Plenty of people love potato salad. It’s the perfect side dish (alongside pasta salad and mashed potatoes) for any occasion, whether you’re having a backyard barbecue or a holiday gathering.
Well, if you’ve opted to make classic potato salad for the upcoming gathering, you’re likely wondering – how much potato salad per person? How much should I make?
For the most part, you should serve ½ to 1 cup of potato salad per guest, but there are many factors that can contribute to the actual amount of potato salad needed for the upcoming shindig.
Keep reading to find out how much potato salad you should make!
What Is Serving Size of Potato Salad?
Typical serving size of store-bought and homemade potato salad is ½ a cup, equating to ¼ of a pound or five ounces.
Of course, this is the recommended serving size. This doesn’t mean everyone will consider this to be “enough.”
Those with big appetites or an obsession with potato salad can easily consume up to a cup or more in a sitting.
Some people may also consume potato salad as a main dish in which case they can easily eat a few cups at once.
How Much Potato Salad Per Person Should I Prepare?
If you plan to serve potato salad at an upcoming event, you need to know how much potato salad to make.
You can follow the same average serving size listed above to determine the “right” amount.
Let’s calculate. Since a serving is ½ a cup of potato salad, you will need two cups for four people and ten cups for 20 people.
Guest Preferences & Age
The simplest way to calculate how many cups of potato salad to make is to use the calculation of ½ a cup per person.
However, it’s not always that easy.
You should also consider guest preferences and age.
For example, if you’re making potato salad for the upcoming family reunion and you know the whole family loves potato salad (and would eat it as a main course), you might consider making double the serving size to appease your guests.
On the other hand, also consider age. If you’re cooking potato salad for a group of younger kids, you can easily get by with ¼ to ½ cup per person.
If you’re cooking for a bunch of adults with serious appetites, ½ or 1 cup per person should suffice.
Party Size
When cooking for a big group, it’s always best to err on the side of caution. While ½ a cup should be okay, you might consider bumping it up to one cup per guest to be on the safe side.
Other Food
Will your bowl filled with potato salad be the only side dish at the party? Or are there going to be plenty of other dishes to consume?
Potato salad is a typical side dish paired with pulled pork (or other meat), hard-boiled eggs, roast beef, baked beans, salad, etc. But that doesn’t mean it always will be.
Double-check with the host about what else will be served at the bash.
If there are tons of other foods for the large group to consume, you can stick with ½ cup per person.
If there aren’t a whole lot of other items, you might bump it up to 1 cup.
How Many Pounds of Potato Salad
Some people prefer to discover how much potato salad per person is required based on pounds rather than cups.
This is especially true if you’re planning to buy pounds of potato salad at the grocery store rather than making the “perfect potato salad” by hand.
Sound like you?
Here is a quick guide on how many pounds of potato salad you will need per person.
| Number of People | Amount per person (in pounds) |
|---|---|
| 1 | 0.25 pounds |
| 2 | 0.50 pounds |
| 5 | 1.25 pounds |
| 10 | 2.50 pounds |
| 20 | 5 pounds |
| 50 | 12.5 pounds |
| 100 | 25 pounds |
How Many Ounces?
Now you know how many pounds of potato salad you will need per person. But how does this equate to ounces?
| Number of People | How many ounces |
|---|---|
| 1 | 4 ounces |
| 5 | 10 ounces |
| 50 | 200 ounces |
How Many Cups of Potato Salad
If you’re planning to make your potato salad from scratch, you need to know how many pounds of potato salad per person you need to create.
Before busting out your essential ingredients like russet potatoes, bacon fat, apple cider vinegar, dill pickles, and bacon bits, take a gander at how many cups of potato salad you will need to end up with.
| Number of People | Amount of cups per person |
|---|---|
| 1 | 1.5 cups |
| 2 | 2 cups |
| 5 | 4 cups |
| 10 | 8 cups |
| 20 | 16 cups |
| 50 | 40 cups |
| 100 | 80 cups |
FAQ
How Much Potato Salad for 50 People Should I Prepare?
If you plan to serve your potato salad to a group size of 50 people, you will want to make 12.5 pounds/200 ounces/40 cups of potato salad.
How Many Servings in a Gallon of Potato Salad?
Sometimes, it’s easier to buy a gallon of potato salad at the grocery store than trying to buy it yourself. But how much is a gallon of potato salad?
A gallon of potato salad typically comes with 16 cups. Since ½ a cup is the standard serving size, you should be able to serve 32 guests.
Don’t forget to account for critical elements, though. For example, if you know the bbq crowd will eat a lot of the salad, you might want to purchase two gallons so everyone can have a cup each.
