Catering portion guide
Plan on 5 oz of mac and cheese per person as a side, or 8 oz as a main. For 50 guests as a side that is about 15.5 lb finished, which needs roughly 4 lb of dry macaroni.
Planned at finished weight, so what you make is what you serve.
| Guests | Order | Serves | Trays |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | 3.1 lb | 3.1 lb | 1 half tray |
| 15 | 4.7 lb | 4.7 lb | 1 full tray |
| 20 | 6.3 lb | 6.3 lb | 1 full tray |
| 25 | 7.8 lb | 7.8 lb | 1 full + 1 half trays |
| 30 | 9.4 lb | 9.4 lb | 1 full + 1 half trays |
| 40 | 12.5 lb | 12.5 lb | 2 full trays |
| 50 | 15.6 lb | 15.6 lb | 2 full + 1 half trays |
| 60 | 18.8 lb | 18.8 lb | 3 full trays |
| 70 | 21.9 lb | 21.9 lb | 3 full + 1 half trays |
| 75 | 23.4 lb | 23.4 lb | 3 full + 1 half trays |
| 100 | 31.3 lb | 31.3 lb | 5 full trays |
| 150 | 46.9 lb | 46.9 lb | 7 full trays |
| 200 | 62.5 lb | 62.5 lb | 9 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