When you're throwing a party, one of the most important parts is just how much food and drink you'll need. You want your guests to have enough to eat so they feel satisfied, but you also don't want a ton of leftovers clogging up your fridge and kitchen.
You definitely want your guests to quench their thirst, but who among us wants to be left with bottles and bottles of liquor we'll only be using for the next party? Calculating what you'll need ahead of time, instead of playing the "uhhh, let's try this much" game at the grocery store, is a great way to ease not only your mind but your wallet, too.
Calculating the Amount of Food Per Person
There is no magic formula or standard for exactly how much food you'll need for a party. Some people will eat more or less than expected, a few guests might not show up, or someone might even bring an extra person or two. It's best to overestimate the amount of food by just a bit than to run out.
Basic Guidelines
Following some general guidelines when planning your meal can help you determine the right amount of food. In the grand scheme of things, an adult will eat roughly a pound of food at a party, while children (except for male teenagers), will eat roughly half a pound of food.
The more food options you offer, the less each partygoer will eat of each food. If you only have hamburgers and chips, you're going to need a lot of both. But if you have burgers, hot dogs, chips, macaroni salad, and green salad, you can expect that your guests won't need or want as many chips.
If you're hosting the party at night rather than during the day, you can expect your guests to munch and imbibe more than in the daylight hours.
- Appetizers - For parties where you're only serving appetizers and finger foods, base your estimate on five to eight appetizer bites per person, per hour. If there's a meal included, cut back to four or five per person per hour before the meal. Offer more types of appetizers for a larger crowd.
- Charcuterie - A meat and cheese spread always looks good at a party. You'll want to offer roughly one to two ounces of cheese per person and one to two ounces of meat, with at least four to six pieces of crackers or small bread. Don't forget a dollop of jam, honey, and mustard for each guest, too.
- Full meals - If you're offering a choice of dishes, try to anticipate which one will be the most popular and have extras on hand. Serving sizes will depend on the dishes, so if you go the buffet route, make sure you have enough for everyone to sample each dish. Side dishes can be tricky, but you can estimate about four ounces of each dish as a serving.
- Prepared salads and beans - For potato, pasta, or other prepared salads, anticipate roughly one cup per guest. If you're only serving one prepared salad at a BBQ, you can expect guests to grab extra. For bean dishes, guests will eat roughly a half-cup of baked beans or bean salad each.
- Green salad - For leafy vegetable salads, plan on about one cup to one and a half cups per person, before dressing. For dressing, if the salads are a main, offer three tablespoons per person or just two tablespoons per person for a side salad.
- Grains - If you're serving rice or other grains, plan for approximately a quarter to half cup per person. If the grain dish is the main dish, expect a three-quarter to full cup each.
- Fruit and veggie trays - For fresh fruit, about half cup per person should do the job. With veggies, estimate about six to ten pieces per person. Have plenty of dip available, too.
- Dips and Chips- For every ten guests, plan on approximately one and a half cups of dip, roughly an ounce and a quarter per person. Be sure to have roughly a half to full cup of chips per guest.
- Breads - Aside from an obvious pairing of one hot dog bun per hot dog and such, you'll want to serve roughly one to two pieces of bread per person if it's accompanying a meal.
- Desserts - It's best to offer desserts as single servings so you can easily calculate how many you need. Have some extras on hand for big eaters or those with a particularly sweet tooth. One 9" layer cake will serve 10 to 12 people; one 9" pie will serve 6 to 8. Or, check out our handy cake serving charts.
Related: The Slice Is Right: How Many People Does a Sheet Cake Feed?
We've said it before, and we'll say it again because it bears repeating: it's better to round up on your estimations rather than not have enough to go around.
Appetizer Amounts for a 3-Hour Party
A three-hour party is a good place to start when you're planning to host. If you're planning a longer party, change the calculations to accommodate the additional time.
| Food | Up to 10 guests | 10-20 | 20-30 | 30-40 | 40-50 |
| Dips | 1 pint | 1 quart | 3 pints | 2 quarts | 5 pints |
| Fruit | 5 cups | 10 cups | 15 cups | 20 cups | 25 cups |
| Veggies | 60 pieces | 120 pieces | 180 pieces | 240 pieces | 300 pieces |
| Chips | 1 pound | 1½ pounds | 2 pounds | 3 pounds | 4 pounds |
| Canapés | 8 per person | ||||
| Punch | 2 gallons | 3 gallons | 4 gallons | 6 gallons | 8 gallons |
| Wine | 3 bottles | 5 bottles | 7 bottles | 9 bottles | 11 bottles |
| Coffee or Tea | 20 cups | 40 cups | 60 cups | 80 cups | 100 cups |
Food for Dinner Parties
Plan for a main dish, such as chicken, turkey, beef, pork, ham, or casserole, plus salads, sides, desserts, and drinks. For protein, expect to serve eight to 10 ounces per person. If the casserole is not a main dish, cut the suggested serving size in half.
| Food | Up to 10 guests | 10-20 | 20-30 | 30-40 | 40-50 |
| Whole chicken | 2 (4-pound) | 4 (4-pound) | 6 (4-pound) | 8 (4-pound) | 10 (4-pound) |
| Whole turkey | 1 (12-pound) | 2 (12-pound) | 3 (12-pound) | 4 (12-pound) | 5 (12-pound) |
| Boneless beef roast | 5 pounds | 10 pounds | 15 pounds | 20 pounds | 25 pounds |
| Pork roast or ham | 5 pounds | 10 pounds | 15 pounds | 20 pounds | 25 pounds |
| Casseroles | 2 (13x9") | 3 (13x9") | 4 (13x9") | 5 (13x9") | 7 (13x9") |
| Side dishes | 5 cups | 10 cups | 15 cups | 20 cups | 25 cups |
| Green salad | 10 cups | 20 cups | 30 cups | 40 cups | 50 cups |
| Fruit salad | 5 cups | 10 cups | 15 cups | 20 cups | 25 cups |
| Rolls or bread slices | 20 pieces | 40 pieces | 60 pieces | 80 pieces | 100 pieces |
| Cakes | 1 layer cake | 2 layer cakes | 3 layer cakes | 4 layer cakes | 5 layer cakes |
| Cookies | 20 | 40 | 60 | 80 | 100 |
| Pies | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 7 |
| Wine | 3 bottles | 5 bottles | 7 bottles | 9 bottles | 11 bottles |
Dessert Party Foods
Desserts can be the star of the party, so be sure you have enough so that everyone has the chance to end the party on a sweet note! If you want to avoid leftover desserts, you can invite your guests to take a bite or two with them when they leave.
| Food | Up to 10 guests | 10-20 | 20-30 | 30-40 | 40-50 |
| Cakes | 1 layer cake | 2 layer cakes | 3 layer cakes | 5 layer cakes | 6 layer cakes |
| Pies | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 7 |
| Trifle or crumbles | 2 (9" x 13") | 3 (9" x 13") | 4 (9" x 13") | 5 (9" x 13") | 7 (9" x 13") |
| Cookies | 3 dozen | 5 dozen | 7 dozen | 10 dozen | 13 dozen |
| Bar cookies | 3 dozen | 5 dozen | 7 dozen | 10 dozen | 13 dozen |
| Ice cream | 1 quart | 1½ quarts | 1 gallon | 1½ gallons | 2 gallons |
Have containers on hand for guests to take their treats home with them! No one wants to bring a cupcake home in a plastic bag. Grab some extra plastic or glass containers for guests to use.
Drinks for a 3-Hour Party
No party is complete without drinks on hand, both alcoholic and nonalcoholic. Don't leave your guests thirsty or let your supplies run dry early. Expect guests to imbibe in two to three drinks for every two hours of the party.
- For every two guests, have a bottle of wine ready to go. If you're hosting a four-hour party for roughly ten people, you'll want 10 bottles of wine total or two bottles of wine for every two of your guests.
- If you're planning a four-hour party with 10 guests, then anticipate needing approximately 40 drinks. However, this number can and will change based on the occasion and just how much people will actually drink.
- To determine how much ice you'll need for the party, you'll want to know how many drinks to prepare for. If you're offering wine and beer in addition to cocktails, you can take that into consideration and not supply quite as much ice. But, the rule of thumb is a half pound of ice per drink, or approximately a cup.
- Depending on the crowd, mocktails might be a big hit, or they'll be more of a secondary or tertiary choice. If you're worried about anything going to waste, you can suggest tips to turn the mocktail into a cocktail by supplying the appropriate liquor.
- You can estimate approximately one to three mocktails per guest over the course of the evening, depending on the age of the guests and how much they'll be drinking. If you're exclusively serving mocktails, then three per hour is more appropriate.
- Guests will drink roughly two 12-ounce bottles of beer per hour, although this average will often taper off, so approximate with one to one and a half beers per hour per guest.
- You won't have 188 drinks, 45 mocktail servings, 75 bottles of beer, and 11 bottles of wine on hand for a 50-person three-hour party. That would be nearly seven drinks per person. That is A LOT. Instead, focus on what you do want to serve your guests and scale back where you know your guests won't drink.
- How much mixer you have on hand will depend on the cocktails you'll be serving. If you're going to offer vodka sodas and gin and tonics, you'll simply calculate the cocktail's spirit and mixer you'll need based on the recipes and the number of servings. Start with your recipe, multiply the number of servings you'll need, and that's the amount to stock on hand.
If you know you have friends who enjoy wine more than cocktails, don't have as many ingredients for cocktails on hand. If your guests love beer, approximate for two beers an hour instead of one and don't have as much wine on hand.
| Drinks | Up to 10 Guests | 10-20 | 20-30 | 30-40 | 40-50 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cocktails | 38 drinks | 75 drinks | 113 drinks | 150 drinks | 188 drinks |
| Mocktails | 10 drinks | 15 drinks | 25 drinks | 35 drinks | 45 drinks |
| Beer | 45 beers | 90 beers | 135 beers | 180 beers | 225 beers |
| Wine | 3 bottles | 5 bottles | 7 bottles | 9 bottles | 11 bottles |
| Ice | 19 pounds | 38 pounds | 57 pounds | 75 pounds | 94 pounds |
Related: How Much Wine Do You Need Per Person? Planning Chart
Calculation Tips
If you're panicked, overwhelmed, or don't know where to start, follow these tips, and you'll be just fine:
- Always err on the side of too much food and drink. It's much easier to take home some leftovers or send them home with your guests than to let people go home hungry.
- Include both heavy and light options. Some people will be hungrier than others, so offering more substantial food items will allow them to fill up without consuming more of each dish.
- If you think a certain dish or drink will be very popular, plan to make or purchase extras.
- Be wary of suggested serving sizes on packaged foods. Keep in mind whether the servings will be meal or snack-sized, and then determine for yourself how many servings are in each package.
- You can leave it up to your guests to pick and choose the cocktail they'll want, but by following the formula above and supplying basic ingredients for classic and popular cocktails, you'll have enough mixers and liquors for everyone.
Considerations to Factor In
The number of guests is the most important factor when adding your way up to servings and glasses to have on hand, but there are a few other considerations, too.
How Many Guests Will Be Attending
The number of guests at your party will determine the amount of food you'll need. Make sure you ask guests to RSVP, but if you don't hear from someone, it's safest to assume they will attend. Remember, it's better to have well-fed guests than hangry guests.
Time of Day for the Party
The time of day dictates the types of food and drinks you'll serve. If the party is scheduled at mealtime, for example, you'll be expected to serve something substantial. If your party is at night or mid-afternoon, you can serve just appetizers and snacks. Serving beer at a brunch party may not be a hit, so carefully consider your cocktail menu.
Age Range of the Guests
You wouldn't think that the age range of the guests would be important for party planning, but consider this: how much food would you prepare for a group of 10 teenagers? Now, how much food would you prepare for 10 senior citizens? Generally, there can be a vast difference in appetites between different age groups. The same goes for the beverages you plan on serving. You'll want more mocktails for the underage crowd, but perhaps some extra wine for a parents-only occasion.
Type of Food Being Served
If you're planning on serving a meal, or have lots of food to choose from at a buffet table, you can cut back on the snack foods and appetizers for your party. Conversely, if you're relying on finger foods only to fill up your guests, you'll need to have more of them on hand. For lighter foods, steer away from the boozier drinks. You don't want a guest to feel intoxicated.
Type of Beverages Being Served
If you know your group loves wine, plan on a higher average and buy appropriately. It all comes down to knowing your audience. Should your party be in the afternoon, you may not need as many cocktails or as much ice on hand.
Follow Guidelines for Success
It's almost impossible to know exactly how much food you'll need for a party, but with these guidelines, you can give yourself a good idea of how many servings of each item you should plan for. Err on the side of having a few leftovers if you're not sure the RSVPs are accurate. It's always best to have a little extra than to run out! Grab your phone, get the invites going, and let's party!
