Adjust for your crowd
Enter how many of your guests are kids; each counts as half an adult.
Turkey for other crowd sizes
tap a row for its own list ↓| Guests | Carved meat | Raw to buy | Whole turkeys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 people | 6 lb | 12 lb | 1 |
| 20 people | 11 lb | 23 lb | 2 |
| 25 people | 14 lb | 29 lb | 2 |
| 30 people | 17 lb | 35 lb | 3 |
| 40 people | 22 lb | 46 lb | 3 |
| 50 people · you're here | 28 lb | 58 lb | 4 |
| 75 people | 41 lb | 86 lb | 6 |
| 100 people | 55 lb | 115 lb | 8 |
| 150 people | 83 lb | 172 lb | 11 |
| 200 people | 110 lb | 230 lb | 15 |
4 whole turkeys for 50 people. USDA's roasting chart puts a 12 to 16 lb turkey at about 3 to 4¼ hours unstuffed at 325°F, so with one oven, roast in shifts and carve the first bird while the next one cooks.
How many people does a 16-lb turkey feed?
Feeds about 23 people with sides, or 15 if turkey is the main event.
Everything else for 50 people
How we got this number
- 150 guests × 1/2 lb cooked = 25 lb
- 2× 1.10 cushion = 27.5 lb cooked
- 3÷ 0.48 cooked yield = 57.3 lb raw → 4 whole turkeys
we round up to whole birds. Leftover turkey never goes to waste.
We count turkeys at 16 lb each, the top of the usual 12–16 lb range. If the ones at your store run smaller, buy by weight: about 58 lb in all.
Food safety: cook turkey to at least 165°F in the thickest part of the breast, the innermost thigh and the wing (USDA safe temperature chart), and don't leave it out more than 2 hours, or 1 hour above 90°F (USDA). Unstuffed at 325°F, USDA times a 12 to 14 lb turkey at 3 to 3¾ hours and a 14 to 18 lb turkey at 3¾ to 4¼ hours (USDA roasting guide).
Sources for this rule: USDA FSIS (fresh and frozen turkeys); USDA Food Buying Guide, Turkey, Whole, fresh or frozen, with neck and giblets; Butterball; Butterball portion calculator (page script); National Turkey Federation; Old Farmer's Almanac party chart; WebstaurantStore Thanksgiving-for-100 guide; Food Network portion planner; TODAY, Melissa Clark (NYT) cheat sheet; www.butterball.com.
Turkey questions
How much turkey for 50 people?
Buy about 58 lb of whole raw turkey: 4 whole turkeys. It cooks down to about 28 lb of carved meat: 1/2 lb per guest as the main event, plus a 10% cushion. Range: 45–72 lb depending on appetite.
What if 10 of the 50 guests are kids?
Kids count as half an adult, so it's 45 adult portions: buy about 52 lb of whole raw turkey: 4 whole turkeys.
How much turkey for 50 people with sides?
Buy about 39 lb of whole raw turkey: 3 whole turkeys.
How many people does a 16-lb turkey feed?
Feeds about 23 people with sides, or 15 if turkey is the main event.
Different headcount? The turkey calculator works for any number of guests, and the menu planner builds one shopping list for the whole party.