Can I build a list from prep recipes directly?

Not on their own. Select the menu items you plan to run and any prep recipe they use is expanded automatically, down through nested preps, so a sauce inside a marinade inside a dish still reaches the list.

What if I sell a dish I did not plan for?

The list is a forecast, not a commitment. Rebuild it with the revised numbers rather than adjusting the order by memory, since a shared ingredient rarely scales in a straight line across dishes.

Does it account for waste and trim?

Not in the quantity. Yield is applied to the estimated cost, not to the amount listed, so the list shows the trimmed quantity your recipes consume. Divide by your yield percentage before you order: 6.97 kg of chicken at 88% yield means buying 7.92 kg.

Academy

Operations 2 min readUpdated September 9, 2026by Dishboard

How to plan ingredient orders with Shopping List

Shopping List pulls ingredients from every menu item and prep recipe you select into one ordering list, so nothing gets missed before a busy service.

Before a busy service or a bulk order, knowing exactly what you need across every recipe saves time and reduces waste.

What Shopping List does

Dishboard's Shopping List pulls together the ingredients from your menu items and prep recipes into one view. Instead of cross-referencing individual recipe cards, you get a single list you can work through when ordering from suppliers.

How to use it

Open Shopping List from the sidebar.
Select the menu items you plan to run. Any prep recipe they use is expanded automatically.
Review the aggregated ingredient quantities.
Use the list to check stock and build your supplier order.

Worked example: one ingredient, two dishes

You plan to run 40 chicken sandwiches and 25 chicken salads this week. The sandwich uses 118 g of chicken, the salad 90 g.

Sandwiches: 40 x 118 g = 4.72 kg
Salads: 25 x 90 g = 2.25 kg

Chicken to order = 6.97 kg, minus what is already in the walk-in

That is one line on the order, not two, and it is the number that stops you buying 4 kg because you were looking at the sandwich recipe when you wrote the list.

Quantity needed = portions planned x quantity per portion, summed across every dish

It plans, it does not count stock

The list tells you what your selected menu needs, not what you already have. Check it against the walk-in and order the difference. Treating the list itself as the order is how you end up with three weeks of an ingredient you already had.

Frequently asked questions

Can I build a list from prep recipes directly?: Not on their own. Select the menu items you plan to run and any prep recipe they use is expanded automatically, down through nested preps, so a sauce inside a marinade inside a dish still reaches the list.
What if I sell a dish I did not plan for?: The list is a forecast, not a commitment. Rebuild it with the revised numbers rather than adjusting the order by memory, since a shared ingredient rarely scales in a straight line across dishes.
Does it account for waste and trim?: Not in the quantity. Yield is applied to the estimated cost, not to the amount listed, so the list shows the trimmed quantity your recipes consume. Divide by your yield percentage before you order: 6.97 kg of chicken at 88% yield means buying 7.92 kg.

Try it before your next order.

Select the dishes you're running and Dishboard builds the ingredient list for you.

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