How much food for 6 people
For 6 people at a sit-down dinner, plan about 9 lb of finished food: 3.5 lb of mains, 2.25 lb of sides and 7 dessert servings. Pour about 30 drinks over 4 hours and buy 15 lb of ice.
Food amounts for 6 people by kind of party
Appetizers
1.25 lb
About 28 bites
Mains
3.5 lb
1 dish
Sides
2.25 lb
2 dishes
Bread & rolls
1 lb
About 7 rolls
Dessert
1.5 lb
About 7 servings
Cooked, ready-to-serve weights. Planning estimates with a small margin built in.
Appetizers
1.5 lb
About 32 bites
Mains
5 lb
2 dishes
Sides
2.75 lb
3 dishes
Bread & rolls
1 lb
About 8 rolls
Dessert
2 lb
About 9 servings, 2 kinds
Cooked, ready-to-serve weights. Planning estimates with a small margin built in.
Appetizers
2.5 lb
About 54 bites, 6 kinds
Dessert
1 lb
About 4 servings
- · If nobody eats afterwards, this is dinner and needs about twice the food. The appetizer calculator sizes it that way.
Cooked, ready-to-serve weights. Planning estimates with a small margin built in.
Mains
3.25 lb
1 dish
Sides
2 lb
2 dishes
Bread & rolls
1 lb
About 7 rolls
Dessert
1.5 lb
About 7 servings
Cooked, ready-to-serve weights. Planning estimates with a small margin built in.
Appetizers
1.75 lb
About 36 bites
Mains
5.75 lb
2 dishes
Sides
3 lb
3 dishes
Bread & rolls
1.25 lb
About 9 rolls
Dessert
2 lb
About 9 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
30 drinks for 6 people
Mixed bar, 4 hours, 80% of guests drinking alcohol — about 5 drinks a guest.
- Bottles of wine
- 2
- Beers
- 8
- Bottles of spirits
- 1
- Quarts zero-proof
- 2.3
- Quarts of water
- 6.3
- Glasses
- 17
Ice
0 lb
Indoors, bottles kept cold in tubs. On a hot day outside: 20 lb.
- 5 lb bags3
- 10 lb bags2
- 20 lb bags1
What changes at 6
The numbers, compared
- A buffet for 6 needs 12 lb of food against 9 lb for a plated dinner — people serve themselves and try more dishes.
- Cooked mains: 3.5 lb at a sit-down dinner, 5 lb at a buffet with 2 mains, 5.75 lb at a cookout. Buy roughly a third more raw weight for meat.
- Appetizers only: about 54 bites across a 3-hour cocktail party, or 9 a guest.
- On a hot day outdoors the ice rises from 15 lb to 20 lb, because bottles in a tub melt it too.
- Checked against a starting kitchen of 1 oven and 4 burners, the sample menu for 6 is comfortable; the busiest part is recovery window at 50%.
A sample plan
Sit-down dinner for 6, planned by the engine
A representative menu from our recipe library, sized for 6 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 6
Starters
- Warm toasts, seasonal topping1 batch · 8 servingson the day
Mains
- Chickpea & squash tagine1.5 batches · 9 servingsday before
Sides
- Cold green salad, sharp dressing0.5 batches · 4 servingson the day
- Butter lettuce with green goddess and seed crunch0.5 batches · 4 servingson the day
Bread
- Rosemary focaccia, torn1 batch · 10 servingson the day
Dessert
- Lemon posset1 batch · 8 servingsday before
About 765 g of food a guest. 40% of the cooking can be done before the day.
Shopping highlights
- Butter lettuce2 ea
- Citrus for garnish1 ea
- Garlic1 clove
- Lemon5 ea
- Mixed herbs0.8 cup
- Onion4 ea
- Rosemary1 bunch
- Salad leaves8 oz
- Seasonal topping1.3 lb
- Squash5 lb
10 of 30 lines. The full list comes with the plan.
Kitchen check
Comfortable
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
- 21
- Ice
- 15 lb
- Food, estimated
- $161
About $27 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 6: questions hosts ask
How much food do I need for 6 people?
About 9 lb of finished food for a sit-down dinner for 6, or 12 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 6 people?
Plan about 3.5 lb of cooked main dish for a plated dinner for 6, or 5 lb for a buffet that puts out 2 mains. Meat loses about a quarter of its weight as it cooks, so buy around 5 lb raw for the dinner.
How many appetizers for 6 people?
When appetizers are the whole party, about 54 bites for 6 guests over 3 hours. Before a dinner, 28 bites is enough to take the edge off.
How many drinks for 6 people?
About 30 drinks over 4 hours with a mixed bar and most guests drinking: 2 bottles of wine, 8 beers, 1 bottle of spirits, and zero-proof drinks for everyone who isn't drinking alcohol.
How much ice for 6 people?
15 lb of ice indoors with bottles kept in tubs, or 20 lb outdoors on a hot day. That is 1 20 lb bag for an indoor party.
How many rolls for 6 people?
About 7 rolls for a sit-down dinner for 6 — close to one each, since bread is a side people take once.
Planning for 6? 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 6