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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 |
|
|
|
|
|
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 |
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| Desserts |
|
|
|
|
Servings |
Serving Size |
Amount
Needed |
Buy as |
| Cake |
24 24 |
1/12 cake 2-1/2-inch square |
2 13x9" cakes 1 15x10-1-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 |
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| Fruit |
|
|
|
|
Servings |
Serving Size |
Amount
Needed |
Buy as |
| Canned |
24 |
1/2 cup |
6-1/2 to 8 pounds |
1 #10 can |
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| 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 |
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| 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 |
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| 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 |
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| Soup |
|
|
|
|
Servings |
Serving Size |
Amount
Needed |
Buy as |
| Soup |
25 |
1-1/2 cup |
10 quarts |
3 50-ounce cans, condensed |
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| 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 |
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| 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 |
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| 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 |
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