How much mashed potatoes for 100 people?

A hundred servings of mashed potatoes is a church Thanksgiving dinner, a wedding buffet or a big family Christmas. It is also about 40 lb of potatoes to peel, which is the part to plan for.

Pounds of potatoes for a hundred

The Clay County, Minnesota quantity table — a standard “amounts to serve fifty” chart — uses 18 lb of potatoes for 50 four-ounce servings of mashed potatoes. Doubled and with 10% extra, a hundred guests need about 39½ lb of raw potatoes: four 10 lb bags. That allows for peeling; University of Missouri Extension puts the yield at 1¾ to 2 cups of mash per pound of potatoes, so 40 lb comes to roughly 70 to 80 cups, comfortably over the 55 cups (13¾ qt) the guests will eat.

Cooking 40 pounds of potatoes

• Pots: a home stockpot boils only part of 40 lb at once, so plan several batches, or borrow a big pot and an outdoor propane burner.
• Cut evenly into chunks of about the same size so every batch cooks in the same time.
• Mash in batches with the butter and milk warm, so the potatoes do not cool down in the bowl.
• Hold in slow cookers or covered pans in a low oven at 140 °F or above; about four half-size pans for 14 qt.

Making them a day ahead works: cool in shallow pans, refrigerate within 2 hours, and reheat covered with extra milk, stirring, until steaming hot (165 °F for leftovers). The turkey for the same crowd is in the turkey size calculator — for a hundred, several birds. For fifty-guest buffets, see how much food for 50 people and how much mac and cheese for 50 people.