Brunch Mimosa & Food Calculator: Bubbly, Orange Juice and Brunch Menu per Guest
Plan a brunch: how many mimosas, bottles of champagne or prosecco and cartons of orange juice you need, with mixing ratio, pour size, non-drinkers, a full brunch buffet or bites list, coffee and cost.
How it works
Mimosas = guests × share drinking × mimosas per hour × hours (rounded up) · Bubbly = mimosas × glass size × bubbly share · Bottles = bubbly ÷ 25.4 fl oz (750 ml), rounded up · Juice = mimosas × glass size × juice share
A classic mimosa is equal parts sparkling wine and orange juice. The IBA recipe uses 75 ml of each (5 fl oz in all); a filled champagne flute is closer to 6 fl oz, so each drink takes about 3 fl oz of bubbly and a 750 ml bottle (25.4 fl oz) makes about 8 mimosas. The calculator multiplies the drinking guests by a per-hour pace and the length of the brunch, rounds up, then splits the volume by your mix (1:1, bubbly-forward 2:1 or juice-forward 1:2) and rounds up to whole bottles and juice cartons. Guests who skip alcohol get the same number of drinks as juice spritzers, half orange juice and half sparkling water. For food, the full buffet uses catering portions per guest (2 eggs, 2–3 pieces of bacon or sausage, 1–2 pastries, about ¾ cup of fruit, 4 oz of potatoes and 1–2 cups of coffee); the bites option uses about 6 small bites per guest per two hours. Food grows by a quarter for each hour past two, because guests graze rather than eat a second meal. Treat the results as a shopping estimate and round up for big eaters.
Worked example
Default: 12 guests, 2 hours, 1 mimosa per hour, everyone drinking, classic 1:1 in a 6 fl oz flute. Mimosas = 12 × 1 × 2 = 24 (2 per guest). Bubbly = 24 × 6 × 50% = 72 fl oz; 72 ÷ 25.4 = 2.84, so buy 3 standard bottles (each makes about 8.5 mimosas). Orange juice = 72 fl oz (2.1 L), which is 2 cartons of 52 fl oz. The full brunch buffet for 12 adds 24 eggs (2 dozen), 36 pieces of bacon or sausage, 18 pastries, 9 cups of fruit, 3 lb of potatoes and 18 cups of coffee. At $15 a bottle and $4.50 a carton the drinks cost about $54, or $4.50 per guest.
Sources: Chowhound: how many bottles for 20 mimosas (6 oz flute, 1:1, 25.4 oz bottle) · Tasting Table: mimosas per carton of orange juice, IBA 75 ml + 75 ml recipe, carton sizes · Food Republic: champagne-to-guest ratio for a mimosa brunch · WebstaurantStore: catering portion size guide (breakfast and brunch) · Homebody Eats: how much food per person for brunch
Frequently asked questions
How many mimosas does one bottle of champagne make?
A 750 ml bottle holds about 25.4 fl oz. In a classic 1:1 mimosa in a 6 oz flute (3 oz of bubbly each) it makes about 8; with the smaller IBA pour (75 ml each) about 10, and with a bubbly-forward 2:1 mix about 6.
How many bottles of champagne do I need for 20 mimosas?
At 3 fl oz of bubbly per mimosa, 20 mimosas use 60 fl oz, which is 2.4 bottles of 750 ml, so buy 3. Rounding up is normal, and a spare unopened bottle keeps well.
How many mimosas per person should I plan for brunch?
About one per guest per hour, which is 2 to 3 each for a typical two- to three-hour brunch when mimosas are the only alcohol. A bottomless mimosa bar or a long celebration can run higher.
What ratio of champagne to orange juice is best?
Equal parts is the classic. More juice (1:2) gives a lighter, lower-alcohol drink and stretches the wine; more bubbly (2:1) is stronger. Pour the sparkling wine first and top with chilled juice so it does not foam over.
How much orange juice do I need for mimosas?
In a 1:1 mix you need the same volume of juice as wine: about 3 fl oz per mimosa, so roughly 25 fl oz of juice per bottle of bubbly. Check the carton size: many US cartons are now 52 or 59 fl oz rather than 64.
How much food do I need for a brunch?
For a sit-down or buffet brunch plan about 2 eggs, 2 to 3 pieces of bacon or sausage, 1 to 2 pastries or pieces of toast, about ¾ cup of fruit and 1 to 2 cups of coffee per guest. For a lighter finger-food brunch, about 6 small bites each over two hours.
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Serve alcohol responsibly and only to guests of legal drinking age.