How to Calculate a Recipe to Feed 100?

When you are cooking for a large group planning the amount and types of food you will have can be a complicated process. Many favorite recipes are only designed to feed six or eight people. Through multiplying ingredient amounts and carefully planning how you will cook the meal you can simplify the process. This is how you can turn your favorite recipe into a meal for everyone at your next big event.

Things You'll Need

• Calculator

Instructions

1. Decide what recipes you plan to make. If you are planning a sit down meal or self-serve buffet, consider having a main dish and two sides. You may also consider an all-in-one meal such as lasagna and serve it with bread and salad.

2. Consider how big your baking dishes, pots and pans are, and how many you have. It can be easy to multiply a recipe, but you will need to split it into batches that can cook easily with the tools you have available.

3. Review the recipe and take note of how many servings it includes. Consider a manageable batch for cooking. For example, if a recipe serves eight, you can multiply it by four and feed 24 with each batch. Then you will need about four batches to feed 100 people.

4. Take each ingredient in the eight serving recipe and multiply it by four. This is how much of that ingredient you will need for each batch. To get the total amount for all four batches (almost 100 servings) take it times four again.

5. Plan how you will cook each dish. Do you have enough oven space? Will you have help? If serving a buffet line, you may need to prepare the dishes so that the next one is ready as soon as one is emptied out so you will need to perfect your timing.

6. Prepare the recipe in batches using your new calculations and cooking plan.

Tips & Warnings

• You may consider practicing a bit prior to the time when you plan to feed 100. Multiply the recipe to make a larger batch, such as 24 servings, to get a feel for how big of a pan you will need and how long it will take to cook. Consider if you will have children at the event. They often eat less so you can figure this into your total servings needed.

• Don't run out of food. If you calculate the number of servings exactly, consider making a small batch with a few extra servings as backup in case unexpected guests arrive. You don't want too much food left over, but it is better than running out completely.

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish
• Cooking Measurements Conversion Calculators