Portion Calculator
Choose what you are cooking and how many you are feeding to get the amount you need.
Answer
400 g of dried pasta
The detail
75g is light, 100g is a standard main course, 125g is generous. Dried pasta roughly doubles in weight once cooked.
Reference and detail
Adults and children
We allow roughly 60% of an adult portion for a child. Teenagers often eat more than adults, so count them as adults with a generous appetite.
Sides change everything
These amounts assume a normal main course with one or two sides. A one-pot meal with no sides needs more; a big buffet spread needs less of each dish.
Questions and answers
Questions about working out portion sizes
Is a standard portion size the same for every food?
No. Pasta, rice, meat, potatoes and vegetables all use different gram-per-person figures because they behave differently once cooked, and because some sit alongside several other dishes on the same plate.
Use the food-specific calculators for an exact figure, or enter several foods into this calculator to see how they add up for one meal.
Should I use a bigger portion size if I'm only serving one main course?
Yes. Portion guidance for meat, fish and starches assumes a plate with two or three sides. If the main is the only substantial thing on the plate, allow towards the generous end of the range rather than the standard one.
How much less food do I need per person for a big group?
A little less per head, because appetites don't scale exactly with headcount and buffet-style meals lose less to individual over-serving.
For parties and buffets rather than a sit-down meal, use the buffet quantities calculator instead, which is built around grazing rather than plated portions.
Do I need to plan portions differently for a big family meal like Christmas dinner?
Yes, mainly because a Christmas dinner plate carries more separate items than a weeknight meal, turkey, stuffing, gravy, two or three vegetables and potatoes all at once. Work out each item on its own calculator, and check timings on the meal synchroniser so everything is ready together.
Guidance
Read the full guide
- How Much Food Per Person?Sensible quantities per person for meat, fish, pasta, rice, potatoes and vegetables, and how to adjust for appetites, sides and leftovers you actually want.