Charcuterie board for 20 people: how much to buy?
For 20 people with four cheeses, buy about 5.5 lb of cheese (22 oz of each) and 2.8 lb of cured meat, plus 132 crackers and 2.8 lb of fruit, with 10% extra.
How to work it out
- Cheese: 20 adults × 1 oz × 4 cheeses × 1.1 = 5.5 lb (22 oz of each)
- Meat: 20 × 2 oz × 1.1 = 2.8 lb · Together 8.3 lb
Twenty guests is a holiday open house, a birthday or a book club that got out of hand. A board for twenty is big enough that it is worth weighing things, because a pound of cheese disappears faster than you would think.
Adjust for your project
More options: Kids · Extra
- Cheese, all kinds
- 5.5 lb
- Of each cheese
- 22 oz
- Cured meat (salami, prosciutto…)
- 2.8 lb
- Crackers or baguette slices
- 132 pieces
- Fresh and dried fruit
- 2.8 lb
- Nuts, olives and pickles
- 1.4 lb
- Cut cheese and meat sit out like any perishable food. Perishable food should not sit out more than 2 hours (1 hour above 90 °F / 32 °C). Keep hot food at 140 °F (60 °C) or above and cold food at 40 °F (4 °C) or below (USDA FSIS).
Cheese and meat by number of guests (role as above)
| Guests | Cheese, all kinds | Cured meat (salami, prosciutto…) | Crackers or baguette slices |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | 2.2 lb | 1.1 lb | 53 pieces |
| 12 | 3.3 lb | 1.7 lb | 80 pieces |
| 20 | 5.5 lb | 2.8 lb | 132 pieces |
| 30 | 8.3 lb | 4.1 lb | 198 pieces |
| 50 | 13.8 lb | 6.9 lb | 330 pieces |
| 100 | 27.5 lb | 13.8 lb | 660 pieces |
The shopping list for twenty
Wisconsin Cheese plans an ounce of each cheese per person, so four cheeses for twenty guests is 80 oz — 5 lb — and with 10% extra about 5½ lb, or a little under 1½ lb of each. Cured meat at 2 oz a head is 40 oz plus extra, about 2¾ lb: perhaps a pound each of two salamis and three-quarters of a pound of prosciutto. That is a big board — or better, two medium ones at opposite ends of the room.
| Item | For 20 (incl. 10% extra) | Suggestion |
|---|---|---|
| Soft cheese | about 1⅜ lb | brie or camembert wheel |
| Firm cheese | about 1⅜ lb | aged cheddar |
| Semi-soft cheese | about 1⅜ lb | gouda or havarti |
| Blue or aged cheese | about 1⅜ lb | blue, manchego or parmesan |
| Cured meat | about 2¾ lb | two salamis + prosciutto |
| Crackers / baguette | about 132 pieces | two or three boxes and a baguette |
| Fruit | about 2¾ lb | grapes, apples, figs |
If dinner follows
Before a sit-down meal, set the role to “one appetizer among lots of other food” — the calculator drops to half an ounce of each cheese and 1½ oz of meat, about 2¾ lb of cheese and just over 2 lb of meat. At a party where the board is most of the food, keep the defaults; if it is replacing dinner, choose the grazing-table setting.
For more variety, pair the board with a few hot bites from how many appetizers for 50 people, scaled to twenty. A bigger version for a reception: charcuterie board for 50 people.
Different size? Use the full Charcuterie Board Calculator.
What you’ll need
- Large charcuterie boardMid-range price
A big board or two smaller ones. For a crowd, several small boards around the room keep lines short.
See options on Amazon (opens in a new tab) - Cheese knife setBudget price
A soft-cheese knife, a hard-cheese knife and a spreader cover most boards; put one with each cheese.
See options on Amazon (opens in a new tab)
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Frequently asked questions
How much cheese for 20 people before dinner?
About 2.8 lb of cheese across four kinds, and 2.1 lb of cured meat.
Charcuterie board for 10 people: how much?
About 2.8 lb of cheese and 1.4 lb of cured meat with four cheeses.
Charcuterie board for 20 with three cheeses?
About 4.1 lb of cheese (22 oz of each) and 2.8 lb of meat.
Other common sizes
- Charcuterie board for 50 people — 17.2 lb cheese + 10.3 lb cured meat
Sources
- Wisconsin Cheese (Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin) — How to build a perfect cheese board (opens in a new tab) — 0.5 to 1 oz of each cheese per person; closer to 0.5 oz with lots of other food; three to five cheeses.
- Wisconsin Cheese (Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin) — Charcuterie and cheese board basics (opens in a new tab) — One ounce of each cheese and at least two ounces of charcuterie per person, scaled to the other dishes served.