Potluck Portions Calculator
Plan a potluck so nobody goes hungry: how many main, side, salad and dessert dishes to ask guests to bring for your headcount.
How it works
Dishes per course = guests × servings-per-guest × appetite ÷ servings-per-dish (rounded up)
A potluck works when the courses balance — plenty of mains and sides, a few salads, and enough dessert. Plan roughly one main serving and one side serving per guest, half a salad serving, and three-quarters of a dessert serving, then divide by how many people a typical brought dish feeds. The appetite setting scales everything: a light afternoon gathering needs about three-quarters as much food, a holiday feast about half again as much. Rounding each course up keeps a little safety margin.
Worked example
For 24 guests eating a normal meal with dishes that each serve 8: mains and sides are 24 ÷ 8 = 3 each, salads are 12 ÷ 8 = 2, and desserts are 18 ÷ 8 ≈ 3 — about 11 dishes in total to coordinate among the guests.
Frequently asked questions
How do I stop everyone bringing dessert?
Use a signup organized by course. Share the target counts from this tool — for example "we need 3 mains, 3 sides, 2 salads, 3 desserts" — and let guests claim a slot. Assign yourself the gaps that are left.
How many servings does one dish provide?
A standard casserole, tray or big bowl feeds about 8–10 as one of several dishes on a shared table, because guests take smaller amounts of each. Set the servings-per-dish lower if your crowd brings small dishes.
Should the host provide anything?
Hosts typically supply drinks, ice, plates, cutlery, napkins and serving spoons, plus one anchor dish. Coordinating the non-food items yourself avoids ending up with five bags of chips and no forks.
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This calculator is for educational purposes. Double-check important results before acting on them.