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Food Per Person

How Much Chicken Per Person

Chicken yields about 70 percent cooked, so plan half a pound cooked per adult and buy roughly 0.7 lb raw each, more for bone-in pieces. This calculator sizes the chicken to buy for your headcount, plus sides, a cost estimate, and a copyable shopping list.

How many guests?
Protein
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Appetite
Bone-in cut?
Compare a second headcount

Your plan

About 15 lb of chicken to buy for 20

Total items

3

food and drink to buy

Est. cost

$86.94

$4.35 per guest, rough estimate

Planning 0.5 lb cooked meat per adult for 22 guests, standard appetite, with a 10 percent buffer.

Proteins

  • Chicken (raw, to buy)

    0.5 lb cooked per adult

    15 lb
Sides

  • Starchy side (potato salad, pasta, rice)

    5 oz per adult

    105 oz

  • Vegetable side or green salad

    3 oz per adult

    63 oz

Estimate from average US grocery prices, a planning aid, not a quote. Non-USD is converted at rough parity. Set the price level in advanced options for your area, or see how we estimate cost.

Shopping list

Proteins

  • Chicken (raw, to buy)15 lb (16 packs)$

Sides

  • Starchy side (potato salad, pasta, rice)105 oz (7 packs)$
  • Vegetable side or green salad63 oz (4 packs)$
Estimated total$86.94

Tap any price to set what it costs at your store. Prices are average US estimates.

Common questions

How Much Chicken Per Person?
How much chicken per person? Plan about half a pound of cooked chicken per adult, roughly 0.7 lb raw boneless, or about a pound for bone-in pieces.
Bone-in or boneless chicken for a crowd?
Boneless chicken is easier to portion and yields more edible meat per pound, while bone-in pieces are cheaper and look more generous on a buffet. Either way plan about half a pound cooked per adult, and the tool adjusts the raw amount for the cut you pick.

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