How Much Food Per Person for a Dinner Party?

Working out how much food to make is one of the quiet worries of hosting. Make too little and you spend the evening watching portions; make too much and you're eating the leftovers for a week. The good news is that a few simple per-person quantities get you most of the way.

This guide gives a starting point for every course, a ready reckoner for six, eight and ten guests, and the things that should make you adjust up or down. All quantities are for adults and assume a sit-down dinner with three courses.

The short version

The pasta and rice figures are the portions Love Food Hate Waste recommends, roughly two handfuls of dried rice or pasta per person for a main meal and one for a side. The vegetable portion is the 80g that the NHS counts as one adult portion of fruit or vegetables. The rest are the rules of thumb most cooks work to; treat them as a starting point, not a law.

Main course: meat and fish

Boneless meat. Around 180 to 225g of raw weight per person covers a main course with sides. That applies to fillets, breasts, steaks, mince and diced meat for stews.

Meat on the bone. Bones and fat account for a lot of the weight, so allow more: around 300 to 400g of raw weight per person for a bone-in joint such as a shoulder of lamb or a rib of beef. Slow-cooked cuts also shrink more as they cook.

Whole chicken. A medium chicken of around 1.6 to 1.8kg feeds about four people as a main course with sides.

Fish. Around 150 to 180g of fillet per person. For a fish starter, around 80 to 100g is plenty.

If you're serving a braise, a ragù or a stew, remember that the sauce and vegetables bulk out each plate, so you can sit at the lower end of these ranges.

Carbohydrates: potatoes, pasta, rice and bread

Potatoes. About 200 to 250g of raw potatoes per person as a side. People always eat more roast potatoes than you expect, so make a few extra.

Pasta and rice. For a main course, 75g of dried pasta or rice per person; as a side or a starter, about half that. Dried pasta and rice roughly double or triple in weight as they absorb water, so don't be alarmed by how little 75g looks.

Bread. One or two slices or a roll each if bread is served with a starter or soup.

Vegetables and salad

Two or three vegetable sides at about 80g each per person is generous for a dinner party. With a green salad as well, 30 to 40g of leaves per person is enough. Dress salad at the last minute, or it wilts.

Canapés and nibbles

For drinks before dinner, four to six canapés per person is about right. Any more and your guests won't be hungry for the starter. If you're serving canapés instead of dinner, for example at a drinks party, plan on around eight to twelve pieces per person for a two-hour party.

A bowl of good crisps, olives or nuts covers late arrivals and lets you hold back the canapés until everyone is there.

Cheese and dessert

Cheese course. About 50 to 75g per person in total, across three or four cheeses, with crackers, chutney and some fruit. If cheese replaces dessert, go to the top of the range.

Dessert. One portion per person, plus one or two extra. Desserts are where people say "just a sliver" and come back for more.

Drinks

A standard 75cl bottle of wine pours about six 125ml glasses. Over a long dinner, many hosts plan around half a bottle per wine-drinking guest, plus a bottle or two in reserve. For sparkling wine as a welcome drink, one bottle serves about six glasses.

Plan for plenty of water on the table, and a good non-alcoholic option such as a sparkling elderflower or a homemade lemonade for drivers and anyone not drinking.

Ready reckoner for 6, 8 and 10 guests

These figures are rounded and assume every guest is an adult eating a full dinner.

When to adjust the quantities

More courses, smaller portions. If you're serving four or five courses, scale each one down. A tasting menu works because the portions are small.

Buffets need more. People help themselves generously at a buffet and like to see a full table, so add about a quarter to every quantity.

Know your guests. A table of hungry walkers after a day outdoors will eat more than a light lunch crowd. Teenagers eat like adults; younger children usually need around half a portion.

Time of day and season. People eat more on a cold winter evening than at a summer lunch in the garden.

Big centrepieces look better generous. A roast or a Wellington looks mean if there's nothing left on the board. A little extra on the main is rarely wasted.

Avoiding waste

Plan sides that work as leftovers, such as roast vegetables, grains and potatoes, and keep some freezer bags and containers handy at the end of the evening. Cool leftovers promptly, refrigerate them and use them within a day or two, following the Food Standards Agency's guidance on storing and reheating food safely. Love Food Hate Waste's portion planner is a handy way to check quantities for everyday cooking, too.

Let a chef do the maths

Getting quantities right is second nature to a professional, and it's one of the less obvious things you're paying for when you hire a private chef: they buy what's needed and very little more. If you're planning a dinner and would rather hand it over, read what a private chef cooking at home involves, or see our guide to how to host a dinner party if you're doing it yourself.

Start from the table above, adjust for your guests and your menu, and you'll rarely run out or waste much. If you'd rather not think about quantities at all, find a private chef who'll take care of the shopping and the cooking.