How Much Food To Serve At A Party

Have you ever been overwhelmed when hosting a party and stressed about having too little or too much food? Dive into this detailed breakdown that explains the correct portion sizes for any amount of people and any occasion. 

The most stressful thing about any party or gathering is making sure there is enough food and nobody is going to leave hungry. If you have been asking yourself ‘How much food do I serve?,’ you’ve come to the right place. 

This is your complete guide to entertaining serving sizes. Here you will learn the correct food quantity per person to serve at various types of parties. 

While I have all the general answers for you, always remember that you know your guests know best. Always plan for the appetites of your friends and family.

If you know someone who tends to eat more, make more. The same concept applies to light eaters. While you can use these ideas as a guide, always plan accordingly based on who’s coming. 

Before we get started be sure to download your free food quantity guide so everything is sent straight to your email. 

Whether you’re hosting a BBQ, baby shower, bridal shower, graduation party, or just having a casual get-together with your friends, these entertaining serving sizes will help you plan the right amount of food. 

Whether you're hosting an adult or kids birthday party, people are going to be hungry. To know the right amount to feed everyone, follow this food serving chart to determine the best serving sizes depending on who you’re serving.

For the larger meal items, you can choose one to three options to serve, you do not need to have a full-blown buffet. The quantity suggestions in this chart are for serving 2 main dishes, plus appetizer bites, chips, fries, and desserts. 

For the larger meal items, you can choose one to three options to serve, you do not need to have a full-blown buffet. The quantity suggestions in this chart are for serving 2 main dishes, appetizer bites, chips, fries, and desserts.

At an upscale dinner party, you’ll want to not only have an impressive menu, but you must also ensure that everyone leaves feeling full. Here are some dinner party food ideas, as well as the correct serving sizes 

This chart assumes that each guest will be eating an appetizer, 1 protein, 1 - 2 side dishes (soup included), and 1 dessert. 

Hosting an entire at-home brunch? Be sure that your guests have the right amount of food and a sufficient amount of brunch cocktails to make one meal count as two.

Brunch is served buffet style, making it a little bit harder to know how much of everything to have because some people may want more of one thing and less of another. With that being said, here is a rough estimate of how much of each item to provide.

Cocktail parties can be either fancy or casual. Either way, you’ll want to impress your guests not just with fabulous cocktails and wine, but delicious food as well.

Sporting events are even more fun when there’s food involved. Here are some of the common tailgating dishes and how much of each you’ll need for each person there. 

Not many other gatherings can induce more stress on a host than Thanksgiving. From getting the house cleaned to serving a dozen dishes all at once, any chance there is to make the meal go smoother, we’ll take it.

Follow this guide to determine how much of each dish you should prepare per person for Thanksgiving dinner. 

Drink serving sizes are just as important as food portioning. We can't have thirsty guests. The drink serving size guide below is a general estimate of how many different beverages may be consumed by different people.

Don't forget to download your serving sizes guide with all of the food quantities you'll want to know for hosting parties and gatherings!