How many hot dogs for 50 people?
For 50 people at 1½ hot dogs each plus 10% extra, plan on 83 hot dogs: 11 packs of eight and 11 packs of eight buns.
How to work it out
- 50 guests = 50 adult portions
- 50 × 1.5 × 1.1 = 83 pieces ÷ 8 per lb = 10.4 lb
Hot dogs are the cheapest way to feed a crowd and the easiest to get wrong at the store, because hot dogs and buns are not always packed in the same numbers. Count the hot dogs you need first, then buy packs of each to cover that count.
Adjust for your project
More options: Kids · Bun pack · Extra
- Burgers or hot dogs to cook
- 83 pieces · hot dogs
- Buns
- 83 buns
- Packs of buns
- 11 packs
- Packs of hot dogs (1 lb each)
- 11 packs
- Raw meat per adult
- 0.21 lb
- Safe minimum temperature: reheat hot dogs until steaming hot (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 | Buns |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | 2.1 lb | 17 buns |
| 20 | 4.1 lb | 33 buns |
| 30 | 6.3 lb | 50 buns |
| 50 | 10.4 lb | 83 buns |
| 75 | 15.5 lb | 124 buns |
| 100 | 20.6 lb | 165 buns |
Hot dogs per pound, and the bun problem
The USDA Food Buying Guide lists two common sizes: 8 per pound (2 oz each — the size that fills a standard bun) and 10 per pound (1.6 oz each). Many buns come eight to a pack. If you buy 8-per-pound hot dogs, packs match one for one. With 10-per-pound hot dogs, you need five packs of buns for every four packs of hot dogs, and only at 40 does it come out even.
| Hot dogs needed | Packs of 8 hot dogs | Packs of 10 hot dogs | Packs of 8 buns |
|---|---|---|---|
| 40 | 5 | 4 | 5 |
| 55 | 7 | 6 | 7 |
| 83 | 11 | 9 | 11 |
| 110 | 14 | 11 | 14 |
Who eats how many
One and a half per adult is a planning figure for a cookout where hot dogs are the main food; with burgers or barbecue alongside, one each is usually plenty. Young children tend to eat one, which the calculator handles by counting them as half a portion. Leftover hot dogs keep in the fridge and freeze well, so this is a good item to round up.
- Keep them hot. Hold cooked hot dogs at 140 °F or above in a covered pan at the edge of the grill or in a slow cooker.
- Toppings scale too. For fifty, plan a large bottle each of ketchup and mustard, relish and chopped onion.
- Two hours. Cooked hot dogs and condiments left out longer than 2 hours (1 hour above 90 °F) should be thrown out.
Serving burgers too? How many hamburgers for 50 people has the beef and buns. The ice for the drinks is in the ice calculator.
Different size? Use the full Meat Per Person Calculator.
What you’ll need
- 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) - Dinner napkins (bulk)Budget price
Napkins go faster than anything else on the table, especially with wings and barbecue.
See options on Amazon (opens in a new tab) - 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)
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 hot dogs for 50 people with burgers too?
About 55 hot dogs at one per adult with 10% extra: 7 packs of eight.
How many hot dogs for 100 people?
About 165 hot dogs: 21 packs of eight and 21 packs of eight buns.
How many 10-per-pound packs of hot dogs for 50 people?
9 packs of ten for 83 hot dogs — and 11 packs of eight buns.
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 hamburgers for 50 people — 83 burgers (20.8 lb ground beef)
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).