Shopping for a Crowd

Knowing how much food you need for your
meal or event saves you money and helps insure success. After
selecting a menu, you can use these tables to prepare your shopping
list. Or you can plan your shopping and then select your recipes, or
use these quantities to see if the shopping list you already made is
about right for the number of people you plan to serve.

IMPORTANT! On these tables, the size for one ordinary
serving is listed; a mixed adult group uses about 1.2 servings per
person. with more men in the group, you will need about 1-1/2
servings per person, and teenagers and young 20’s may eat double!
There are also tables for “serving 100” throughout the kitchen site.

Beverages	Desserts	Fruit
Relishes	Rice and Pasta	Salads and Sides
Soup	Vegetables	Miscellaneous
		Snack Foods

Beverages	Servings	Serving Size	Amount Needed	Buy as
Coffee, standard	25	1 cup (8 oz cup)	6-1/2 quarts	2-1/4 cups 1/2 pound, ground
Coffee, strong	25	1 cup (8 oz cup)	6-1/2 quarts	1/2 cup per quart 3/4 pound, ground
Milk	24	1 cup	1-1/2 gallons
Soft Drinks	24	10 ounces	4 2-liter bottles
Tea, hot	25	6 ounces, 3/4 cup	5 quarts	20-25 teabags, 2 ounces loose
Tea, iced	25	1 cup	1-1/2 gallons	24-30 tea bags, 3 ounces loose
Orange juice	32	1/2 cup	1 gallon
Lemonade	32	1 cup	2 gallons
Beer	24	12 ounces	1 case of 24 cans
Wine	10	5 ounces	1.5 liter bottle

Desserts	Servings	Serving Size	Amount Needed	Buy as
Cake	24 24	1/12 cake 2-1/2-inch square	2 13×9″ cakes 1 15×10-1-inch sheet	2 9″ 2 layer cakes 3 9″ single layers
Ice Cream	24	1/2 cup	3 quarts
Frozen Yogurt	24	1/2 cup	3 quarts
Pie	24 30	1/8 pie 1/10 pie	3 9-inch pies 3 10″ pies

Fruit	Servings	Serving Size	Amount Needed	Buy as
Canned	24	1/2 cup	6-1/2 to 8 pounds	1 #10 can

Relishes	Servings	Serving Size	Amount Needed	Buy as
Carrot Sticks Mini carrots	25	2 to 3 sticks (2-3 inches)	1 to 1-1/4 pounds
Cauliflower	25	1/2 cup	4 1-pound heads
Broccoli Florets	25	1/2 cup	4 1-pound heads
Celery	25	2 to 3 pieces (2-3 inches)	2 to 3 bunches
Olives	25	3 to 4	1-1/4 quarts (5 cups)
Pickles, Sliced	25	3 to 4 slices	1 quart
Pickles, Spears	25	1 spear	1 to 1-1/4 quarts

Rice and Pasta	Servings	Serving Size	Amount Needed	Buy as
Elbow Macaroni	25	1 cup cooked	25 cups cooked	2-1/4 pounds, uncooked
Wide noodles	25	1 cup cooked	25 cups cooked	3 1/2 pounds, uncooked
Rice, Long-Grain	24	3/4 cup cooked	18 cups (4 1/2 qt)	2-3/4 pounds (6 cups) uncooked
Spaghetti	24	1 cup cooked	25 cups cooked	3 pounds, uncooked
Elbow Macaroni	25	1 cup cooked	25 cups cooked	2-1/4 pounds, uncooked

Salads and Side Dishes	Servings	Serving Size	Amount Needed	Buy as
Fruit, Fresh, Cut-Up	24	1/2 cup	3 quarts
Gelatin	24	1/2 cup	3 6-ounce packages, flavored
Lettuce	24	2 ounces 1 cup	50 ounces 6 quarts, torn (4 heads)
Potato	24	1/2 cup	3 quarts
Pasta	24	1/2 cup	3 quarts
Main Dish Salads	24	1-1/2 cups	9 quarts

Soup	Servings	Serving Size	Amount Needed	Buy as
Soup	25	1-1/2 cup	10 quarts	3 50-ounce cans, condensed

Vegetables	Servings	Serving Size	Amount Needed	Buy as
Canned vegetable	25	1/2 cup	1 6-1/2 to 7-1/4-pound can	1 #10 can
Fresh Potatoes, for Mashed	25	1/2 cup	7 pounds
Fresh Potatoes, for Scalloped	25	1/2 cup	8 pounds
Frozen beans, peas, corn, or mixed	24	1/2 cup	3 16-ounce packages

Miscellaneous	Servings	Serving Size	Amount Needed	Buy as
Butter or Margarine	32	1 pat (1 teaspoon)	1/2 pound	1/2 pound
Tub Margarine	32	1 tablespoon)	1 pound	1 pound

Snack Foods	Servings	Serving Size	Amount Needed	Buy as
Pizza	24	1/3 of a 12-inch pizza	8 12-inch pizzas
Potato Chips	25	3/4 to 1 ounce (1 cup)	1-1/2 pounds
Corn Chips	25	3/4 to 1 ounce (1 cup)	2 pounds
Mixed Nuts	12	1/4 cup	12 ounces