Learn the secrets to how many potatoes you need to make the perfect homemade mashed potato for a crowd of any size. Plus a handy table for Mashed potato serving size for a buffet, Thanksgiving dinner, or a tailgate party.
How Many Potatoes For Mashed Potatoes Latest Data For 2024
Plus A Handy Table For exact portions and how many potatoes to serve, 2,6,10,20, 50 and 100 people.
Cooking creamy mashed potato for one or two people can be a pain sometimes but not too bad. It’s when you start planning big holiday meals and large-group get-togethers or events that knowing how many potatoes to get, what sort of potatoes are best, and finally what is the serving size per person that it can get complicated.
Also for a big group can you prepare mashed potatoes ahead of time (plus what other foods can you prepare ahead of time) and how do you keep food warm like a professional caterer. Also, see our top tips for keeping food hot for hours.
Speaking of potato dishes and recipes – How much potato salad per guest do you really need for your bbq?
When you are cooking for a big crowd you may also be interested in reading
With popular side dishes like mashed potatoes, you’ll need to know how many potatoes to buy and prepare if you are making biscuits and gravy because s garlic mashed potato goes so well with them.
Plus how much coleslaw do you need for 100 people
How many pounds of red potatoes do you need for 100 people?
See our handy table above for 2,4,6,10,15,20,25,50 and 100 people on just how many potatoes to buy and how much mashed potato for each person from a picnic, family reunion to watching the game or just as a side dish with a meal.
How many potatoes should you make per person for mashed potatoes? There are various comments, but you need to take into account what is the average-sized potato first if you want to count potatoes.
And how much potato weight do I lose when peeling them. Well, a good peeler will lose about 5% of the potato pounds or weight by peeling.
How many potatoes do you cook per person? First do not count tiny or baby potatoes, use a fist size potato as a guide in working out how many potatoes to cook.
What is the average potato size?
- Largest Potato 9.5 oz (275 gm)
- Medium Potato 5.8 oz (165 gm)
- Small Potato 3.5 oz (98 gm)
- Average Potato 6.2 oz (175 gm)
So, working on an average-sized potato you would need 1.25 potatoes per person. So for 14 people, you would need to use 18 potatoes to make enough mashed potato for everyone. Now, this also assumes you will be adding some melted butter and either a little milk or cream because that just fluffs up the potatoes and bulks them up just a little.
How many potatoes should you make per person for a big crowd at the Thanksgiving side dish of mashed potatoes?
How Many Medium Sized Potatoes Per Person For Mashed For 2 People
- For A big Crowd Dinner you will need 2.5 medium sized potatoes or 1lb (0.4kg)
- 1/5 of a bag of a 5lb bag of potates to feed 2 people
Serving Size Mashed Potatoes Per Person For 2 People
- For A big Crowd Dinner you will need 1 lb (0.4kg of mashed potatoes for 2 folks
- 5.25 scoops or 1.75 cups will feed 2 people
How Many Medium Sized Potatoes Per Person For Mashed For 6 People
- For A big group Dinner you will need 7.5 medium sized potatoes or 2.9 lb (1.3 kg)
- 2/3 of a bag of a 5lb bag of potates to feed 6 people
Serving Size Mashed Potatoes Per Person For 6 People
- For A big family dinner you will need 2.9 lb (1.3 kg) of mashed potatoes for 6 guests
- 15.75 scoops or 5.25 cups will feed 6 people
How Many Medium Sized Potatoes Per Person For Mashed For 10 People
- For A big group Dinner you will need 12.5 medium sized potatoes or 4.8 lb (2.2 kg) to feed 10 guests of folks
- 1 bag of a 5lb bag of potates to feed 10 people
Serving Size Mashed Potatoes Per Person For 10 People
- For A big family dinner you will need 4.8 lb (2.2 kg) of mashed potatoes for 10 people
- 26 scoops or 8.75 cups will feed 10 people
How Many Medium Sized Potatoes Per Person For Mashed For 20 People
- For A big group Dinner you will need 25 medium sized potatoes or 9.6 lb (4.4 kg) to feed 20 guests of folks
- 2 bags of a 5lb bag of potates to feed 20 people
Serving Size Mashed Potatoes Per Person For 20 People
- For A big family dinner you will need 9.6 lb (4.4 kg) of mashed potatoes for 20 people
- 52 scoops or 17 cups will feed 20 people
How Many Medium Sized Potatoes Per Person For Mashed For 50 People
- For A big group Dinner you will need 62 medium sized potatoes or 24 lb (11 kg) to feed 50 guests of folks
- 5 bags of a 5lb bag of potates to feed 50 people
Serving Size Mashed Potatoes Per Person For 50 People
- For A big family dinner you will need 24 lb (11 kg) of mashed potatoes for 50 people
- 131 scoops or 44 cups will feed 50 people
How Many Medium Sized Potatoes Per Person For Mashed For 100 People
- For A big group Dinner you will need 124 medium sized potatoes or 48 lb (122kg) to feed 100 guests of folks
- 10bags of a 5lb bag of potates to feed 100 people
Serving Size Mashed Potatoes Per Person For 100 People
- For A big family dinner you will need 48 lb (22 kg) of mashed potatoes for 100 people
- 232 scoops or 88 cups will feed 100 people
Work on using a half-pound (220 gm) of potatoes for each person. This is enough as a side especially if you have gravy for a big group ready to serve also. is enough for a side dish. What if I have 8 people coming to thanksgiving lunch – use 4lbs of potatoes.
Mashed Potato Serving Size Per Person For A Big Group
The serving size for a single person will vary depending on the event, how many other sides are served, and if you have really good gravy, many people will eat more as they just love potatoes and gravy.
In our detailed table where we give the amounts of “spuds” per person, the number of scopes of potato per person, per kg etc, we have two extra amounts that take into account just how much you would need at a tailgate event for example, so this gives you an idea of the range of serving sizes per person for event and depending on the size of your event all the way up to lots and lot of people – 100.
That being said the average Mashed Potato Serving Size in the United States is 1 cup or 2.5 scoops per person. This equates approximately to .21kg or 210 grams or 1/2 lb per person.
The best way to make mashed potatoes for a small group is to use a potato ricer – then mash the cooked potatoes with some milk, unsalted butter, and maybe a little heavy cream.
How do you calculate mashed potatoes per person?
You calculate it on 6 ounces per person.
This is based on a side dish size. Men will eat a little more (8 oz) and women a little less (4-5 oz) but if you have mainly couples at your event, then using the average of 6 oz per person should be fine. The good thing is that potatoes are relatively cheap so if you are concerned, just increase the quantity by 10 percent. Another good way to make mashed potatoes go further is to serve them with toppings and extras.
So as an example how many potatoes for mashed potatoes for 6 – would be 8 medium-sized potatoes.
Some good examples for mashed potato toppings for extra flavor and making them last longer are
- sour cream
- roasted garlic
- olive oil and sea or kosher salt
- chives
- heavy cream blended in
- cream cheese
- grilled cheese
Serving mashed potatoes in a ramekin is a good idea you can control the portion size and even broil them with some shredded cheese and top with a sprig of parsley.
A quick rule of thumb for mashed potato calculations is One 5 lb bag of potatoes will be enough for 10 person servings – see out table for more amounts from 2-100 people.
Top 10 Tips To Flavor Homemade Mashed Potatoes
There are so many flavors you can bring to mashed potatoes – here are our top ones.
- Bacon Bits
- Truffle Oil
- Cream cheese
- Low fat milk
- Pinch of cayenne pepper
- Diced Chives
- Cajun Seasoning
- Heavy Cream
- Sour Cream
- Coconut Oil and Non-Daiy Milk for Vegan Mashed Potatoes
Best Potato Varieties and Advice when making Mashed Potatoes For A Crowd. I find the most important part of mashed potato making for a big group is the variety of potato used. Definitely use a floury potato instead of waxy ones, Russet and Yukon Gold are some good example
If you only have 3-5 people you can bake a potato in their skins and scoop out the fluffy middle and put it through a potato ricer.
Mashed potatoes, gravy and corn on the cob are a classic – see our pages for each of these with some great tips. When calculating how much prime rib roast for Christmas, add them as a side.
We also have a great catering for a big group resource with lots of ideas. Plus see how to reheat grits to serve with gravy and potato.