How much salad for 50 people?

For 50 guests, order about 15 lb of whole lettuce heads, which serves about 12.5 lb. That is roughly 2 full trays.

How much salad for 100 people?

For 100 guests, order about 30 lb of whole lettuce heads, which serves about 25 lb. That is roughly 4 full trays.

Catering portion guide

How much salad per person?

In short

Plan on 4 oz of dressed salad per person as a side. Trimming whole heads costs about a sixth, so buy roughly 5 oz per person: 50 guests needs about 12.5 lb served from roughly 15 lb of whole lettuce.

Buy more salad than you serve

Whole heads lose roughly a sixth of their weight to cores, stems and outer leaves. Pre-washed bagged leaves need no adjustment at all.

Planning factor: 1.2x. For every 1 lb you want to serve, order about 1.2 lb of whole lettuce heads.

How much salad for 10 to 100 people

Order is what to buy as whole lettuce heads. Serves is what reaches the plate after trim and cooking.

Salad quantities by guest count, showing purchase weight and served weight
Guests	Order	Serves	Trays
10	3 lb	2.5 lb	1 half tray
15	4.5 lb	3.8 lb	1 full tray
20	6 lb	5 lb	1 full tray
25	7.5 lb	6.3 lb	1 full tray
30	9 lb	7.5 lb	1 full + 1 half trays
40	12 lb	10 lb	2 full trays
50	15 lb	12.5 lb	2 full trays
60	18 lb	15 lb	2 full + 1 half trays
75	22.5 lb	18.8 lb	3 full trays
80	24 lb	20 lb	3 full + 1 half trays
100	30 lb	25 lb	4 full trays
150	45 lb	37.5 lb	6 full trays
200	60 lb	50 lb	8 full 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

Dress at the last moment, or on the side, because dressed leaves collapse within 30 minutes.
Allow about 1 oz of dressing per person, which is 2 tablespoons.
Bagged pre-washed leaves skip the trim loss entirely, so buy what you plan to serve.

Common questions

How much salad per person?: Plan on 4 oz of dressed salad per person as a side. Trimming whole heads costs about a sixth, so buy roughly 5 oz per person: 50 guests needs about 12.5 lb served from roughly 15 lb of whole lettuce.
How much salad for 50 people?: For 50 guests, order about 15 lb of whole lettuce heads, which serves about 12.5 lb. That is roughly 2 full trays.
How much salad for 100 people?: For 100 guests, order about 30 lb of whole lettuce heads, which serves about 25 lb. That is roughly 4 full 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