Side Dish Quantity Calculator: How Much Potatoes, Rice, Pasta or Veg per Person
How much of a side dish to make for a crowd: cooked weight and cups of mashed potatoes, rice, pasta, vegetables, beans, mac and cheese, salad or stuffing, the raw or dry amount to buy, kids at half portions, and how the portion shrinks as you add more sides.
How it works
Per guest = base portion × portion share × appetite · portion share = 1 for up to 3 sides, then 3 ÷ (sides + 1) + 0.25 (minimum 0.6) · Total cooked = (adults + ½ × children) × per guest × (1 + extra) · To buy = total cooked × raw or dry factor
A side dish on its own is about 4 ounces (113 g) of cooked food per person, with hearty starches such as mashed potatoes, mac and cheese and stuffing nearer 5 ounces and a green salad about 1.5 ounces of leaves. When guests can choose among several sides they take a little of each, so the calculator keeps a full portion for up to three sides and trims it as you add more: 85% with four sides, 75% with five, 68% with six, and never below 60%. Appetite (light 0.8, average 1, hearty 1.2) and children under 10 at half a portion adjust the head count. The result is the cooked amount; the "to buy" line converts it to what you shop for, using typical yields: rice about triples in weight and pasta grows about 2.25 times when cooked, dry beans about 2.5 times, while potatoes and vegetables lose some weight to peeling and trimming. Cups use the cooked weight of one US cup of each dish. These are planning averages: weigh your own recipe if portions must be exact.
Worked example
Default: 16 guests, mashed potatoes, 3 sides on the table, average appetite. Portion share with 3 sides = 1 (full portion), so each guest gets 5 oz (0.68 cup). Total = 16 × 5 oz = 80 oz = 5.0 lb cooked, about 10.8 cups at 7.4 oz per cup. To buy: 80 oz × 1.15 = 5.8 lb of raw potatoes, about 13 medium potatoes. With 6 sides on the table the share drops to 68%, so you would need only 3.4 lb.
Sources: Dummies: how much to cook when you cook for a crowd (side dishes per person, 25 and 50 people) · Reluctant Gourmet: pasta and rice dry-to-cooked conversions · The Takeout: how many potatoes per person for mashed potatoes · Love Food Hate Waste: portion planner (rice and pasta portions) · Family House: group meal prep guide (side dish quantities for 50 and 75)
Frequently asked questions
How much of a side dish do I need per person?
About 4 oz (113 g) cooked for most sides, 5 oz for hearty starches like mashed potatoes or mac and cheese, and about 1.5 oz of greens for a side salad. That assumes two or three sides; with more sides each portion gets smaller.
How many pounds of mashed potatoes for 20 people?
At 5 oz cooked each with up to three sides, 20 people need about 100 oz, or 6.25 lb of mashed potatoes, made from roughly 7 lb of raw potatoes. With five or six sides, 4.5 to 5 lb is enough.
How much rice per person as a side?
About ½ to ¾ cup cooked per person, which is roughly ¼ cup of dry rice. One cup of dry white rice makes about 3 cups cooked, enough for 4 to 6 side portions.
How much dry pasta per person?
About 2 oz (55 g) dry per person for a side, and 3 to 4 oz when pasta is the main course. Pasta a bit more than doubles in weight when cooked.
Why does the amount drop with more sides?
With many dishes to choose from, guests take a spoonful of each instead of a full serving of one. Cooking a full portion of every dish on a big spread leaves lots of leftovers, so the calculator trims each portion as the side count grows.
How do I count children?
Children under about 10 eat roughly half an adult portion, so enter them separately under More options. Teenagers usually eat as much as adults or more.
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This calculator is for educational purposes. Double-check important results before acting on them.