Adjust for your crowd
Enter how many of your guests are kids; each counts as half an adult.
Turkey chart: 10 to 200 people
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 | 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 |
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 20 people
How we got this number
- 120 guests × 1/2 lb cooked = 10 lb
- 2× 1.10 cushion = 11 lb cooked
- 3÷ 0.48 cooked yield = 22.9 lb raw → 2 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 23 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.
How to roast a turkey: the most-watched videos
Videos from YouTube, picked by us from the most-watched on the topic; view counts as of October 2026. We don't make these videos and aren't paid for them. Pressing play loads YouTube.
Turkey questions
How much turkey per person?
Plan on 1/3 lb of cooked turkey per person with sides, or 1/2 lb as the main event. A roasted whole turkey gives about 48% of its raw weight as meat, so that's 0.69 to 1.04 lb raw per person.
How much turkey for 100 people?
Buy about 115 lb of whole raw turkey: 8 whole turkeys. It cooks down to about 55 lb of carved meat: 1/2 lb per guest as the main event, plus a 10% cushion. Range: 91–144 lb depending on appetite.
How many people does a 16-lb turkey feed?
Feeds about 23 people with sides, or 15 if turkey is the main event.
Should kids count as a full person?
Count each kid as half an adult. Add them in the Kids box and the shopping list updates.
How much turkey per person if I want leftovers?
Pick "Hungry crowd" in the calculator. It adds 25%, which lands close to the 1 1/2 lb of whole turkey per person Butterball suggests when you want leftovers.
How long does a frozen turkey take to thaw?
In the refrigerator, about a day for every 4 to 5 pounds, according to the USDA. A 16-lb bird needs about four days, so it goes in the fridge the weekend before Thanksgiving.