Free tool
Nutrition facts label template and free method for bakers
This nutrition facts label template is the finished panel for an example butter cookie, every required line in order, ready to copy and fill with your own numbers. To fill it, you do what any nutrition label generator does: add up the nutrients of every ingredient in the batch, divide the total by the number of servings, and round each value the way the FDA requires. For a batch of 26 cookies with 3,179 calories in total, that is 122 calories per cookie, printed as 120. Below are the worked example, the method step by step, the filled panel line by line and the rules that decide what goes on the label.
Worked example: calories per butter cookie
An example batch of butter cookies, with calories per 100 g from USDA FoodData Central. The other nutrients are in the table below.
- All-purpose flour, 300 g (364 kcal per 100 g)
- 1,092 kcal
- Unsalted butter, 200 g (717 kcal per 100 g)
- 1,434 kcal
- Granulated sugar, 150 g (387 kcal per 100 g)
- 581 kcal
- Egg, 50 g (143 kcal per 100 g)
- 72 kcal
- Batch total
- 3,179 kcal
- Baked weight
- 650 g
- Serving size
- 1 cookie, 25 g
- Servings (650 g ÷ 25 g)
- 26
- Calories per cookie (3,179 ÷ 26)
- 122, printed as 120
Example numbers for illustration. Check each ingredient against the product you actually use.
Last verified October 11, 2026
How a nutrition facts label generator works
Every nutrition label maker, paid or free, runs the same arithmetic.
The nutrient values come from a database such as USDA FoodData Central, which lists calories, fat, carbohydrates, sugars, protein and sodium per 100 g of each ingredient. Use the entry that matches what you actually buy: unsalted and salted butter differ a lot in sodium.
Follow these steps for each product:
- Weigh every ingredient in grams, including eggs, glazes and fillings.
- Look up each nutrient per 100 g and multiply by the grams used ÷ 100.
- Add the lines to get the batch total for each nutrient.
- Divide by the number of servings the batch makes, using the serving size you will print on the label.
- Round each value with the FDA rounding rules before it goes on the label.
The full label for the example cookies
Using the example recipe above, here is every main line worked through, with ingredient values taken per 100 g from USDA FoodData Central. Treat the numbers as an illustration: your flour, butter and eggs may differ slightly.
| Nutrient | Batch total | Per cookie | On the label |
|---|---|---|---|
| Calories | 3,179 | 122 | 120 |
| Total fat | 170 g | 6.5 g | 7 g |
| Saturated fat | 103 g | 4.0 g | 4 g |
| Sodium | 101 mg | 3.9 mg | 0 mg |
| Total carbohydrate | 379 g | 14.6 g | 15 g |
| Total sugars | 151 g | 5.8 g | 6 g |
| Added sugars | 150 g | 5.8 g | 6 g |
| Protein | 38.9 g | 1.49 g | 1 g |
Nutrition facts label template: the example cookie's panel
This is the finished panel for the example cookie: every required line in the order of the FDA's standard vertical format, with amounts per serving after rounding. Use it as a template. Copy the lines into a label app, a word processor or your printer's label software and swap in your own numbers; the FDA rules also set the bold lines, dividers and type sizes.
Percent Daily Values are worked from the label amounts against the FDA's Daily Values for a 2,000 calorie diet, such as 78 g of fat, 20 g of saturated fat, 300 mg of cholesterol and 50 g of added sugars. A vitamin or mineral under 2% of its Daily Value may be shown as 0%. The minerals use unenriched flour; enriched flour adds iron.
| Label line | Amount per serving | % Daily Value |
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 120 | — |
| Total Fat | 7g | 9% |
| Saturated Fat | 4g | 20% |
| Trans Fat | 0g | — |
| Cholesterol | 25mg | 8% |
| Sodium | 0mg | 0% |
| Total Carbohydrate | 15g | 5% |
| Dietary Fiber | 0g | 0% |
| Total Sugars | 6g | — |
| Includes Added Sugars | 6g | 12% |
| Protein | 1g | — |
| Vitamin D | 0mcg | 0% |
| Calcium | 0mg | 0% |
| Iron | 0.2mg | 0% |
| Potassium | 20mg | 0% |
FDA rounding rules your label must follow
The label never shows the raw result. Each nutrient has its own rounding steps, and getting them wrong is the most common mistake on homemade labels. These are the main ones:
- Calories: under 5 shows 0, up to 50 rounds to the nearest 5, above 50 to the nearest 10.
- Total and saturated fat: under 0.5 g shows 0, under 5 g rounds to the nearest 0.5 g, from 5 g to the nearest gram.
- Sodium: under 5 mg shows 0, from 5 to 140 mg to the nearest 5 mg, above 140 mg to the nearest 10 mg. Cholesterol: under 2 mg shows 0, from 2 to 5 mg shows less than 5 mg, above that to the nearest 5 mg.
- Carbohydrate, sugars and protein: under 0.5 g shows 0, under 1 g shows less than 1 g, from 1 g to the nearest gram.
Weigh the baked batch, not just the dough
Baking drives off water, so the batch weighs less out of the oven than the raw ingredients. The nutrients stay; only the water leaves. In the example, 700 g of dough became 650 g of cookies.
Divide the batch total by the number of pieces you actually get.
Do you need a nutrition label at all?
It depends on where and how you sell. Many cottage food laws require an ingredient list and allergen statement but not a Nutrition Facts panel, unless you make a claim such as low sugar. The FDA also has a small business exemption with conditions on size and sales volume.
The rules change by state and by sales channel, so check with your state cottage food program and the FDA before you print. Many states require an allergen statement on cottage food labels either way.
Read next: Cottage food laws by state, Food label template for cottage food bakers
Where Farinu fits
Farinu does not generate nutrition labels. It is built for the money side of baking: it keeps each recipe with exact grams, sub-recipes, yield and packaging, works out the cost per piece and a suggested price, and warns you when an ingredient price rise eats your margin.
Those weighed recipes are the same input a nutrition label needs, so a baker who keeps recipes in Farinu already has the grams and the yield written down. The free plan covers costing for up to 10 recipes.
Read next: A recipe nutrition calculator built into your costed recipes
Sources
- USDA FoodData Central
- FDA: How to understand and use the Nutrition Facts label
- 21 CFR 101.9: Nutrition labeling of food
Questions
- Is there a free nutrition facts label template?
- Yes: the panel on this page lists every required line in order, filled for an example cookie. Copy it and replace the amounts with your own, worked out with the method and rounding rules above.
- Is there a free nutrition label generator?
- Yes: the method on this page is free and needs only a scale, a spreadsheet and USDA FoodData Central. Paid generators do the same sum with their own ingredient database and print the panel for you; the filled template above shows every line that panel holds.
- How do I calculate calories in a homemade cake or cookie?
- Multiply each ingredient's calories per 100 g by the grams used ÷ 100, add them up, and divide by the number of servings. Then round: above 50 calories, to the nearest 10.
- Do home bakers need a Nutrition Facts label?
- Often not, but it depends on your state, your sales channel and whether you make nutrient claims. Check with your state cottage food program and the FDA small business exemption rules.
- Does Farinu print nutrition labels?
- No. Farinu costs your recipes, suggests prices and runs orders, sales and stock. It keeps your recipes in exact grams, which is the input any nutrition calculation starts from.
Related pages
Know what each cookie costs, too
Weigh your recipes once in Farinu and see the cost per piece, a suggested price, and an alert when butter goes up. Free for up to 10 recipes.