Cooking for a crowd? Do not forget to prepare and serve enough meatballs! Meatballs are a very popular dish across all cultures and will often be found as part of an appetizer set or in a main course/entree. While there are clear guidelines as to the calorific and protein daily requirements, in a party setting, folks tend to overindulge. As a result, serving size becomes tricky, and preparing the right amount of meatballs for an event ensures that all leave satisfied, with very little waste.
So, how many meatballs do you need for 50 people or a larger crowd? This will depend on the size of the meatballs, of course!
8 cocktail (1-inch) meatballs, 6 (1-ounce) meatballs, or 3 (2-ounce) meatballs are needed per person. Women typically eat 6 cocktail meatballs, 5 (1-ounce) meatballs, or 2 (2-ounce) meatballs while men eat 10 cocktail meatballs, 7 (1-ounce) meatballs, or 4 (2-ounce) meatballs. If additional dishes are served with the meatballs, then fewer will be needed. For example, more meatballs are served as a sandwich, while fewer are served with pasta.
If you are catering, why not follow our handy guide on how to store and reheat meatballs? Of course, if you struggle with your meatballs, why not explore the 7 most common meatball issues and how to fix them?
5 Irresistible Reasons Meatballs Reign Supreme for Mega Gatherings
- Cost-Effective Elegance: Meatballs offer an exquisite taste without breaking the bank. While prime cuts like filet mignon can leave your wallet feeling light, ground meat is a budget-savvy alternative without compromising on flavor. Historically, Italian immigrants, with their penchant for rich flavors on modest budgets, popularized meatballs as a delicious workaround when prime cuts were out of reach.
- Batch Baking Bonanza: Preparing for a big crowd? Meatballs are your trusty ally. The beauty lies in their scalability. Whip up a large batch, line them up on baking sheets, and let the oven work its magic. Whether you’re feeding fifty or a full hundred, it’s just about scaling the mix and getting into a fun rhythm of rolling and baking.
- Advance Prep Advantage: Imagine being the life of your own party instead of being shackled to the kitchen! With meatballs, this dream becomes a reality, especially with our best meatballs recipe. Prep them days in advance, and on D-day, drench them in marinara and warm them up. While dishes like roasted fish demand last-minute hustle, meatballs give you the liberty to mingle, dance, and enjoy your own party.
- No-Fuss Forecasting: Gone are the days of complex calculations to figure out portion sizes. Meatballs simplify the math. Determine the size of your meatballs, gauge your guest list, and factor in the other dishes on the menu. Voilà! You have a clear roadmap to ensure no guest goes home hungry.
- Stay-Warm Superstars: Some dishes lose their charm when kept warm for too long. Not meatballs! These gems can luxuriate in tomato sauce, holding their own in chafing dishes, slow cookers, or simmering pots, ensuring every guest gets a hot, juicy bite, irrespective of when they serve themselves.
How many meatballs are in a serving?
In a sauce, 8 ounces per person is a typical serving of ground beef. However, meatballs are uniquely shaped and easily counted, which leads people to eat slightly less. On average, 6 ounces of meatballs are eaten in a single serving, and 8 ounces in a sandwich.
Many studies have shown that portion sizes have gotten bigger since the 1980s. This has resulted in people becoming more generous with their portion control and serving more without realizing it. As meatballs often include fillers, the rationale is that they are not eating as much meat per meatball, so an extra meatball or two will not harm them.
6 ounces is a serving. 6 ounces of meatballs, 8 cocktail meatballs, 6x 1-ounce meatballs, or 3x 2-ounce meatballs. But, many people will choose to eat more and therefore one has to be ready to cater for more. Therefore, for a crowd of 30 people, you will need 90 2-ounce meatballs.
The largest meatballs that I would serve at a party are 3 ounces. These make a statement on a plate, yet are still small enough to absorb the sauce and not get dry. For a group of 50 people, you would need 100 meatballs, which is 6 ounces of meat per person.
Of course, if serving meatballs as an appetizer, you may want to consider 1-ounce meatballs and just half the quantity as this will not be the main course but rather is just a time-filling snack. With 3 small meatballs per person, you would need 150 meatballs for 50 people.
A quick guide to figure out how many meatballs you need is as follows:
How many meatballs are required for a party?
| Gender | Number of people in the crowd | Number of cocktail meatballs needed | Number of 1-ounce meatballs needed | Number of 2-ounce meatballs needed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mixed | 5 | 40 | 30 | 15 |
| Mixed | 10 | 80 | 60 | 30 |
| Mixed | 15 | 120 | 90 | 45 |
| Mixed | 20 | 160 | 120 | 60 |
| Mixed | 25 | 200 | 150 | 75 |
| Mixed | 30 | 240 | 180 | 90 |
| Mixed | 50 | 400 | 300 | 150 |
| Mixed | 100 | 800 | 600 | 300 |
| Mixed | 150 | 1200 | 900 | 450 |
Mixed parties are tricky as people may eat more or less than the norm, depending on the situation. Good friends tend to eat a bit more as a group as they have fewer inhibitions while strangers tend to be on their best behavior and serve themselves less… rather err on the safe side and cater slightly more (10% more) if you have any concerns.
However, you may have events where one gender is dominant, perhaps a football match is showing or it is a book club meeting… in such cases, a better understanding of how each gender engages with food would help. The tables below show how to adjust for different sets of guests.
| Gender | Number of people in the crowd | Number of cocktail meatballs needed | Number of 1-ounce meatballs needed | Number of 2-ounce meatballs needed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gentleman/Male | 5 | 50 | 35 | 20 |
| Gentleman/Male | 10 | 100 | 70 | 40 |
| Gentleman/Male | 15 | 150 | 105 | 60 |
| Gentleman/Male | 20 | 200 | 140 | 80 |
| Gentleman/Male | 25 | 250 | 175 | 100 |
| Gentleman/Male | 30 | 300 | 210 | 120 |
| Gentleman/Male | 50 | 500 | 350 | 200 |
| Gentleman/Male | 100 | 1000 | 700 | 400 |
| Gentleman/Male | 150 | 1500 | 1000 | 600 |
300 cocktail meatballs seem like a lot, whether you are purchasing them or making them from scratch. With these quantities, it helps to negotiate with a caterer as often they will have volume discounts.
| Gender | Number of people in the crowd | Number of cocktail meatballs needed | Number of 1-ounce meatballs needed | Number of 2-ounce meatballs needed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ladies/Female | 5 | 30 | 25 | 10 |
| Ladies/Female | 10 | 60 | 50 | 20 |
| Ladies/Female | 15 | 90 | 75 | 30 |
| Ladies/Female | 20 | 120 | 100 | 40 |
| Ladies/Female | 25 | 150 | 125 | 50 |
| Ladies/Female | 30 | 180 | 150 | 60 |
| Ladies/Female | 50 | 300 | 250 | 100 |
| Ladies/Female | 100 | 600 | 500 | 200 |
| Ladies/Female | 150 | 900 | 750 | 300 |
Regardless of the meatball size, you will need between 18 and 20 pounds of meatballs for 50 people. If buying frozen meatballs, this is simple to estimate. For example, if the meatballs come in a 5-ounce bag, you would need 4 bags of frozen meatballs to feed 50 people.
What if there are other appetizers or foods available?
With cocktail functions, the key is balance. The portions indicated above are representative of events where only one type of food is served, so a person may eat 8-10 meatballs if that is the only appetizer being served. Should the event provide more food types, for example, wings, meatballs, skewers, and canapes, then divide the recommended quantities by the number of food types (in this case 4) and round up to the next nearest number.
What is the best size for a meatball?
We make meatballs in 3 different sizes as each has a different use. Tiny cocktail meatballs are ideal for occasions where more of the food is finger-size such as a cocktail function, or where the meatball is meant to be eaten in a single bite. Medium meatballs are somewhat more substantial and are used where the meatballs provide interest and protein, but they are not designed to be the main focus of the meal. Finally, there are the large meatballs, you know, the type that is served 3 on a plate, with very little place for anything else. These are designed to be the main focus of the dish. They are there to remind you that this is not a “spaghetti with meatballs” dish but rather that they are the point of the dish, as in “meatball sub”.
Meatballs as a cocktail or appetizer
These are the tiny meatball variety. They need to be small enough to be eaten in a single bite, from a toothpick. Ironically, the size and use of these meatballs are such that they are the focus of the dish but the dish is not meant to fill you up. Rather, these meatballs have to be extra tasty, with no long-lasting or offensive lingering odors and while they need to fall apart, they need a crispier outer layer that will hold the meatball together as it is skewered on a toothpick and dunked in a sauce or mustard. A particularly popular option here is meatballs with salsa.
This size of meatball is also very popular as a tasty protein in soup, perfect for cold winter nights or long days where cooking is simply not an option. Warm up a vegetable soup in a pot and pop 5-8 of these from the freezer as the soup heats up, or rewarm in the microwave prior to serving the soup…
Meatballs as a side dish or topping
These are intermediate-sized meatballs, the famous “1-ounce” meatballs mentioned above. They are just big enough to be noticed, almost small enough to be eaten in a single bite, and yet large enough that most would break the meatball in half and enjoy it more slowly. These are the ideal meatballs for a “spaghetti with meatballs” dinner.
Their size also makes them ideal to carry a sauce in a dish. Not too much meat, are easy for portion control, and are easily coated by most thick sauces. The meatball is there to support the overall dish and not take it over. They carry and enhance the flavors without becoming the flavor. A great example here is the use of Chimichurri sauce with meatballs. Herby, zesty and vibrant, perfect for a cold winter night!
Often meatballs served as a side dish are heavily sauced, which allows the chef to hide lower-quality ingredients. This diminishes the overall dish as the end result is not as good as it could be. Yes, the sauce may be great and may overpower the rest of the dish, but why not dial it back a little and let every component work together to make the meal memorable?
Meatballs as a main dish or focus point
Sometimes the meatball is just meant to be the point of the dish. Think of 3 large meatballs on a small puddle of mash or a meatball sandwich. It is possible to use the larger meatballs (2 ounces) if they are served like that, as a visual feast, as a symbol of plenty, or in a sandwich, one may want to double the number of meatballs from a standard portion, to make the sandwich feel more luxurious, more moreish…
Here the idea is that the flavor of the dish is that of a meatball.
A foot-long sub sandwich will need 8 or 9 meatballs to cover the bread properly. Use the 1-ounce meatballs as they are just large enough to eat in 1 go, which is oddly satisfying. A 6-inch sub will ideally have 4 meatballs on it.
Meatballs in Western cooking
Meatballs are essentially minced meat that is flavored and shaped into a convenient size and shape. In Western culture, we have two opposing traditions, with Mediterranean countries often deriving their meatballs from the Berber traditions, where the meat is spiced in such a way that the meatball can be served on its own. These meatballs tend to have a higher content of meat with no breadcrumbs
In contrast, we also have Northern European meatballs, such as Swedish meatballs. These meatballs reflect the higher price paid for meat in those countries and the ground beef is extended by the addition of breadcrumbs, which yields more meatballs per pound of meat, making them much more economical. These meatballs are often lighter as a result of the breadcrumbs or vegetables added to the meat, making them easier to digest.
In a twist or irony, the traditional Italian Meatballs with Spaghetti, popular in the USA, is not actually Italian as they do not mix meatballs with their pasta. Italy tends to follow the Berber tradition of meatballs and serves the meatballs on their own, perfectly spiced and cooked as a superb dish. Meatballs and spaghetti follow the Northern European tradition of breadcrumbs and represent a uniquely American twist by incorporating pasta and a tomato-based sauce, which are Italian in nature.
Ikea Meatballs
Ikea is a great example of meatballs served for the sake of meatballs. These are normally served 5 per portion and are the main focus of the dish. You want to eat the Swedish meatballs and you want to experience the meatballs. They need to be the only memory left after the meal. All other items on the plate serve to enhance the meatballs’ presence and make them stand out even more.
For this to work, you need to have clean ingredients and a simple recipe. Each ingredient needs to be of the best quality as there is very little scope to hide poor meat behind a sauce.
It is a simple dish, and yet the experience is such that people will go to Ikea just to eat the meatballs.
How Do I Calculate the Right Amount of BBQ Chicken to Serve a Crowd of 50 People?
When planning to make crowdpleasing BBQ chicken for a group of 50, a good rule of thumb is to estimate around 1/3 to 1/2 pound of chicken per person. This means you’ll need approximately 16 to 25 pounds of BBQ chicken to ensure everyone gets their fill.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I Make Vegetable Soup With Meatballs for a Crowd?
Yes, you can definitely make an easy and flavorful vegetable soup with meatballs to cater to a large group. This hearty dish combines the goodness of vegetables with the deliciousness of meatballs, resulting in a crowd-pleasing meal. Whether it’s for a gathering or a cozy dinner, this vegetable soup with meatballs is a satisfying option.
