How the math works
Every quantity starts from a per-person planning rule — the same baselines caterers and BBQ cooks use — applied to your adult portions: adults count as 1, kids as ½. Appetite (Light ×0.85, Big eaters ×1.2) and the leftovers toggle (+20%) adjust from there. When you serve two or more mains, each one drops to 70%, because guests split their plates instead of eating a full portion of everything; with three or more sides, each side drops to 80%. Drinks scale with the clock instead of the plate: two drinks in the first hour, one more per hour after that. Finally, everything is rounded up to whole purchasable units, so the list never tells you to buy 0.7 of a 12-pack.
| Item | Per adult | What you buy |
|---|---|---|
| Pulled pork | 6 oz cooked | Raw = cooked ÷ 55% yield (butts lose ~45% cooking) |
| Brisket | 8 oz cooked | Raw = cooked ÷ 50% yield |
| Ribs | ½ rack | Whole racks |
| Burgers | Two ¼-lb patties | ½ lb ground beef + matching buns |
| Hot dogs | 2 dogs | Packs of 8 + matching buns |
| Pizza | 3 slices (kids 2) | Large pizzas, 8 slices each |
| Sides | ½–¾ cup each | Pounds, tubs, or cans as the store sells them |
| Soft drinks | 2 in hour 1, +1/hr after | 12-oz cans, in 12-packs |
| Beer | 2 in hour 1, +1/hr after, per drinking adult | 12-packs |
| Wine | 1 bottle per 3 drinking adults | 750 ml bottles |
| Ice | 1 lb per guest, +½ lb each if drinks are served | 10-lb bags |
| Plates, cups, napkins | Guests × 1.3 (drops and seconds happen) | Packs of 50 |
Party food questions, answered
How much pulled pork do I need per person?
Plan on 6 oz of cooked pulled pork per adult — but you don't buy cooked weight. A pork butt loses about 45% of its weight in the smoker, so divide by 0.55: one adult portion means roughly ⅔ lb of raw butt. A 10 lb raw butt yields about 5½ lb cooked, which feeds around 14 adults as the only main — fewer once a second main shares the plate.
How much ice do I need for a party?
One pound per guest is the floor — that covers filling glasses. If you're icing down drinks in coolers too, add another ½ lb per guest, and buy it in 10-lb bags. For a 25-person, 4-hour cookout with drinks on ice, that's about 38 lb, or four bags. Ice is the cheapest insurance at a party; the leftovers toggle never applies to dignity lost running to the gas station mid-party.
How do I adjust quantities for kids?
Kids eat roughly half an adult portion, so this planner counts each kid as ½ when it totals your adult portions — 20 adults and 6 kids plans like 23 adults. The one exception is pizza, where kids reliably eat close to an adult share: they're figured at 2 slices each instead of 3.
Should I really buy less when I serve more dishes?
Yes — it's the most common hosting mistake. Guests don't eat a full portion of every main; they take a smaller amount of each. Two mains at 100% each is how you end up with a fridge full of brisket. The planner trims each main to 70% when two or more are on the menu, and each side to 80% once you're serving three or more. If one dish is the clear star, bump the appetite setting instead of fighting the math.
How does the cost estimate work?
The planner keeps a price book of typical US grocery prices (Oct 2026) — what a store-brand or mid-tier version of each item usually costs per pound, pack, or can. Every line on your list is priced from that book, then adjusted for the store you picked: each chain has a typical price level relative to the book (Aldi and Walmart run lower, Publix runs higher, Costco's per-unit prices are the lowest but sold in bulk). The total is shown as a typical range — the point estimate ×0.9 to ×1.15 — because real shelf prices move with sales, region, and the exact brand you grab. Treat it as a planning number for your budget, not a receipt: it is not a live price feed, and your store's actual prices will vary.