The turkey is the highlight of Thanksgiving (aside from time spent with friends and family). You’ll want to eat turkey the day of the event with heaps of gravy, that evening in sandwiches slathered in cranberry sauce, and frequently for days afterwards. But how much turkey will you need per person attending? How much will be enough, and should you account for extra guests? Therefore, having too little turkey can be a complete disaster if you’re like me. Here’s a quick guide to calculating how much turkey you’ll need for each guest at your Thanksgiving dinner:
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To prepare the ideal Thanksgiving dinner, the first step is to determine how much food to purchase. Fortunately, there is a straightforward guideline to use when estimating how much turkey to buy for your guests.
Consider ordering one pound of turkey for each adult guest and half a pound for each child. Plan on one and a half pounds per adult and three and a quarter pounds per child if you want leftovers or a little extra.
Because smaller turkeys tend to have a smaller meat to bone ratio, consider getting a little more per person if you plan on getting turkeys smaller than 12 pounds. You might consider getting closer to two pounds per adult of a smaller turkey.[1]
How much turkey do you need per person this Thanksgiving?
Plan to use this general guideline for a whole turkey: 1 1/4 pounds of turkey per person. Check the list below for your family dinner:
At that rate, 20 pounds of turkey will be needed to feed a large group of 15 or more people. Consider cooking two smaller birds instead of trying to fit a 25-pound monster in your oven. We also advise cooking a few bone-in breasts to achieve the ideal quantity of turkey for your group if cooking multiple turkeys seems like a lot of work, which it kind of is.
In the end, if you do have extra, here are some inventive (and delectable) uses for your leftover turkey. Try making an easy turkey noodle soup or Thanksgiving sandwich if you’re tired of all the cooking. We also enjoyed a good pot pie or hearty casserole.
It’s like choosing the wrong size of underwear when purchasing a turkey for Thanksgiving dinner. If it’s too small, you feel awkwardly desperate, but if it’s too big, you feel like you’re swimming in it, so stay with us here. We’ve developed a foolproof equation to determine how much turkey you’ll need based on the number of people you’re serving in order to avoid either situation.