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♪ One of these things is not like the others. ♪
- Start planning as far ahead as possible, listing everything from budget, menu, and schedule to how many pots and cake pans you're going to need, and where to find them.
- The larger the crowd, the simpler the menu. Purchase, rather than prepare, dinner rolls, salad mix and salad dressing, butter chips, etc.
- If the event will not be in your home, list every last item you will need to transport, right down to dish towels and containers for leftovers. (Think plastic tubs, laundry baskets, and keeping the lighter fluid far away from the food.)
At the heart of cooking for large groups is determining how much food you will need.
Start with the amounts on the food-planning charts, below, then factor in the age of the guests, the time, day, and length of the party, and a dash of common sense.
- Teenagers eat 30-40% more food than average, while seniors typically eat less but want to take dessert home. (Bring plastic wrap.)
- Make more of super-well-liked dishes, less of others. When serving 2 or more salads, for instance, remember that potato salad wins out over fruit salad every time (unless my daughter-in-law is in attendance.)
- An ear of corn does not a meal make. The individual quantities listed will not feed a crowd dinner if you serve only the one item. Round out the menu with a variety of dishes, an entree, a side dish, a salad, dessert and beverages, for instance, and figure about a pound of food (without bones and cobs) per person plus dessert and beverages.
Check out the large quantity recipes page for some more great food-planning tips.
Food Planning Guides for Large Groups
And I emphasize guides, not absolutes. Each chart is figured for an average, 3-hour long party of 50 people and includes enough for seconds.- Multiply or halve the figures for your size crowd, as necessary. Use your best judgment factoring in the variables.
- If you don't see the exact item(s) you're looking for, use the amounts listed for a similar food.
- Check the charts for whether the amounts listed are for cooked or precooked foods.
| Description | Per Person | For 50 |
| Preceding a meal, 4 or more varieties |
6 to 8 | 300 to 400 total |
| Appetizers only, no meal 6 or more varieties |
12 to 15 | 600 to 750 total |
| That's a lot of appetizers! Supplement with easier-to-make dips and spreads, figuring 1 ounce = 1 appetizer. | ||
| Cheese: cubed, sliced, in logs or spreads | 3 to 4 ounces | 10 to 13 pounds |
| Crackers and/or Bread | -- | 4 pounds |
| Assorted Fruits or Crudités, cut or trimmed |
2 to 3 ounces | 6 to 8 pounds |
| How about a Wine, Cheese and Fruit Party? | ||
| Description | Per Person | For 50 |
| Pre-cooked food quantities | ||
| Casseroles | ||
| 13" x 9" x 2" dishes (12 servings) |
-- | 5 to 6 |
| Pasta with Sauce | 1 1/2 cups | 5 to 6 pounds pasta (dry weight) and 2 to 2 1/2 gallons sauce |
| Thick sauce? Opt for the greater amount. | ||
| Meat | ||
| Boneless Beef, Pork, or Lamb |
5 to 6 ounces | 16 to 19 pounds |
| Ground Meats for burgers, meatballs, meatloaf, etc., plus fillers |
5 to 6 ounces | 16 to 19 pounds |
| Hotdogs, Bratwurst, Sausages | 1 to 2 | 75 to 100 (@ 16 pounds) |
| Ribs, bone-in (baby back, spareribs, short ribs) |
1 pound | 50 pounds |
| Roasts, boneless beef, pork, lamb, ham |
8 ounces | 25 pounds |
| Roasts, bone-in beef, pork, lamb, ham |
1 pound | 50 pounds |
| Steak, Pork Chops, Leg of Lamb, bone-in | 6 to 8 ounces | 50 to 60 (6 to 8-ounce) steaks or chops |
| Poultry | ||
| Chicken, Turkey or Duck Meat, boneless | 8 ounces | 25 pounds |
Chicken Pieces, bone-in
Wings, whole |
2 pieces 3 pieces |
100 pieces (40 to 45 pounds) 150 pieces (40 to 45 pounds) |
| Chicken Breasts, (halves) boneless, skinless |
1 1/3 (6 to 8-ounce) breasts |
65 (6 to 8-ounce breasts) |
| Chicken, Turkey or Duck, whole | 1 pound | 50 pounds |
| Seafood | ||
| Shelled Crab, Lobster or Shrimp Meat, Scallops | 5 ounces | 16 pounds |
| Crab or Lobster, in shell 1 1/2 to 2 pounds each |
1 | 50 |
| Shrimp, large, in-shell | 5 to 7 | 18 to 21 pounds |
| Clams and Oysters | 6 | 300 pieces |
| Mussels | 12 | 600 pieces |
| Fish Fillets or Steaks | 6 to 8 ounces | 50 (6 to 8-ounce fillets or steaks) |
| Whole Fish, cleaned | 8 to 10 ounces | 25 to 30 pounds |
| Main Dish Soups and Salads | ||
| Chili or Stew | 5 to 6 ounces | 16 to 19 pounds |
| Soup | 1 1/2 to 2 cups | 5 gallons |
| Gumbo | 1 1/2 cups | 4 gallons + 3 1/2 pounds rice (dry weight) |
| Salads (Chef, Seafood, etc.) | 1 1/2 to 2 cups | 5 gallons |
| Description | Per Person | For 50 |
| Quantities below are for cooked or prepared foods. | ||
| Sides | ||
| Vegetables, cut, such as green beans, cauliflower, corn kernels carrots, asparagus spears) | 3 to 4 ounces | 10 pounds |
| Corn on the cob, broken in half | 1 ear | 45 ears |
| Potatoes and Yams | 1 medium or 3 to 4 ounces |
12 pounds |
| Scalloped Potatoes | 3 to 4 ounces | 5 9" x 13" x 2" dishes |
| Baked Beans | 3 to 4 ounces | 1 1/2 gallons |
| Pasta Dishes | 2 to 3 ounces | 7 to 9 pounds |
| Rice | 1 1/2 to 2 ounces | 5 to 6 pounds |
| Side Salads | ||
| Green Salad | 3 ounces | 7 to 8 heads of iceberg or romaine lettuce or 12 heads of butter or red leaf lettuce 4 cups of croutons 8 cups of dressing |
| Caesar Salad | 3 ounces | 8 heads romaine lettuce 8 cups Caesar dressing 2 1/2 pounds shredded Parmesan cheese 5 cups croutons |
| Potato or Macaroni Salad | 4 to 5 ounces | 14 to 16 pounds or 2 gallons |
| Fruit Salad | 3 ounces | 1 1/2 gallons |
| Coleslaw | 3 or 4 ounces | 1 1/2 to 2 gallons 3 medium cabbages plus dressing and fixin's |
| Self-served salads? Make a little extra dressing for all the "whoops, too much" to come. | ||
| Description | Per Person | For 50 |
| Dinner Rolls | 1 1/2 | 75 / 7 dozen |
| French Bread | 1 1/2 1" slices | 4 18" loaves |
| Cornbread | 1 3" wedge or square | 6 to 7 8" rounds or 5 13" x 9" x 2" pans |
| Butter | -- | 2 1/2 pounds |
| Description | Per Person | For 50 |
| Coffee, 3-Hour-Party | 3 5-ounce cups | 3 pounds coffee (15 cups) 7 gallons filtered water 3 pints (6 cups) cream, half-and-half or milk 6 cups sugar 200 packets sugar substitute Tea: @ 30 servings |
| Breakfast / Brunch Coffee (1 1/2- to 2-hour party) |
1 to 2 5-ounce cups | 1 1/2 pounds coffee (7 1/2 cups) 3 1/2 gallons filtered water 3 cups cream, half-and-half or milk 3 cups sugar 100 packets sugar substitute Tea: 15 to 20 servings> |
| After-Dinner Coffee | 1 5-ounce cup | 1 pound coffee (5 cups) 2 gallons plus 1 quart filtered water 2 cups cream, half-and-half or milk 2 cups sugar 75 packets sugar substitute Tea: 10 to 15 servings |
| Juice (1 1/2- to 2-hour party) |
1 to 2 5-ounce servings | 2 to 4 gallons |
| Punch | 3 to 5 4-ounce servings | 5 to 8 gallons |
| Lemonade, Iced Tea, etc. | 2 to 3 8-ounce servings | 6 to 9 gallons |
| Soft Drinks | 2 to 3 8-ounce servings or 2 to 3 12-ounce cans |
12 to 18 2-liter bottles 100 to 150 12-ounce cans (expect some waste) |
| Beer | 3 to 5 12-ounce servings | 150 to 250 bottles or 6 to 10 cases (24 bottles each) |
| Considering a keg? A keg (half barrel) holds 15 1/2 gallons, 165 servings. A pony keg holds 7 1/2 gallons, 80 servings. Tip: Sitting your keg in a large bucket or metal tub and filling it with ice keeps the beer cold, the spills and foam off the floor. | ||
| Champagne | 3 to 5 4-ounce glasses | 25 to 42 750 ml bottles |
| Wine | 3 to 5 5-ounce glasses | 30 to 50 750 ml bottles |
| Cocktails | 4*, with 1 1/2 ounces spirits each | 13 750 ml bottles or 9 liters hard liquor plus mixers |
| * Figure 2 drinks per person for the first hour and 1 drink per person per hour after that. | ||
| Ice | 2 pounds | 100 pounds Less if everything is well chilled, more if making frozen drinks, filling coolers, or in hot weather. |
| * Liquor Tip: Ask your merchant if you can return any unopened bottles; if so, order extra.) | ||
| How to Stock a Bar | ||
| Description | Per Person | For 50 |
| Cake, layered | 1 slice | 4 8" or 9" cakes |
| Sheet Cakes | 1 2" x 2" piece | 1/2 sheet cake or more* |
| *Judgment call: a half sheet cake (11" x 15") is about 40 servings, probably enough because many skip dessert; the next size up, a full sheet cake, (18" x 24") is over 100 servings. Your call. | ||
| Brownies | 1 1/2 pieces | 6 to 7 dozen 2" x 2" brownies |
| Cookies | 1 to 2 | 6 to 8 dozen |
| Pie | 1 3" wedge | 5 to 6 9" pies |
| Cobbler | 1 cup | 4 to 5 9" x 9" x 2" pans |
| Cheesecake | 1 2" wedge | 4 to 5 9" cheesecakes |
| Pudding | 1 cup | 6 to 8 ounces |
| Ice Cream | 1 cup | 3 gallons |
| Description | Per Host | For Your Guests |
| Not enough food, drinks or ice | One "yikes" moment | 1 quick trip to the store and 1 gallon of gas |
| Err on the side of caution. A little too much is just enough. | ||
Resources: Do It for Less Parties, Cooking for Crowds for Dummies, Cooking for a Crowd, Perfect Parties, and www.EllensKitchen.com
Large Quantity Recipes
Food Planning for Smaller Parties
How to Stock a Bar
