Catering portion guide
Plan on 8 oz of soup per person as a starter, which is one cup. As a main course served with bread, move to 12 oz. For 50 guests as a starter that is about 3.1 gallons.
Planned at finished weight, so what you make is what you serve.
| Guests | Order | Serves |
|---|---|---|
| 6 | 1.5 qt | 1.5 qt |
| 10 | 2.5 qt | 2.5 qt |
| 12 | 3 qt | 3 qt |
| 15 | 3.8 qt | 3.8 qt |
| 20 | 1.3 gal | 1.3 gal |
| 25 | 1.6 gal | 1.6 gal |
| 30 | 1.9 gal | 1.9 gal |
| 40 | 2.5 gal | 2.5 gal |
| 50 | 3.1 gal | 3.1 gal |
| 60 | 3.8 gal | 3.8 gal |
| 75 | 4.7 gal | 4.7 gal |
| 100 | 6.3 gal | 6.3 gal |
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