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Cooking Guide for Parties and Large Events
13 August, 2015
Cooking Guide for Parties and Large Events
Need some BBQ food ideas for large groups?
Don’t Panic!
This is the cooking guide for parties and large events that will help you plan more efficiently . Cooking for a large event can be expensive, time consuming and is a lot of hard work. Wedding food catering, bbq recipes for a crowd, large party food preparation and event catering are not like making simple party food. Its a whole different ball game. However if you’re up to the challenge, here are some great tips, charts and side dish ideas for bbq to help you plan.
Lets Get Started
- Unless you’re catering elegant events, you may be able to ask your guests to bring their favorite food for a bbq party. Side dishes, chips, dips for parties, bread, desserts, sodas etc. You could even ask someone to bring plastic ware, plates, sauces… you get the idea. Most of your guests will be happy to help out and bring something.
- “Could you bring some of your famous… ?” Even people that wont or don’t like to cook, always seem to have side dish ideas for a bbq party, or that special recipe they’ll be happy to bring and show off. With diabetes and food allergies unfortunately on the rise, you could ask a guest to bring one of their favorite sugar free barbecue sauce recipes or a gluten free bbq sauce. This could help you and your guests by saving time and providing them a sugar free barbecue sauce or gluten free bbq sauce option.
- Keep your menu simple! Rolls that don’t require heating, chips instead of hot sides are a couple of examples. Also keep in mind, some of the best party food recipes can be very simple to prepare.
- Home or away? It’s a BIG part of your planning. Sit down and make a detailed list of everything you’ll need for a location other than your home. How are you going to get it all there? How to keep it hot or cold? Can I prepare/cook/warm/cool at the location? Catering restaurants typically have large vans or trucks that can safely transport their food and equipment to the event. Leftovers? Bring foil, plastic wrap and bags to take home in. All are questions you need to answer in advance to help you plan.
- Make very popular dishes. Beans and potato salad will typically do better than broccoli and peas at a BBQ. People eat with there eyes too. An out of place side will get passed over even if the few that try it rave about it.
- Refer to the charts below and take into consideration the time of day, the length of the event, and the age of your guests. 50 high school football players eat a lot more than 50 senior citizens…
Now lets calculate how much food you will need.
Large Event Planning Charts
- Each chart is calculated for an approximately 3 hour party of 50 people with enough for seconds.
- Use amounts for similar foods if item not found: 1 serving of baked beans = 1 serving of pinto beans
- Note if amounts specify cooked or precooked foods.
Appetizers
| Description | Per Person | For 50 |
| Preceding a meal, 4 or more varieties |
6 to 8 | 300 to 400 total |
| Appetizers only, no meal 6 or more varieties |
12 to 15 | 600 to 750 total |
| Supplement with prepared dips and spreads, figuring 1 ounce = 1 appetizer. | ||
| Cheese: cubed, sliced, in logs or spreads | 3 to 4 ounces | 10 to 13 pounds |
| Crackers and/or Bread | — | 4 pounds |
| Assorted Fruits or Crudités, cut or trimmed |
2 to 3 ounces | 6 to 8 pounds |
Entrees
| Description | Per Person | For 50 |
| Pre-cooked food quantities | ||
| Casseroles | ||
| 13″ x 9″ x 2″ dishes (12 servings) |
— | 5 to 6 |
| Pasta with Sauce | 1-1/2 cups | 5 to 6 pounds pasta (dry weight) and 2 to 2 1/2 gallons sauce |
| Thicker sauces may require greater amount. | ||
| Meat | ||
| Boneless Beef, Pork, or Lamb |
5 to 6 ounces | 16 to 19 pounds |
| Ground Meats for burgers, meatballs, meatloaf, etc., plus fillers |
5 to 6 ounces | 16 to 19 pounds |
| Hotdogs, Bratwurst, Sausages | 1 to 2 | 75 to 100 (@ 16 pounds) |
| Ribs, bone-in (baby back, spareribs, short ribs) |
1 pound | 50 pounds |
| Roasts, boneless beef, pork, lamb, ham |
8 ounces | 25 pounds |
| Roasts, bone-in beef, pork, lamb, ham |
1 pound | 50 pounds |
| Steak, Pork Chops, Leg of Lamb, bone-in | 6 to 8 ounces | 50 to 60 (6 to 8-ounce) steaks or chops |
| Poultry | ||
| Chicken, Turkey or Duck Meat, boneless | 8 ounces | 25 pounds |
| Chicken Pieces, bone-in thighs and legs, wings whole | 2 pieces 3 pieces | 100 pieces (40 to 45 pounds)150 pieces (40 to 45 pounds) |
| Chicken Breasts, (halves) boneless, skinless |
1-1/3 (6 to 8-ounce) breasts |
65 (6 to 8-ounce breasts) |
| Chicken, Turkey or Duck, whole | 1 pound | 50 pounds |
| Seafood | ||
| Shelled Crab, Lobster or Shrimp Meat, Scallops | 5 ounces | 16 pounds |
| Crab or Lobster, in shell 1-1/2 to 2 pounds each |
1 | 50 |
| Shrimp, large, in-shell | 5 to 7 | 18 to 21 pounds |
| Clams and Oysters | 6 | 300 pieces |
| Mussels | 12 | 600 pieces |
| Fish Fillets or Steaks | 6 to 8 ounces | 50 (6 to 8-ounce fillets or steaks) |
| Whole Fish, cleaned | 8 to 10 ounces | 25 to 30 pounds |
| Main Dish Soups and Salads | ||
| Chili or Stew | 5 to 6 ounces | 16 to 19 pounds |
| Soup | 1-1/2 to 2 cups | 5 gallons |
| Gumbo | 1-1/2 cups | 4 gallons + 3-1/2 pounds rice (dry weight) |
| Salads (Chef, Seafood, etc.) | 1-1/2 to 2 cups | 5 gallons |
Sides and Salads
| Description | Per Person | For 50 |
| Quantities below are for cooked or prepared foods. | ||
| Sides | ||
| Vegetables, cut, such as green beans, cauliflower, corn kernels carrots, asparagus spears) | 3 to 4 ounces | 10 pounds |
| Corn on the cob, broken in half | 1 ear | 45 ears |
| Potatoes and Yams | 1 medium or 3 to 4 ounces |
12 pounds |
| Scalloped Potatoes | 3 to 4 ounces | 5 9″ x 13″ x 2″ dishes |
| Baked Beans | 3 to 4 ounces | 1-1/2 gallons |
| Pasta Dishes | 2 to 3 ounces | 7 to 9 pounds |
| Rice | 1-1/2 to 2 ounces | 5 to 6 pounds |
| Side Salads | ||
| Green Salad | 3 ounces | 7 to 8 heads of iceberg or romaine lettuce or 12 heads of butter or red leaf lettuce 4 cups of croutons 8 cups of dressing |
| Caesar Salad | 3 ounces | 8 heads romaine lettuce 8 cups Caesar dressing 2 1/2 pounds shredded Parmesan cheese 5 cups croutons |
| Potato Salad or Macaroni Salad | 4 to 5 ounces | 14 to 16 pounds or 2 gallons |
| Fruit Salad | 3 ounces | 1-1/2 gallons |
| Coleslaw | 3 or 4 ounces | 1-1/2 to 2 gallons 3 medium cabbages plus dressing and fixings |
Self serve?
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Breads
| Description | Per Person | For 50 |
| Dinner Rolls | 1-1/2 | 75 / 7 dozen |
| French Bread | 1-1/2 1″ slices | 4 18″ loaves |
| Cornbread | 1 3″ wedge or square | 6 to 7 8″ rounds or 5 13″ x 9″ x 2″ pans |
| Butter | — | 2-1/2 pounds |
Beverages
| Description | Per Person | For 50 |
| Coffee, 3-Hour-Party | 3 5-ounce cups | 3 pounds coffee (15 cups) 7 gallons filtered water 3 pints (6 cups) cream, half-and-half or milk 6 cups sugar 200 packets sugar substituteTea: @ 30 servings |
| Breakfast / Brunch Coffee (1-1/2 to 2-hour party) |
1 to 2 5-ounce cups | 1-1/2 pounds coffee (7 1/2 cups) 3-1/2 gallons filtered water 3 cups cream, half-and-half or milk 3 cups sugar 100 packets sugar substituteTea: 15 to 20 servings> |
| After-Dinner Coffee | 1 5-ounce cup | 1 pound coffee (5 cups) 2 gallons plus 1 quart filtered water 2 cups cream, half-and-half or milk 2 cups sugar 75 packets sugar substituteTea: 10 to 15 servings |
| Juice (1-1/2 to 2-hour party) |
1 to 2 5-ounce servings | 2 to 4 gallons |
| Punch | 3 to 5 4-ounce servings | 5 to 8 gallons |
| Lemonade, Iced Tea, etc. | 2 to 3 8-ounce servings | 6 to 9 gallons |
| Soft Drinks | 2 to 3 8-ounce servings or 2 to 3 12-ounce cans |
12 to 18 2-liter bottles100 to 150 12-ounce cans (expect some waste) |
| Beer | 3 to 5 12-ounce servings | 150 to 250 bottles or 6 to 10 cases (24 bottles each) |
| A keg (half barrel) holds 15 1/2 gallons, 165 servings. A pony keg holds 7 1/2 gallons, 80 servings. | ||
| Champagne | 3 to 5 4-ounce glasses | 25 to 42 750 ml bottles |
| Wine | 3 to 5 5-ounce glasses | 30 to 50 750 ml bottles |
| Cocktails | 4*, with 1-1/2 ounces spirits each | 13 750 ml bottles or 9 liters hard liquor plus mixers |
| * Figure 2 drinks per person for the first hour and 1 drink per person per hour after that. | ||
| Ice | 2 pounds | 100 pounds Less if everything is well chilled, more if making frozen drinks, filling coolers, or in hot weather. |
Desserts
| Description | Per Person | For 50 |
| Cake, layered | 1 slice | 4 8″ or 9″ cakes |
| Sheet Cakes | 1 2″ x 2″ piece | 1/2 sheet cake or more* |
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| Brownies | 1-1/2 pieces | 6 to 7 dozen 2″ x 2″ brownies |
| Cookies | 1 to 2 | 6 to 8 dozen |
| Pie | 1 3″ wedge | 5 to 6 9″ pies |
| Cobbler | 1 cup | 4 to 5 9″ x 9″ x 2″ pans |
| Cheesecake | 1 2″ wedge | 4 to 5 9″ cheesecakes |
| Pudding | 1 cup | 6 to 8 ounces |
| Ice Cream | 1 cup | 3 gallons |
I recommend adding 10-15% to your amounts. Better a little too much than not enough!
Good Luck!
Cooking Guide for Parties and Large Events
Credits: Greatpartyrecipes.com, Do It for Less Parties, Cooking for Crowds for Dummies, Cooking for a Crowd, Perfect Parties, and www.EllensKitchen.com
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