How much food for 30 people
For 30 people at a buffet, plan about 59 lb of finished food: 24.5 lb of mains, 13.25 lb of sides and 43 dessert servings. Pour about 150 drinks over 4 hours and buy 60 lb of ice.
Food amounts for 30 people by kind of party
Appetizers
6.25 lb
About 139 bites
Mains
16.75 lb
1 dish
Sides
10.25 lb
2 dishes
Bread & rolls
4.5 lb
About 33 rolls
Dessert
7.25 lb
About 33 servings
Cooked, ready-to-serve weights. Planning estimates with a small margin built in.
Appetizers
7 lb
About 158 bites
Mains
24.5 lb
2 dishes
Sides
13.25 lb
3 dishes
Bread & rolls
5 lb
About 38 rolls
Dessert
9.5 lb
About 43 servings, 2 kinds
Cooked, ready-to-serve weights. Planning estimates with a small margin built in.
Appetizers
12 lb
About 267 bites, 6 kinds
Dessert
4.5 lb
About 20 servings
- · A cocktail party that runs past dinner time becomes dinner. Guests eat as though it is one.
Cooked, ready-to-serve weights. Planning estimates with a small margin built in.
Mains
16 lb
1 dish
Sides
10 lb
2 dishes
Bread & rolls
4.25 lb
About 32 rolls
Dessert
7 lb
About 32 servings
Cooked, ready-to-serve weights. Planning estimates with a small margin built in.
Appetizers
8 lb
About 179 bites
Mains
27.75 lb
2 dishes
Sides
15 lb
3 dishes
Bread & rolls
5.75 lb
About 43 rolls
Dessert
9.5 lb
About 43 servings
- · 4 hours of service — quantities carry 7% for the long tail.
Cooked, ready-to-serve weights. Planning estimates with a small margin built in.
Drinks
150 drinks for 30 people
Mixed bar, 4 hours, 80% of guests drinking alcohol — about 5 drinks a guest.
- Bottles of wine
- 10
- Beers
- 38
- Bottles of spirits
- 2
- Quarts zero-proof
- 12.2
- Quarts of water
- 31.7
- Glasses
- 79
Ice
0 lb
Indoors, bottles kept cold in tubs. On a hot day outside: 85 lb.
- 5 lb bags12
- 10 lb bags6
- 20 lb bags3
What changes at 30
The numbers, compared
- A buffet for 30 needs 59 lb of food against 44.5 lb for a plated dinner — people serve themselves and try more dishes.
- Cooked mains: 16.75 lb at a sit-down dinner, 24.5 lb at a buffet with 2 mains, 27.75 lb at a cookout. Buy roughly a third more raw weight for meat.
- Appetizers only: about 267 bites across a 3-hour cocktail party, or 9 a guest.
- On a hot day outdoors the ice rises from 60 lb to 85 lb, because bottles in a tub melt it too.
- Checked against a starting kitchen of 1 oven and 4 burners, the sample menu for 30 is over capacity; the busiest part is serving stations at 214%.
A sample plan
Buffet for 30, planned by the engine
A representative menu from our recipe library, sized for 30 with a shopping list and a kitchen check. Yours will change the moment you tell the planner about your guests and your kitchen.
Menu for 30
To start
- Warm citrus-fennel olives4.5 batches · 36 servingson the day
Mains
- Chickpea & squash tagine6 batches · 36 servingsday before
Sides
- Cold green salad, sharp dressing2.5 batches · 20 servingson the day
- Potato gratin2.5 batches · 20 servingson the day
Bread
- Rosemary focaccia, torn3.5 batches · 35 servingson the day
Dessert
- Gulab jamun3 batches · 36 servingson the day
About 814 g of food a guest. 30% of the cooking can be done before the day.
Shopping highlights
- Citrus for garnish8 ea
- Garlic15 clove
- Herb for garnish — mint or rosemary3 bunch
- Lemon4 ea
- Onion15 ea
- Orange6 ea
- Potato10 lb
- Rosemary1 bunch
- Salad leaves2.3 lb
- Squash20 lb
10 of 33 lines. The full list comes with the plan.
Kitchen check
Over capacity
The day-of cooking does not fit the day. Move dishes to the day before, cut the menu, add an oven, or reduce the guest count. The plan will not compress cooking time for you.
Checked against a starting kitchen of 1 oven and 4 burners — not yours yet. Seats are not counted here: the planner asks for your real number rather than guessing it.
Drinks and cost
- Drinks, all kinds
- 150
- Ice
- 60 lb
- Food, estimated
- $726
About $24 a guest — a planning estimate from typical supermarket costs, not a price.
Scale it
More or fewer people?
Different party?
Set your own numbers
Food for 30: questions hosts ask
How much food do I need for 30 people?
About 44.5 lb of finished food for a sit-down dinner for 30, or 59 lb as a buffet, which is roughly 23.7–31.3 oz a person. These are planning estimates for cooked food, with a small margin for a late guest.
How much meat for 30 people?
Plan about 16.75 lb of cooked main dish for a plated dinner for 30, or 24.5 lb for a buffet that puts out 2 mains. Meat loses about a quarter of its weight as it cooks, so buy around 23 lb raw for the dinner.
How many appetizers for 30 people?
When appetizers are the whole party, about 267 bites for 30 guests over 3 hours. Before a dinner, 139 bites is enough to take the edge off.
How many drinks for 30 people?
About 150 drinks over 4 hours with a mixed bar and most guests drinking: 10 bottles of wine, 38 beers, 2 bottles of spirits, and zero-proof drinks for everyone who isn't drinking alcohol.
How much ice for 30 people?
60 lb of ice indoors with bottles kept in tubs, or 85 lb outdoors on a hot day. That is 3 20 lb bags for an indoor party.
How many rolls for 30 people?
About 33 rolls for a sit-down dinner for 30 — close to one each, since bread is a side people take once.
Planning for 30? Get the whole plan
A menu that fits your oven, a full shopping list and a countdown timeline — sized to your real guest list. Free, no sign-up.
Plan my party for 30