Dia de los Muertos for 20 guests
A grazing-style Dia de los Muertos for 20: 6 dishes, about 348 g of food a guest (15.5 lb in all), 32 lines on the shopping list and around 89 drinks. 50% of the cooking can happen before the day.
- Dishes
- 6
- Food
- 15.5 lb
- Drinks
- 89
- Shopping lines
- 32
Sized by the planning engine
The menu, amounts and kitchen check
- · We set food for 5 PM — change it if your timing is different.
Menu for 20
To start
- Cheese board with quince & walnut1 batch · 8 servingson the day
- Pickle and ferment tray0.5 batches · 10 servingson the day
Starters
- Gougères1.5 batches · 15 servingsday before
Sides
- Esquites with lime, chile, queso fresco & cilantro0.5 batches · 9 servingson the day
- Herbed grain salad1 batch · 10 servingsday before
Dessert
- No-bake pantry flapjack1.5 batches · 15 servingsday before
About 348 g of food a guest. 50% of the cooking can be done before the day.
Shopping highlights
- Cilantro1 bunch
- Citrus for garnish5 ea
- Cucumber3 ea
- Fresh corn7 ear
- Fresh lime2 ea
- Herb for garnish — mint or rosemary2 bunch
- Parsley2 bunch
- Serrano chiles1 ea
- Assorted cheese1.3 lb
- Butter5 oz
10 of 32 lines. The full list comes with the plan.
Kitchen check
SERVING STATIONS — What runs out first
Serving stations is the busiest part of this starting kitchen.
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
- 89
- Ice
- 42 lb
- Food, estimated
- $328
About $16 a guest — a planning estimate from typical supermarket costs, not a price.
Countdown
The Dia de Muertos timeline, condensed
4 weeks before
- · Send the date, the start time, and a question about what people do not eat.
- · Pan de muerto and a familiar family dish matter more than a theme. Ask which foods belong on the ofrenda and which are for eating.
2 weeks before
- · Order the things that sell out. Leave the greens for the week of.
- · Decide the table before you buy anything for it.
1 week before
- · Cook whatever is better the next day. Leave the last fry for the day.
- · Count the zero-proof and the water with the rest of the drinks.
Day before
- · Clear the surfaces you will actually serve from.
- · Label what is already done so a helper does not redo it.
Day of
- · Finish only what cannot wait. Put the rest out before people arrive.
- · Keep one person out of the kitchen once guests are in the room.
Day after
- · Cool leftovers in shallow containers. Note what actually ran out.
- · Eat the food that keeps. Throw out the food that does not.
Other sizes
Dia de Muertos for more or fewer
Questions hosts ask
How much food for a Dia de los Muertos for 20?
About 15.5 lb of finished food, or 348 g a guest across 6 dishes. The amounts are sized by the planning engine and include a small margin.
Should a Dia de los Muertos for 20 be a buffet or a sit-down meal?
It usually runs grazing-style: guests help themselves, so not everyone needs a chair at once. Still count the seats you have; the planner never assumes them.
How many drinks for a Dia de los Muertos for 20?
About 89 drinks across the party, including alcohol-free ones, and 42 lb of ice.
How far ahead should I start planning?
Start 4 weeks before: send the date, the start time, and a question about what people do not eat, and pan de muerto and a familiar family dish matter more than a theme. Ask which foods belong on the ofrenda and which are for eating.
What does a Dia de los Muertos for 20 cost?
The food in this plan comes to roughly $328, about $16 a guest. That is a planning estimate from typical US supermarket costs, not a price for your shop.
The whole night
Plan my Dia de Muertos for 20
Tell us about your kitchen, your seats and anyone's food needs, and the menu, shopping list and timeline redraw around them.