How many pizzas for 30 people?

Thirty people is a classroom, a youth team or a big birthday. At that size the order gets big enough that it is worth calling ahead, splitting the delivery, and thinking about extra-large pizzas.

Twelve large, or nine extra large

At three large slices each, thirty adults eat about 90 slices — roughly 1,730 square inches. Twelve 14 in pizzas give 1,847 square inches; nine 16 in pizzas give 1,810. Either works. Twelve boxes take up a whole table, so for a buffet the extra-large route saves space, and it is often cheaper per square inch. Medium pizzas are the expensive way to feed thirty — you would need sixteen.

A plan for thirty

• Order the day before and ask for two deliveries 20 minutes apart, so the second half arrives hot while the first is being eaten.
• Cut squares for kids. A large “party cut” into small squares stretches further with young children.
• Drinks: about two cans or bottles per guest per hour for a pizza party — see how many cans of soda for 100 guests and scale down.
• Plates and napkins: two small plates each; pizza boxes make poor serving trays once they get soggy.

For a team party, the appetite setting matters. Teenage athletes at four slices each push the order to fifteen large pizzas; adults at a lunch meeting with salad might eat two each, and eight large pizzas would do. Count the kids separately in the children box — each counts as half.

Smaller group: how many pizzas for 20 people. Wings on the side: how many wings for 20 people — multiply by one and a half for thirty.