Party food calculator: how much food per person

How much food per person do you need?

Hosting Thanksgiving, a buffet or a barbecue? This party food calculator turns a guest count into quantities. Enter adults and children, pick an appetite and a type of meal, and it adds up meat, sides, bread, cheese, desserts and drinks. The shopping list is then rounded to what stores sell: 75 cl bottles, 500 g packs, loaves, dozens of oysters.

How to use it

1. Under "Guests", fill in "Adults" and "Children". "Child portion" is 0.5 by default: a child eats half an adult serving.
2. Enter "Adults drinking alcohol" (blank means all adults), then choose the "Appetite" and the "Type of meal": sit-down meal, buffet, finger food party, barbecue, holiday dinner or brunch.
3. Under "Foods", tick what you are serving and change the amount per adult if your recipe calls for it.
4. Use "Add a food" for anything missing, such as cranberry sauce or ice.
5. Check the "Shopping list", then "Print the list", "Copy the list" or "Share link" so whoever does the shopping has the same numbers.

Food quantities per adult

These are rough amounts commonly quoted in cooking, for one adult with a normal appetite and a single main course:

A worked example: Thanksgiving for 16

Say 12 adults and 4 children at 0.5 portion: 12 + 4 × 0.5 = 14 adult equivalents. With "Holiday dinner", the calculator ticks a whole turkey: 14 × 500 g = 7 kg, roughly a 15 lb bird. If 10 adults drink wine, that is 10 × 25 cl = 2.5 L, so 4 bottles once rounded up, plus 2 bottles of sparkling wine for a toast. Water counts all 16 people: 16 L, or 11 bottles of 1.5 L.

Adjusting for the meal and the guests

"Appetite" scales all the food: light × 0.8, big × 1.25. A table of hungry teenagers turns 1.5 kg of roast into 1.875 kg, and the list suggests 1.9 kg. Drinks do not follow appetite: water and soft drinks count every person, kids included, alcohol only counts adults who drink, and coffee only counts adults.

Buffets and finger food

At a buffet, people take a little of everything. When several foods from the same family are ticked (mains, sides, vegetables and salads, desserts), that family gets 20% more per extra dish, shared between them. Serve roast beef and salmon, and each drops to 150 × 1.2 ÷ 2 = 90 g per adult. The finger food party starts at 12 savory bites and 4 sweet bites per adult, plus some cold cuts, cheese and bread.

Holiday meals

For Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner, the menu is longer, so trim each dish rather than piling on extras. Add your own sides with "Add a food": stuffing, gravy or cranberry sauce, each with an amount per adult.

Drinks, responsibly

Alcohol amounts are only a guide. Plan plenty of water and alcohol-free drinks, and make sure nobody drives after drinking: arrange rides or a designated driver before the party.

Avoiding waste

Rounding to packs already adds a small margin. Leftover turkey, rice and vegetables go in the fridge in closed containers and should be eaten within a few days. To freeze, cool food quickly, do not leave it at room temperature for hours, and never refreeze something that has thawed.

FAQ

How much meat per person?

About 150 g (5 oz) of boneless meat per adult as a main course, 250 g bone-in, and 500 g of whole turkey.

How much food for 20 people?

For 20 adults at a sit-down meal: 3 kg of boneless meat, 1.5 kg of uncooked rice, 4 kg of vegetables, 1.6 kg of bread and 1 kg of cheese. Each is rounded to packs.

How many bottles of wine for 20 guests?

With one bottle for every 3 drinkers, 20 adults drinking wine need 20 × 25 cl = 5 L, so 7 bottles. If only 14 drink, 5 bottles are enough.

Are my settings saved?

Yes, in this browser. The "Share link" holds the guests, the type of meal and your foods; nothing is sent to a server.