If you are planning on hosting a party in these cold, early winter months, roasted vegetables are a great dish to add to your menu for the night. Whether it’s for the traditional Thanksgiving or Christmas dinners, or for more casual celebrations like Friendsmas or Friendsgiving, roasted vegetables are great for everyone. When preparing any dish for a large group of people, it is essential to know how much of each dish to make.
When serving roasted vegetables as a meal, each guest should get 11 to 16 ounces. If roasted vegetables are one of several side dishes served, each guest only needs 11 ounces, or 2/3rds of a pound, maximum. If roasted vegetables are the only side dish, serve one pound per guest.
Now you know the general amount of roasted vegetables per person, but there are a lot of variables that can change the amount needed. Keep reading to learn more about providing roasted vegetables for large groups of people.
Preparing Food for a Large Group: General Rules
Before we talk about providing roasted vegetables for a large group specifically, it is important to know generally how much food should be prepared per person for a meal. Planning or hosting an event where many people are going to sit down and eat lunch or dinner requires a lot of preparation and estimation. Because of how much each different event can vary, there are some general rules for preparing amounts of food to be aware of.
The most common rule for preparing food for a large number of people is to follow the one pound rule. This rule is very simple and basically says that for every one adult guest attending, there should be one pound of food. For every one child guest attending, there should be half a pound of food. This rule does not include drinks or desserts.
Being aware of this rule can help you have a starting point for how much of each dish you will make. If you have a lot of sides, you only need to make a small amount of each. If you have a main dish and one or two sides, you should make quite a bit of both. This also changes depending on the time of day the event is being held. Guests tend to eat and drink less during the day and more during the evening and nighttime events.
Following this general rule for providing food for a large group will help you have a place to start calculating how much food you will need. This will help you calculate how many roasted vegetables you will need.
Specific Proportions for Roasted Vegetables
Now that you know the general amount of food you will need, we can talk about how to figure out the proportions needed for roasted vegetables specifically. Roasted vegetables are more often a side dish than a main dish, but they can be both. When estimating the number of roasted vegetables needed, it is important to know the contents of the rest of the meal.
Roasted Vegetables as a Side Dish
The first way to serve roasted vegetables to a large group is as a side dish. This might be one of two side dishes, or it might be one of many side dishes. Either way, there is a general estimate you can make. If roasted vegetables are the only side dish or if they are one of two side dishes, you should prepare one pound of roasted vegetables per person. This way, guests will be able to eat as much or as little roasted vegetables until they are full. For a meal with only 2-3 side dishes, there should be a higher quantity of the side dishes available.
The other way to serve roasted vegetables as a side dish is as one of many different side dishes. When there are at least three or more side dishes, you only need to prepare 11 ounces, or 2/3rds of a pound, of roasted vegetables per person. Because there are other options for side dishes, not every guest will eat roasted vegetables, and if they do, it will be a smaller proportion. Guests will not rely on this specific side dish to be full.
Roasted Vegetables as a Main Dish
Serving roasted vegetables as a side is just one way of serving them. While much less common, roasted vegetables can be served as a main dish. If you serve them as the main dish, you will need a significant portion of them to feed everyone. It is recommended to have over one pound of roasted vegetables per person available if it is the main dish. There should be other side dishes in appropriate proportions to accompany this main dish. This will bring variety to the meal as well as make sure each guest has enough food to be able to enjoy themselves.
The Cost of Roasted Vegetables
Now that you know about the proper portions of roasted vegetables needed for large groups of people, you should also consider the cost of preparing this dish. For simplicity’s sake, we will calculate the cost of this as if you were making a pound of roasted vegetables per person with an even proportion of each vegetable. We will not include the prices of the spices needed.
Making Them Yourself
When it comes to making a roasted vegetable mix with the four most common vegetables (potatoes, sweet potatoes, button mushrooms, and bell peppers) you will have about a quarter pound of each per person. A pound of potatoes costs $0.75, and a pound of sweet potatoes can cost anywhere from $0.75 to $1.80, but we will take the average at $1.28 per pound. A pound of button mushrooms costs $3.55, and bell peppers can cost between $1.50 to $3.00 per pound, with an average of $2.25.
With the general price of a pound of each ingredient, we can estimate that to make roasted vegetables of an even distribution so that each guest can eat a pound will cost about $7.83 for four pounds. This means that if you are having 10 guests, you will spend about $11.75 for roasted vegetables. If you have 16 guests, you will spend about $31.32, and if you have 20 guests, you will spend about $39.15, and so on and so forth.
This price can change based on the time of year, the location you live in, and where you purchase your vegetables. If you live in a place that does not have easy access to produce, if certain vegetables are not in season at that time of year, or if the store you buy from is more high-end, you will likely be spending more on this dish. If you live in a place close to farms, if the vegetables are in season, or if you get a good deal at the store you shop at, you will likely be spending less on this dish. Another factor is how much people will eat. If you don’t need a pound of roasted vegetables per person, then you will definitely spend less.
Having Them Catered
If you don’t have the time or cooking skills to make roasted vegetables yourself, another option is to have this dish catered. However, you will end up spending quite a bit more when catering roasted vegetables. In general, catering prices are about three times as much as it costs to purchase the ingredients. You are also paying for the labor costs, convenience, and often the delivery as well.
In general, caterers make portions of food for about 8 to 10 people. Some make a little more, and some make a little less. On average, for about 8 people, a pan of roasted vegetables from a caterer will cost about $48. If you have 16 to 20 people attending, it will cost about $96. Some caterers are cheaper and some are more expensive, but this is about how much it will cost. You also don’t have much control over the kinds of vegetables put into the mix or the seasonings used.
Catering is expensive, but there are a lot of perks to it as well. While you are paying a lot more for a dish, you are also avoiding the need to find time to prepare and cook this dish, you know that it will more likely taste good than not, and you have the proportions already planned out for you. Catering can end up being a huge help to you by taking the extra responsibility of making another dish off of your plate.
How to Prepare Roasted Vegetables for a Large Group
If you can’t afford to hire a caterer or purchase large quantities of roasted vegetables for your event, you can always make them yourself. Now that you know how to estimate the proper total amount of roasted vegetables needed for the number of guests at your event, you can buy the right amounts of ingredients and prepare them yourself.
Portions
If you don’t know how to estimate how much of each ingredient you will need, don’t worry because we have figured that out for you. When it comes to making roasted vegetables, it is most common for there to be potatoes, sweet potatoes, mushrooms, and bell peppers. Other common veggies include cauliflower, onion, zucchini, carrots, and brussels sprouts.
For every two pounds of roasted vegetables you need to prepare, make sure you have at least one whole potato, one whole sweet potato, five button-sized mushrooms, and one cup of chopped bell peppers. This is for the most standard mix of roasted vegetables. If you choose to add more vegetables, like cauliflower, onion, or brussels sprouts, plan to have a little less of each ingredient.
To calculate how much of each ingredient you will need for your specific mix of vegetables, figure out how much one pound of each ingredient, excluding spices, is. Once you know that, one pound of each ingredient will make enough roasted vegetables for an equal number of guests as you have ingredients. If you have 6 ingredients, a pound of each will feed 6-7 guests depending on portion size. The same goes for 3 ingredients, 7 ingredients, or any number really.
Another good thing to keep in mind is that your proportions do not have to be even when putting the recipe together. If you have more potatoes and not as many mushrooms, that is totally fine. You do not have to have an even amount of each vegetable because it is a mix of several. Another way of changing the proportions is to cut some ingredients smaller than others. If you don’t have very many mushrooms, you can cut them in halves or quarters to make it seem like there is a more even amount.
Seasonings
Now that you know about the proportions of ingredients for roasted vegetables, you can learn how to properly prepare them. One huge part of preparing them is having the proper seasonings and the right amounts. You want the roasted vegetables to be enjoyable for your guests!
Some common seasonings people use when preparing large amounts of roasted vegetables are rosemary, thyme, oregano, black pepper, and salt. These seasonings are the most common, but paprika is also often used. These seasonings are very earthy and pair well with a lot of different main dishes. They are herbal and aromatic as well to offset any heaviness from a meat-based meal or bread and creams in the meal. This is part of what makes roasted vegetables such a good side dish for large groups of people.
When it comes to proportions of the spices, a good way to measure that is to have about two teaspoons of each dried, leafy seasoning, like rosemary, thyme, and oregano, per 10 servings. For the paprika, you should have one teaspoon per 10 servings as well. For salt and pepper, add to taste. If you want or need to add more of any of the seasonings, you can add more to taste. If you have larger proportions, sometimes it is a good idea to add a bit more than just the exactly calculated measurements.
