How Much Food Do You Need for Christmas?
How much turkey, ham, prawns and everything else to allow per person at Christmas, with the numbers that matter and the two mistakes that catch everyone out.
This is the question that stalls most people at the butcher’s counter, usually with a queue behind them.
Here are the numbers worth knowing, and the two things that catch almost everyone out.
Work it out once, write it down, and stop doing the sums in your head every time someone asks.
Start with who is actually eating
Not who is coming. Who is eating.
Small children eat roughly half an adult portion. Teenagers count as adults and then some. And there is usually one guest who has already had lunch somewhere else.
Count the real eaters, then work from the tables below.
The centrepiece
| What you’re serving | Allow per person |
|---|---|
| Whole roast turkey | 500g |
| Turkey breast fillet, boned | 1.5kg gives 12 to 15 good slices |
| Whole roast chicken | 500g |
| Roast beef fillet | 200g trimmed (1kg serves 5) |
| Rack of lamb | 3 to 4 cutlets, about half a rack |
| Bone-in ham, as the star of the table | 350 to 450g |
| Bone-in ham, as part of a spread | 250g |
| Boned, trimmed meat for a casserole | 200g |
For turkey that works out at roughly 3kg for 6 people, 4kg for 8 to 10, and 5kg for 10 to 12.
Ham is worth thinking about twice. A big ham is half the point of Christmas for some families, and the leftovers earn their keep all week. If that is your household, buy at the generous end and enjoy it. Our guide to glazing and carving a ham will help you get the most out of it.
Seafood
| Allow per person | |
|---|---|
| Prawns, as the main event | 250 to 350g in the shell |
| Prawns, as part of a spread | 100g in the shell |
| Prawns, for people who really love prawns | up to 500g in the shell |
| Oysters, as a starter | 5 to 6 |
| Oysters, alongside other things | 3 to 4 |
Prawns are sold in the shell, and the shell is most of the weight. Peeled, you get roughly 45% meat to 55% heads and shells. So 300g of prawns per person is about 135g of actual prawn on the plate, which is why the numbers look so alarming written down.
If you are ordering for a crowd, tell your fishmonger what else is on the table. They do this every December and their guess is better than yours.
Sides, cheese and dessert
| Allow per person | |
|---|---|
| Hearty sides: potatoes, pumpkin, grain salads | 150 to 200g |
| Lighter vegetables and green salads | 100 to 150g |
| Bread and rolls | 40 to 60g, about one roll |
| Dessert | 120 to 150g |
| Cheese platter, up to 10 people | 90g |
| Cheese platter, up to 20 people | 60g |
That lands at roughly 350 to 400g of sides per person across everything, which makes a generous, well-balanced plate.
For dessert, a good rule is one serve each plus one extra for every four people. A 300ml carton of cream, whipped, stretches to 14 serves, and 2 litres of ice cream gives 16 scoops.
Drinks
| Allow per person | |
|---|---|
| Wine, over a long lunch | half a bottle, about 375ml |
| Beer | 2 in the first hour, then 1 an hour |
| Non-alcoholic drinks | 1 litre |
| Ice, in hot weather | 1kg |
A 750ml bottle of wine pours about six glasses, so plan on one bottle between two adults for a lunch that runs into the afternoon.
Take the non-alcoholic litre seriously. On a hot Australian Christmas it is the thing people actually run out of. Water, soft drink and juice disappear far faster than anyone expects, and so does ice. Buy more than feels sensible.
The two questions to ask your supplier
"Does that weight include the bone or the shell?" and "I'm serving this alongside a ham and three salads for ten people, is that enough?" Both will get you a better answer than any table on the internet, this one included.
The two mistakes that catch everyone out
Bones, shells and trimming. A quoted weight very often includes what you are about to throw away. A 5kg bone-in ham is not 5kg of ham, and 2kg of prawns is not 2kg of prawns.
A yield is not a serving. Twelve slices of turkey is not twelve lunches, particularly if half your guests want seconds. Read what a recipe’s yield actually means before you scale it up.
Buffet maths is different
If you are putting out three proteins rather than one, do not allow a full main-course serving of each.
People take a little of everything. Roughly half of each dish is much closer to the mark, and you will still have plenty left over. Allowing a full portion of all three is how people end up with a fridge they cannot close.
Then write it down
Work the numbers out once, now, and write them on the same piece of paper as your guest count. In three weeks you will not remember whether you settled on 4kg or 5kg, and the butcher will want an answer.
There are more numbers, including pasta, rice, coffee and tea, in our full guide to calculating quantities for catering.
When you are ready to place the order, 4 Weeks to Go covers timing, collection and where you are going to put it all.
