How to make a Nutrition Facts label for your homemade food

If you sell baked goods, granola, sauces or snacks, you can build a Nutrition Facts label from your own recipe. Here is the process, step by step.

1. Write down the recipe by weight

List every ingredient and how much goes into one whole batch. Weights in grams are the most accurate. Cups and spoons work if you know what a cup of that ingredient weighs, because a cup of flour and a cup of sugar weigh very different amounts.

2. Decide how many servings the batch makes

The label shows nutrition per serving, so you divide the batch totals by the number of servings. Your serving size should reflect the amount people normally eat at one time. The FDA publishes reference amounts for common food categories, and your declared serving is based on those.

The label also states servings per container and the serving size in a household measure with the metric weight, for example "2 cookies (34g)".

3. Add up the nutrients

For each ingredient, find its nutrition per 100 g from a reliable source, such as USDA FoodData Central or the supplier's spec sheet. Multiply by the weight you used, add every ingredient together, and divide by the number of servings.

The 2016 label format requires calories, total fat, saturated fat, trans fat, cholesterol, sodium, total carbohydrate, dietary fiber, total sugars, added sugars, protein, vitamin D, calcium, iron and potassium. Vitamins A and C are no longer required, though you may include them.

Calculating from ingredients is a recognized method, but it ignores changes during cooking, such as water lost in baking. If accuracy matters a lot for your product, a lab analysis is the alternative.

4. Round every number the way the FDA requires

Label values are not printed as calculated. Calories round to the nearest 5 up to 50 and the nearest 10 above that. Fat rounds to the nearest half gram under 5 g. Sodium has its own steps. Small amounts become "0" or "less than 1g". The details are in our rounding rules guide.

5. Work out the % Daily Value

Each nutrient with a Daily Value gets a percentage: the amount per serving divided by the reference amount for a 2,000-calorie diet. For example, the Daily Value for sodium is 2,300 mg, so 230 mg of sodium is 10%. The regulation lets you calculate the percentage from either the rounded label amount or the actual amount before rounding.

6. Lay out the panel

The 2016 format has a set order and styling: a large bold calorie count, bold serving size, "Includes Xg Added Sugars" indented under Total Sugars, and the standard footnote about the 2,000-calorie diet. Most packaged foods use the standard vertical panel.

7. Add your ingredient and allergen statements

List ingredients in descending order by weight. If your product contains any of the major food allergens (milk, eggs, fish, crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soybeans and sesame), declare them, commonly with a "Contains:" line.

Doing it without a spreadsheet

PanelPress does steps 3 to 7 for you: pick ingredients from a USDA-based list or enter your own, set your servings, and it applies the rounding rules and builds the panel, ingredient list and allergen line. You still decide the serving size and check the result.

Last reviewed November 2026. Based on 21 CFR 101.9 (Nutrition labeling of food). This page is general information, not legal advice; check the current regulation and your state's rules for your product.