mix with boiling water as the pack says, then stir in the onion and extra sage.
- Roll into twenty balls of about 35 g and bake at 190 °C for 20 to 25 minutes.
Costing notes
Mix against ready-made. JJ Foodservice also lists cooked stuffing balls at £33.09 a kilo. Two 20 g balls a portion from that pack cost about £1.32, several times the made-up mix, so the bought-in version only pays where labour is the tighter limit.
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.
- Sage and onion stuffing mix: Chef William sage and onion stuffing mix (SPI154), 3 kg, £7.79 collection — JJ Foodservice, accessed 2026-10-25
- Brown onions: Brown cooking onions (VEG655), 10 kg, £7.49 collection — JJ Foodservice, accessed 2026-10-25
- Salted butter: Lakeland salted butter, 20 x 250 g (DAI185), 5 kg, £29.99 collection — JJ Foodservice, accessed 2026-10-25
- Dried sage: Morrisons dried Sage (retail), 11 g, £1.09 shelf price — Morrisons (retail), accessed 2026-10-25
More costed dishes: seasonal
- Cranberry sauce — £0.15 a portion
- Christmas pudding with brandy sauce — £0.88 a portion
- Mince pies — £0.30 a portion
- Nut roast — £0.72 a portion