If you’ve ever tried to track a recipe in MyFitnessPal and ended up with numbers that made zero sense, you’re not alone. MFP is a great tool for macro tracking, but it definitely requires some intentional setup, especially if you want accurate results (and especially if you cook for a family or like making meals in bulk like I always recommend).
Whether you’re tweaking someone else’s recipe, building one from scratch, or logging a meal you make on repeat, this step-by-step method will help you get precise macros every single time, without having to do math in your head or guessing at serving sizes.
Why You Should Create Your Own Recipe in MFP?
Sometimes you may want to adjust ingredients (i.e., swap chicken for ground turkey, use full-fat cheese instead of reduced-fat, or leave out certain ingredients) or create an accurate entry for a family recipe you want to be able to track.
MyFitnessPal lets you build and customize recipes exactly how you make them, but there’s a trick to getting the serving sizes right. If you’ve ever had a recipe come out to something wild like 1,000 calories of cilantro (yes, that happened to me), you already know: MFP isn’t always accurate unless you make it accurate.
How to Build a Recipe in MyFitnessPal
Step 1: Create a Recipe
In the MFP app, go to Recipes → Create a Recipe → Enter Ingredients Manually
Step 2: Add the Ingredients
Start by entering the ingredients you used. I normally just bulk-enter the ingredients at first, then I’ll double-check for any wonky items and enter the actual amounts of everything in grams in the next step.
Tip: When entering your ingredients, try to use weight measurements whenever possible (grams, ml, oz), not “1 chicken breast” or “2 tomatoes.” The more precise you are now, the easier tracking becomes later.
Examples:
- 700g raw boneless skinless chicken breast
- 14oz canned diced tomatoes (drained)
- 150g light shredded mozzarella
If you have the premium version, you can scan the barcodes, but still check that the macros match the package.
Step 3: Weigh the Final Cooked Recipe
This is the game-changing part most people skip.
Once the recipe is fully cooked (pancakes are cooked, soup simmered, casserole baked, chicken grilled, etc.), weigh the final product in grams, minus the weight of the pot, bowl, or dish (if it’s still in a dish).
Tip: I keep a note on my phone with the weights of my most-used pots, pans, and baking dishes. That way, if I forget to weigh the dish while it’s empty, I can just check the note and subtract it from the total. No need to stop and re-weigh anything.
That total cooked weight is what you will use as the number of servings.
Example:
Your pancakes weigh 613 grams once finished. Instead of telling MFP the recipe makes “3 servings,” you’re going to type in 613 servings.
Why? Because now each “serving” = 1 gram.
The macros will look tiny and weird at first (don’t worry, that’s good). Save the recipe.
Step 4: Log Your Portion by Weight
When you’re ready to eat, search for your recipe and add however many grams you’re having as the Number of Servings.
- 200g of pancakes? Log 200 servings.
- 300g of soup? Log 300 servings.
- 145g of casserole? Log 145 servings.
- 90g of chicken? Log 90 servings.
I love this method because it allows me to easily and accurately log any size serving I want, depending on my macro needs for the day. No guessing. No eyeballing. And no trying to cut a lasagna into “kinda even” squares and hoping for the best.
Not only is this method the most accurate, but it also allows you to:
✔ Eat different portion sizes every time
✔ Easily track leftovers
✔ Reuse the same recipe even if you double or halve it later
✔ Share the recipe with friends/family who track macros differently
If you’d rather skip all those steps, remember that all of my recipes, from the blog to my cookbooks to my meal plans, are already preloaded in MyFitnessPal, MacrosFirst, and Lose It. Just search the recipe title, find it, and log your portion!
Want To Make Macro-Tracking Even Easier?
If you’re already loving macro tracking, my blog and cookbooks are loaded with recipes that follow this exact method. High protein, lower fat, balanced carbs… and every recipe is already logged into MyFitnessPal, MacrosFirst, and Lost It so you can track easier, faster, and more accurately.
Or, subscribe to my monthly meal plan that already includes the macros to make tracking and meal planning easy!
With a meal plan subscription, whether you’re feeding yourself or a family of 10, you can adjust the servings you want to make just the right amount of food and buy just the right amount of groceries, and everything will be calculated for you!
And remember, you don’t need to figure out his method if you just want to use any of the recipes from my blog, cookbooks, or meal plans. All recipes are already preloaded in MyFitnessPal, MacrosFirst, and Lose It. Just search the recipe title, find it, and log your portion!
Why This Makes Macro Tracking So Much Easier
Tracking macros can feel overwhelming, especially if you’re cooking for more than just yourself. But once you get the hang of this system, paired with macro-friendly recipes, it becomes second nature.
I’ve counted macros on and off for 6+ years, and I can tell you: if healthy eating is miserable, it won’t last. My whole approach is flavorful, simple, and filling meals that just happen to have great macros.
Plus, it makes it way easier when you can just log any of the recipes, from my blog, cookbooks, or meal plans, without having to go through the steps of creating your own recipes. All of my recipes are already preloaded in MyFitnessPal, MacrosFirst, and Lose It. Just search the recipe title, find it, and log your portion!
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