If you own a taqueria, you know that selling tacos is easy. The hard part is knowing exactly how much money you're making on each one.

Many taqueria owners calculate their prices "by eye" or simply copy competitor prices. The result: they lose money without realizing it or leave thousands of dollars on the table every month.

In this guide, I'll teach you step by step how to calculate the true cost of your tacos so you can:

Set prices that give you real profits
Identify which tacos give you the most profit
Make decisions based on numbers, not intuition
Increase your profitability without raising prices

Why is calculating the exact cost so important?

Imagine you sell a carne asada taco for $1.50 USD. Seems like a good price, right?

But if your actual cost is $1.25 per taco, you're only making $0.25. And that's without counting rent, electricity, gas, salaries...

On the other hand, if your al pastor taco costs $0.80 to produce and you sell it for $1.35, you're making $0.55 per taco. More than double the profit.

Without these clear numbers, you could be selling more carne asada tacos (thinking it's your star product) when you should actually be promoting the al pastor.

The 4 Components of a Taco's Cost

To calculate the true cost of each taco, you need to add up:

1. Protein Cost (40-60% of cost)

Meat, chicken, fish, or plant-based protein is your most expensive ingredient.

Practical example:

You buy 1 kg of carne asada for $13 USD
1 kg yields approximately 40 tacos (25g per taco)
Cost per taco: $13 ÷ 40 = $0.33 USD

Tips:

Weigh the actual portions you serve, don't guess
Consider waste (fat, bones, trimmings)
The "yield" weight is never equal to the purchased weight

2. Tortilla Cost (15-20% of cost)

Example:

1 kg of tortillas: $1.80 USD (yields about 40 tortillas)
2 tortillas per taco
Cost per taco: ($1.80 ÷ 40) × 2 = $0.09 USD

3. Toppings Cost (10-15% of cost)

This includes: onion, cilantro, lime, salsas, pineapple, etc.

Practical method:

Calculate how much you spend on toppings per week: $110 USD
Divide by number of tacos sold: 2,000 tacos
Cost per taco: $110 ÷ 2,000 = $0.055 USD

Another option: assign a fixed percentage (10-15%) on top of protein + tortilla cost.

4. Consumables Cost (5-8% of cost)

These are plates, napkins, bags, disposables.

Example:

Pack of 100 plates: $5.80 USD
3 tacos per plate on average
Cost per taco: $5.80 ÷ 300 = $0.02 USD
Add napkins, salsa cups, etc: ~$0.03 USD total

Calculating Total Cost: Real Example

Carne Asada Taco:

| Component | Cost | |-----------|------| | Carne asada (25g) | $0.33 | | Tortillas (2) | $0.09 | | Toppings | $0.055 | | Consumables | $0.03 | | TOTAL | $0.505 |

If you sell this taco for $1.50 USD:

Gross profit: $0.995 (66.3%)
From that profit you pay: rent, electricity, gas, salaries, etc.

The 30% Rule (or Food Cost)

In the restaurant industry, there's a golden rule:

Ingredient cost should be maximum 30% of the selling price

This means if your taco costs $0.50 to produce:

Recommended minimum price: $0.50 ÷ 0.30 = $1.67 USD

The remaining 70% covers:

25-30%: Operating costs (rent, utilities, gas)
20-25%: Payroll
15-20%: Net profit

Why 30% and not less?

Because you need margin to:

Cover fixed costs even on slow days
Absorb supplier price increases
Have real profit after EVERYTHING

Free Template to Calculate Your Costs

I've created a simple template you can use:

Step 1: List all your taco types

Step 2: For each one, note:

How many grams of protein do you use?
How much does a kilo of that protein cost?
Calculate: (grams ÷ 1000) × price per kilo

Step 3: Add tortillas, toppings, and consumables

Step 4: Apply the formula:

Suggested price = Total cost ÷ 0.30

Common Mistakes You Must Avoid

❌ Mistake 1: Not considering waste

If you buy 10 kg of meat, not all 10 kg get sold. There's bone, fat, waste.

Solution: Weigh what you actually serve vs what you buy. If from 10 kg you only serve 8.5 kg, your real cost is 18% higher.

❌ Mistake 2: Forgetting "free" ingredients

Onion, cilantro, lime "cost nothing" because they're cheap. FALSE.

An average taqueria spends $580-870 USD per month on toppings alone. That's $29 USD daily that's lost if you don't calculate them.

❌ Mistake 3: Using the price of the last kilo you bought

Prices change. Carne asada might be $12/kg in January and $14.50/kg in December.

Solution: Update your costs at least monthly. With TacoManager, this is automatic.

❌ Mistake 4: Not differentiating between meat types

"Meat costs me $X". But... which meat? Al pastor doesn't cost the same as carne asada, nor does arrachera equal suadero.

Each protein has its own cost and should have its specific selling price.

How to Use This Information to Make More Money

Once you have your real costs:

1. Identify your star products

It's not the one that sells most, but the one with the best profit margin.

If the chicken taco costs you $0.29 and you sell it for $1.10 (73% profit), it's better business than the carne asada that costs $0.50 and sells for $1.45 (65% profit).

2. Adjust your menu strategically

Promote tacos with better margins
Raise prices on those with low margins
Eliminate unprofitable ones

3. Negotiate better with suppliers

When you know that every dollar you lower the cost per kilo represents $58 more monthly profit (if you sell 1,000 tacos), negotiating becomes a priority.

4. Make data-driven decisions

Is the shrimp taco worth it? Is the 3-for-2 promotion profitable? Does it make sense to buy higher quality meat?

With real costs, all these questions have numerical answers.

Automate Everything with TacoManager

Calculating costs manually is fine to start, but doing it in Excel every month is tedious and error-prone.

With TacoManager:

✅ Record the purchase price of each ingredient ✅ The system automatically calculates the cost of each dish ✅ Get alerts when costs rise and affect your margin ✅ See in real-time which products are most profitable ✅ Generate food cost reports in 2 clicks

And the best part: it's 100% free.

Conclusion

Calculating the true cost of your tacos is not optional if you want your taqueria to be profitable long-term.

You don't need to be an accountant or finance expert. You just need to:

Weigh your portions
Know how much you pay for ingredients
Do the math
Apply the 30% rule

Start today with just one type of taco. Calculate its real cost. Compare it to your current price.

I guarantee you'll find surprises.

And if you want to automate all this and focus on selling (not doing math), create your free account at TacoManager.

Do you already calculate your costs? What surprised you most when doing it? Share your experience in the comments.

How to Calculate the True Cost of Your Tacos (with Free Template)