This post contains affiliate links.
If you’re planning a tailgate party you might be wondering what food to serve, and how much tailgate party food to prepare. I’ve rounded up some info about different kinds of food and drinks that we’ve written about to help you figure out how much special event food to buy if you’re feeding a crowd.
Keep in mind that Tailgate or Watch Party food should be easy to eat and shouldn’t require a lot of utensils. Things that your guests can eat with their hands are good, and avoiding things that are really messy or are hard to serve up is a good idea.
Sodas To Serve To A Crowd.
Buying soda for a crowd can be tricky because you might have more than one type of beverage to serve. If you’re planning on having canned sodas, this chart can help, and you can read more about other sizes of sodas in our article here: How Much Soda To Buy For A Group
Within a single can of soda, there are twelve ounces. This is already more than the recommended serving of soda, which is eight ounces. However there are many cans that vary in size, and there are cans that you can buy that are eight ounces. Typically, however, when buying a pack of soda cans, the cans will be twelve ounces.
It has been estimated that within a group of people, the average person will drink about one can of soda per hour.
Below is the amount of canned sodas that are needed for your group size, assuming the event is three hours and each guest drinks one ten-ounce can per hour.
| Group size | Duration of the event | Soda size | Amount needed |
| Five people | Three hours | One can of soda | Fifteen |
| Ten people | Three hours | One can of soda | Thirty |
| Twenty people | Three hours | One can of soda | Sixty |
| Fifty people | Three hours | One can of soda | One hundred fifty |
| One hundred people | Three hours | One can of soda | Three hundred |
Amount of canned soda per group size
Chicken Skewers For A Tailgate.
Chicken skewers are a good option if you’re having a barbecue at your tailgate.
A good rule of thumb for most barbecues is to plan at least 1/2 lb. to 3/4 lb. of raw meat per person. Include those in the plan since you’ll probably be making other meats along with the chicken. If you’re holding a barbecue for athletes, teenagers, or other groups of people who can consume huge amounts of food, you might want to keep some extra food in reserve in the fridge.
Chicken skewers are a great option for barbecues because you can augment them with bell peppers, red or white onions, cherry tomatoes, pineapple, mushrooms, zucchini, or whatever vegetable you feel like throwing on the grill. You can plan on using 2 oz to 4 oz of chicken per skewer and still have a respectable amount of food on each one.
Try planning for one chicken skewer per person if you have other meat options, but keep pre-chopped ingredients in reserve. These are an easy and cheap option if you need to put together more of something, and you can use the leftover ingredients to make other dishes later in the week if you find you’ve over-prepared.
For a more thorough article about chicken skewers and other things to consider, read this article: How Many Chicken Skewers Per Person?
Fried Chicken For A Tailgate.
If you’re not planning on making the chicken yourself, you can always buy fried chicken for your tailgate instead. Most people are going to be happy to have that as an option and they won’t be mad that you didn’t make it yourself!
Most grocery stores have a deli by the produce aisle, and in nearly every deli they serve fried chicken. Delis normally serve large quantities of fried chicken for groups, whereas fast-food restaurants are more designed to sell smaller quantities of chicken for individuals. The pieces also tend to be larger at the grocery store.
When buying large amounts of chicken for a big group, it is good to price check when that option is available to you to save the most amount of money you can.
From my experience the best fried chicken comes from smaller and locally owned grocery stores. The fried chicken always seems to be great quality and it is normally just as cheap as buying fried chicken from a larger grocery store.
For a more in-depth article about how much fried chicken to buy, click here: Exactly How Much Fried Chicken To Buy For A Crowd
And for an article that could give you more ideas for foods to bring, click here to read about office potluck food.
Charcuterie Boards.
A charcuterie board that has a good assortment of cheese, crackers, meat, and fruit is a good choice for people at a tailgate who just want a light meal or a snack.
If you want to buy a bunch of different cheeses and crackers to put a large baord together, this can also be the main food item at your tailgate.
Make sure to add a good variety of things like grapes, lunch meat, crackers, and even small bread or rolls to make little sandwiches.
For a full article about how much cheese and crackers to buy for a crowd, click here.
Hotdogs and Hamburgers.
Hotdogs and hamburgers are staples of a tailgate party, especially if you plan on having a grill available.
As far as hotdogs go, if sides are provided, then fewer hotdogs will be needed. This is due to your guests having more options to choose from, and so they will not have to solely fill up on hotdogs.
In this case, when cooking six inch hotdogs with sides, it can be assumed that every individual will eat two hotdogs, and children will eat one. When cooking twelve inch hotdogs, it can be assumed that every individual will eat only one.
For serving charts that go over exactly how many hotdogs you’ll need for any group size, click here: Hotdog serving charts.
For burgers, you’ll have to plan on people eating more than you expect, especially if it’s a lot of teenaged boys attending. The total amount of hamburgers that you need is going to depend on how many other foods and how many sides you have, though.
The more food you have available, the happier your guests will be. There is no need to have too many options, though because then it becomes difficult for guests to choose and food does not get eaten.
Having multiple sides also mean your guests may eat many less hamburgers. This allows you to use a cheaper option so you do not end up with too many hamburgers stored in your fridge after the fact.
The amounts of sides you have and the types of sides you offer can assist in feeding everyone as needed. For example, if you are coming close to running out of hamburgers after already feeding people a first serving and maybe even a second, you can emphasize the sides you have available.
For a full chart on how many burgers to buy if you’re planning on having them be the main attraction, click here: Hamburger serving chart for a big group.
Devlied Eggs At A Tailgate.
Deviled eggs may or may not be a good choice for a tailgate, because they’ll need to be kept cold for food safety purposes. You’ll also need to take into account how many adults vs. kids will be there.
2-3 per person is a good baseline, and we would almost never recommend going with more. (Note: The numbers we’re using denote deviled egg halves, i.e., 1 full egg would make two deviled eggs). However, there’s something about deviled eggs that seems to make people like them more once they hit adulthood.
For children—unless you are certain that they like deviled eggs—we would never plan more than two per child. In fact, sticking closer to 1 per child is probably a safe bet, as children don’t seem to enjoy deviled eggs. When asked how many deviled eggs they would eat, one child respondent replied, “none, deviled eggs are gross!”
By the time they reach 18, most people will probably eat around 2 deviled eggs, though some won’t eat them at all, and others will eat more than 2. Although some people believe that elderly individuals will eat even more deviled eggs than younger adults, we recommend sticking with the prescribed 2-3 per person for them as well.
For a full serving chart and a deviled egg recipe, click here: How Many Deviled Eggs Per Person?
Potato Chips.
You have to have chips at your tailgate party, because if you don’t, people will think something’s missing!
A party-sized bag of chips contains thirteen ounces. This means that each party-sized bag ideally can serve thirteen people. Grab a 3-pack of restaurant style tortilla chips
for your next party here. However as said before, this serving recommendation is rarely followed.
As this serving size is rarely followed, it is important to remember that on average, each guest will eat two servings. This means that a party-sized bag can serve seven and a half guests.
Below is a chart to aid in determining how many party-sized bags is needed for your group, assuming each guest will eat two servings.
| Group size | Bag size | Amount of bags needed |
| Five people | Party-sized bags | One bag is needed |
| Ten people | Party-sized bags | Two bags are needed |
| Twenty people | Party-sized bags | Three bags are needed |
| Fifty people | Party-sized bags | Seven bags are needed |
| One hundred people | Party-sized bags | Fourteen bags are needed |
Amount of party sized bags per group size
For an article that goes over how many chips in different sized bags to get, click here.
Sub Sandwiches For A Tailgate.
If you don’t want to barbecue but you still want to give your guests a main course, you can make or buy sub sandwiches for everyone.
The following chart will help provide an estimation of how many sub sandwiches you will need, depending on the number of guests anticipated to be in attendance at the event. The same ratio applies to tortillas or lettuce wraps.
| Guests in Attendance | 10 | 25 | 50 | 100 | 200 |
| Number of 4- to 6-inch Sandwiches | 18-20 | 40-50 | 80-90 | 130-150 | 280-320 |
| Number of 6- to 8-inch Sandwiches | 10-15 | 25-30 | 50-60 | 100-130 | 200-300 |
Number of Sub Sandwiches per Guest
Never underestimate the popularity of a good sub sandwich. Simple and fresh, this American classic is a crowd-pleaser for a reason! For more details and other things to consider, read this article: How Many Sub Sandwiches Per Person?
Pizza For A Crowd.
If you’re planning a tailgate, this may be a time where you buy more pizza than you normally would. While people may eat two or three slices in the beginning, as the night goes on they might get more hungry and possibly inebriated, and want more.
Having more pizza in this situation would be ideal, as you’re able to not only feed your crowd at the height of the party but also later on into the evening. For this type of party, 10+ pizza’s would be ideal depending on how many people you’re expecting. If this is a shorter tailgate or is at a high school or younger game, the chances of it going very late, or your party-goers getting drunk, might be slimmer. If that’s the case you can probably plan on buying less.
You also won’t need as much if you have other food options. But if you are tailgating at a high school football game and there will be high schoolers there, you might want to plan for more. We all know how teenaged boys can eat.
For a full serving chart with more things to take into account about buying pizza for a group, click here.