Catering calculator
How much food do you need per person? Enter your headcount and how long the event runs, and we’ll total the main dish, sides, dessert and drinks using standard catering portions.
Order for 25
Weights are cooked food, rounded up to the half pound.
How much food per person for catering
These are office-lunch portions, the kind a caterer drops off for a meeting. ezCater’s portion guide suggests one pound of the main dish for every three to four people and about 4 ounces of sides per person; we use the more generous end, a pound for every three. For dessert we count one piece each, the low end of the one to two that most guides give. For drinks, the common rule is one per person for every hour (WebstaurantStore), so a three-hour event needs three drinks a head.
Planning a dinner, a buffet or a barbecue? Portions run bigger: WebstaurantStore gives 6 to 8 ounces of protein a person at buffets and barbecues, and 4 to 6 ounces each of starches and vegetables. Round up if your crowd is hungry or the event runs through a mealtime.
Serving pizza instead?
Pizza is easier to count in slices. The pizza calculator handles grown-ups, kids and appetites, and its office mode adds vegetarian and gluten-free counts and a cost per person. For team orders, see our guides to office catering and office lunch catering, and the catering tip calculator for the tip. To budget the order, see what catering costs per person.