Need to know how much food for a crowd? Here's a table that gives you lots of food quantity information for a large group from a dozen to 48.
LRP from Lowell, MA
| AMOUNTS of FOOD for a CROWD | ||||
| FOOD ITEM | SIZE for 1 | 12 | 24 | 48 |
| Meat, Poultry and Shellfish (bone-in, unshelled) |
3/4 pound | 9 pounds | 18 pounds | 36 pounds |
| Meat, Poultry and Fish (boneless) |
1/4 pound | 3 pounds | 6 pounds | 12 pounds |
| Chicken Salad, Side Dish Main Dish |
1/2 cup | 1 1/2 quarts 3 quarts |
3 quarts 1 1/2 gallons |
1 1/2 gallons 3 gallons |
| Potato Salad, Baked Beans or Coleslaw |
1 cup | 1 1/2 quarts | 3 quarts | 1 1/2 gallons 3 gallons |
| Meat Cold Cuts | 1/2 cup | 2 pounds | 4 pounds | 8 pounds |
| Cheese Slices | 1 ounce | 1 pounds | 2 pounds | 4 pounds |
| Rolls | 1/2 cup | 2 dozen | 3 dozen | 6 dozen |
| Crackers | 2 1/2 cup | 8 ounces | 1 pound | 2 pounds |
| Tossed Salad | 1 1/2 cup | 4 1/2 quarts | 9 quarts | 4 1/2 gallons |
| Salad Dressing | 2 tablespoons | 1 1/2 cup | 3 cups | 1 1/2 quarts |
| Dip | 2 tablespoons | 1 1/2 cup | 3 cups | 6 cups |
| Chips | 1 1/2 cup | 12 ounces | 1 1/2 pounds | 3 pounds |
| Fruit or Vegetable Dippers | 4 pieces | 4 dozen | 8 dozen | 16 dozen |
| Cake, 13x9" , 12-cup Ring or 9" Layer |
1/16 cake | 1 cake | 2 cake | 3 cakes |
| Cookies | 2 | 2 dozen | 4 dozen | 8 dozen |
| Ice Cream | 1/2 cup | 2 quarts | 1 gallon | 2 gallons |
| Coffee, Brewed Ground Coffee |
3/4 cup | 9 cups water 1 1/2 cups |
18 cup water 3 cups |
36 cups water 5 cups |
| Tea, Brewed Losse Tea Tea Bags |
3/4 cup | 9 cups water 1/4 cup 12 bags |
18 cups water 1/2 cup 24 bags |
36 cups water 1 cup 48 bags |
| Iced Tea | 1 cup | 3 quarts | 1 1/2 gallons | 3 gallons |
| Punch | 1/2 cup | 1 1/2 quarts | 3 quarts | 1 1/2 gallons |
| Mineral Water | 8 ounces | 3 quarts | 6 quarts | 12 quarts |
| Ice | 4 ounces | 3 pounds | 6 pounds | 12 pounds |
We also have this as a printable PDF file:
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
My daughter is getting married in July 2007. Due to budget constraints to all involved, I will be preparing the food for the reception and the groom's mother is preparing the food for the rehearsal dinner. Can anyone give me an idea as to how to determine how much food to make. We are planning 3 meats, potatoes, some form of pasta both hot and cold, and possibly 2 - 3 salads.
My first recommendation is make some things that can freeze - then who cares if there's extra (examples: Lasagna, Baked Mac-n-Cheese). There are dozens of web sites to help figure this out.
I would simplify the menu to only 2 meat choices. Depending on what you are preparing,a serving of meat per person is about the size of your fist. When I have prepared food for large groups, !/2 of a boneless, skinless chicken breast per person is about right. Have fun!
If you are brave enough to try it I'm sure you'll figure it out. I think the lasgne,etc. tip (freezable stuff) is good.
To all who have offered suggestions. I am taking everyone of them seriously and definitely reduced the meat to 2 kinds. And fortunately both families are zitti fanatics so that will be 1 pasta. Thank you all very much.
Here is a website that may help. just type in Daves Growlies it will help with recipes for large numbers and it's full of great tips.
I have used several times now I'm using it for my wedding in Dec. I hope this helps.
How much cheese and fruit do I need for 150 people at an evening reception for an art retrospective.
My parents used to cater weekly for church events and it was 4 to 8 ounces per person, total.
1/4 lb of each year per person. About 36 pounds of each for 150 people.
Use 4 ounces of fruit per person not counting the peels. About 1 to 1 1/2 ounces of each cheese per person.
If you are going by ounces a person would eat and most people would estimate between 4 to 8 ounces per person. You are looking at 37.5 pounds each of cheese and fruit.
How much chicken and how many pounds of noodles should I buy for making soup for a crowd of around 60 people?
By Alice from Pittsfield, PAS
Find a recipe that you like with the number of servings and then simple math will answer your question
Chicken soup ingredients for 60 people
I'm preparing to make spaghetti for 120 people. I need to know how many pounds of hamburger meat to use. I'm not making meatballs; I want it as a meat in my sauce.
Simple-Find a recipe for meat sauce that contains hamburger and the amount of servings for that recipe. Divide the amount of hamburger by the amount of servings for that recipe.
How do I calculate the amounts of each ingredient to make this recipe for 150 people?
2lbs frozen hash browns
2 c.grated cheddar cheese
1 tsp pepper
This recipe makes 1 9 x 13 pan.
Simply reduce any recipe into individual serving ingredients and multiply by 150. Example: recipe serves 10 made with 2 cups flour:
2 cups Flour = 16 ounces divided by 10 servings = 1.6 ounces for each serving. Multiply 1.6 ounces by 150 = 240 ounces or 30 cups of flour.
We are having a pastor birthday party and church outdoor picnic on meager funds. How do we to calculate food, ie: how much chicken, how many hot dogs and hamburgers, potato salad, coleslaw, and baked beans for 350 people?
By Brenda J.
You can usually find things like that on google and a lot of cook books, especially those put out by church and other non-profit groups, contain information like that. It is usually for 100 people but when you find out the information for 100 it would be easy to figure out the rest.
How much fruit salad is needed for 150 people?
By Joifull
This is a page about preparing chicken and noodles for a large group. Although it may seem overwhelming, increasing a recipe to feed a large crowd is completely doable.
This is a page about serving cold cuts to a large crowd. A plate of cold cuts is a good choice for for a large gathering.
This is a page about serving lemonade to a large crowd. Preparing food and beverages for a large group requires estimating portion size and the overall quantity to prepare, with a bit extra just in case.
This is a page about cooking scrambled eggs for a large group. Scrambled eggs are an easy dish to make for a large gathering.
This page is about making sloppy joes for a large group. Making sloppy joes is simple and can easily be adapted for a large group. Sloppy joes have limited ingredients making them an inexpensive meal.
How many heads of cabbage does it take to make cole slaw for 150 to 200 people?
