How much food to serve at a holiday party with 21 guests?!
How much food to serve at a holiday party with 21 guests?
We are having a holiday party with about 21 people (15 adults and 6 kids). We are serving appetizers and deserts but are unsure how many dishes we will need.
Answers:
Always better to have too much than too little.
How Much Food?
Here is a guide to help you estimate your food quantities for either a buffet or a sit-down dinner.
For individual meats, fish, poultry:
5 - 6 ounces per person
If the cuts of meat have bones in them, consider adding more weight per person
For multiple meat meals and buffets:
4 - 6 ounces per person
For pasta dishes:
For a sit-down dinner, a pound of pasta will serve 4-6
For a buffet, a pound will serve 8-10 people
For vegetables:
With a premixed salad, estimate one handful per person
One head of lettuce will feed approximately 5 people, 4 medium heads will serve 15-20 people
For appetizers:
Estimate about 10-12 items total per person.
Make 3-4 of each item per person, keeping in mind that everyone may not take all of the items
For desserts:
Calculate one full portion of dessert per person
For multiple desserts, people will taste smaller portions of each item
A normal cake will serve approximately 10, but 15 will be fed if you are also serving pie
Opt for a Buffet Line
The easiest and most simple way to feed guests is with a buffet line. A general rule is that everyone will not eat everything. People normally will eat more starches and meats than vegetables and anything fried will be the first to go! Going through a buffet line can make people feel the pressure of others behind them, so they move along quickly and won't take huge quantities the first time through. Remember that it is much more preferable to have leftovers than a sparse spread at your buffet table.
enough for 21 people
It would depend on what you are serving for my christmas eve party we have approximatly 20 people and we have
Chips a few dips
Crackers cheese and peperoni
ranch cresents (cresents rolls with cream cheese and ranch dip mix)
Shrimp
mini egg rolls
monzerella sticks
a bread bowl with dip
potato skins
buffolo wings
veggie tray
That is pretty much it but we always have leftovers