How many hamburgers for 50 people?
For 50 people at 1½ burgers each plus 10% extra, plan on 83 burgers — about 20.8 lb of ground beef in quarter-pound patties and 11 packs of eight buns.
How to work it out
- 50 guests = 50 adult portions
- 50 × 1.5 × 1.1 = 83 pieces × 4 oz = 20.8 lb of ground beef
Burgers are the cookout food that people under-buy, because one per person sounds right until the teenagers come back for a second. One and a half per adult, with a little extra, is a planning figure that leaves a few on the grill at the end rather than a queue at the empty platter.
Adjust for your project
More options: Kids · Bun pack · Extra
- Cooked meat you’ll serve (approx.)
- 15.4 lb · hamburgers
- Burgers or hot dogs to cook
- 83 pieces · hamburgers
- Buns
- 83 buns
- Packs of buns
- 11 packs
- Raw meat per adult
- 0.42 lb
- Cooked yield (USDA Food Buying Guide)
- 74%
- Safe minimum temperature: ground beef 160 °F (FoodSafety.gov). 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).
Raw meat to buy by number of guests (meat and portion as above)
| Guests | Raw meat to buy | Cooked meat you’ll serve (approx.) | Buns |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | 4.3 lb | 3.1 lb | 17 buns |
| 20 | 8.3 lb | 6.1 lb | 33 buns |
| 30 | 12.5 lb | 9.3 lb | 50 buns |
| 50 | 20.8 lb | 15.4 lb | 83 buns |
| 75 | 31 lb | 22.9 lb | 124 buns |
| 100 | 41.3 lb | 30.5 lb | 165 buns |
From patties to pounds of ground beef
Iowa State Extension plans 4–6 oz burgers. At a quarter pound each, 83 burgers is about 21 lb of ground beef. If you are buying pre-formed patties, count by the box; if you are making your own, a kitchen scale keeps them even so they cook in the same time. Thicker 6 oz patties would take about 31 lb for the same count.
Ground beef shrinks the least of the barbecue meats: the USDA Food Buying Guide gives 0.74 lb of cooked, drained meat per pound of 80/20 beef, so a 4 oz patty ends up about 3 oz. That is why a burger is one standard serving of meat — and why hungry guests take two.
Burgers and hot dogs together
Most cookouts offer both. With hot dogs on the grill too, set burgers to one per adult and hot dogs to one per adult: about 55 of each with 10% extra. Kids usually go for the hot dogs, so put the children in the children box on the hot dogs for 50 people page and keep the adults on burgers.
- Cook to 160 °F. Ground beef needs to reach 160 °F inside (FoodSafety.gov); color is not a reliable test.
- Keep raw and cooked apart. Use a clean platter for cooked burgers, not the one that carried the raw patties out.
- Buns: 11 packs of eight for 83 burgers, plus a gluten-free pack if you know you need one.
- Cheese: one slice per burger for those who want it; most packs hold 16 or 24 slices.
For a sit-down crowd, compare how much pulled pork for 50 people. Paper goods for the same fifty are in how many plates for 50 people.
Different size? Use the full Meat Per Person Calculator.
What you’ll need
- Instant-read meat thermometerBudget price
The only reliable way to know a turkey, ham or brisket is done. Check the thickest part, away from bone, and check it is calibrated before the big day.
See options on Amazon (opens in a new tab) - Digital kitchen scaleBudget price
Weighs cooked meat, cheese and batter so portions match the plan instead of guesswork.
See options on Amazon (opens in a new tab) - Heavy-duty paper plates (bulk)Budget price
Sturdy plates that do not fold under a scoop of baked beans. Get small ones too for dessert.
See options on Amazon (opens in a new tab)
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. Links to products are affiliate links — they cost you nothing extra and help keep these calculators free.
Frequently asked questions
How many hamburgers for 50 people if there are hot dogs too?
About 55 burgers at one per adult with 10% extra — 13.8 lb of ground beef.
How many hamburgers for 20 people?
About 33 burgers, 8.3 lb of ground beef in quarter-pound patties.
How much ground beef for 50 burgers at 6 oz?
About 31.1 lb for 83 burgers at 6 oz.
Other common sizes
- How much pulled pork for 50 people — 26.4 lb raw (bone-in shoulder) for 13.8 lb cooked
- How many people does a pound of pulled pork feed — about 4 sandwiches (4 oz each)
- How much brisket for 20 people — 17.9 lb raw packer brisket (8.3 lb cooked)
- How many hot dogs for 50 people — 83 hot dogs (11 packs of 8)
Sources
- USDA FNS — Food Buying Guide for Child Nutrition Programs, Section 1 (Meats/Meat Alternates) yield table (opens in a new tab) — Cooked lean meat per lb as purchased: Boston butt bone-in 0.52, boneless 0.60; brisket ¼ in trim 0.46, practically free of fat 0.69; ground beef ≤20% fat 0.74; spareribs 0.39; chicken thighs 0.52, drumsticks 0.49, breast halves 0.66, whole chicken 0.44; turkey breast 0.64; boneless fully cooked ham 0.90; chuck roast boneless 0.63; frankfurters 8 or 10 per lb.
- Iowa State University Extension (AnswerLine) — Graduation party tips (opens in a new tab) — Per person: sandwich meat 3–4 oz, sliders 1.5–2 oz, burgers 4–6 oz, sides 4–6 oz; 1 to 1.5 lb of food per guest; soda 2 cans and water 2 bottles per hour; punch 6 oz.
- Clay County, Minnesota — Amounts of food to serve fifty (cooking for large groups) (opens in a new tab) — Quantity table for 50 servings, built on a 3 oz cooked meat serving; sides, rolls, desserts, punch and lemonade.
- USDA ARS — Table of Cooking Yields for Meat and Poultry (2012) (opens in a new tab) — Weight change on cooking (shrink), bone included: braised brisket flat 69%, grilled ground beef patty 69%, roasted spareribs 76%.
- FoodSafety.gov — Safe Minimum Internal Temperature Chart (reviewed Dec. 2022; copy hosted by the Virginia Department of Health) (opens in a new tab) — Poultry and stuffing 165 °F (74 °C); pork, beef and raw ham 145 °F (63 °C) with a 3-minute rest; ground meat 160 °F; leftovers 165 °F (74 °C).