Catering portion guide

How much biryani per person?

In short

Plan on about 10 oz of finished biryani per person as a one-dish main, since it carries both the rice and the protein. For 20 guests that is roughly 12.5 lb finished, built from about 4 lb of dry basmati.

How much biryani for 10 to 100 people

Planned at finished weight, so what you make is what you serve.

Biryani quantities by guest count, showing purchase weight and served weight
GuestsOrderServesTrays
10.6 lb0.6 lb1 half tray
21.3 lb1.3 lb1 half tray
63.8 lb3.8 lb1 half tray
106.3 lb6.3 lb1 full tray
127.5 lb7.5 lb1 full tray
159.4 lb9.4 lb1 full + 1 half trays
2012.5 lb12.5 lb1 full + 1 half trays
2515.6 lb15.6 lb2 full trays
3018.8 lb18.8 lb2 full + 1 half trays
4025 lb25 lb3 full trays
5031.3 lb31.3 lb4 full trays
7546.9 lb46.9 lb5 full + 1 half trays
10062.5 lb62.5 lb7 full + 1 half trays

These are standard food-service planning figures, not fixed constants. Real yield moves with cut, trim level, cooking method, and how long the food is held. Weigh your own results once and adjust the factor to your kitchen.

Things that change the number

  • Served alongside curries rather than as the only main, biryani drops to about 6 oz per person.
  • Dry basmati roughly triples in weight when cooked, so about 3.5 oz dry per person is the buying figure.
  • Raita, salan and pickle are counted separately, at roughly 2 oz of accompaniment per person.

Common questions

How much biryani per person?
Plan on about 10 oz of finished biryani per person as a one-dish main, since it carries both the rice and the protein. For 20 guests that is roughly 12.5 lb finished, built from about 4 lb of dry basmati.
How much biryani for 50 people?
For 50 guests, order about 31.3 lb of finished biryani, which serves about 31.3 lb. That is roughly 4 full trays.
How much biryani for 100 people?
For 100 guests, order about 62.5 lb of finished biryani, which serves about 62.5 lb. That is roughly 7 full + 1 half trays.

Working out a whole menu, not one dish?

The catering food calculator takes your actual dish list and guest count and returns quantities, tray counts, and a cost range for the whole event.

Open the catering food calculator