Catering portion guide
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.
Planned at finished weight, so what you make is what you serve.
| Guests | Order | Serves | Trays |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0.6 lb | 0.6 lb | 1 half tray |
| 2 | 1.3 lb | 1.3 lb | 1 half tray |
| 6 | 3.8 lb | 3.8 lb | 1 half tray |
| 10 | 6.3 lb | 6.3 lb | 1 full tray |
| 12 | 7.5 lb | 7.5 lb | 1 full tray |
| 15 | 9.4 lb | 9.4 lb | 1 full + 1 half trays |
| 20 | 12.5 lb | 12.5 lb | 1 full + 1 half trays |
| 25 | 15.6 lb | 15.6 lb | 2 full trays |
| 30 | 18.8 lb | 18.8 lb | 2 full + 1 half trays |
| 40 | 25 lb | 25 lb | 3 full trays |
| 50 | 31.3 lb | 31.3 lb | 4 full trays |
| 75 | 46.9 lb | 46.9 lb | 5 full + 1 half trays |
| 100 | 62.5 lb | 62.5 lb | 7 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.
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