Serving Size Calculator

Meat shrinks, rice swells — buy by the raw weight.

Meat shrinks, rice swells — buy by the raw weight. The raw quantity needed for a target cooked portion, allowing for what cooking does to the weight.

Written and maintained by Mohit PatelLast checked August 4, 2026How we build these

People to serve

Cooked portion per person

Cooked yield from raw

Meat 70–80%, rice about 300%, dried pasta about 240%

Extra servings for leftovers

Raw quantity to buy

2.13 kg

1.6 kg cooked, across 8 servings

Servings including leftovers8

Cooked portion each200 g

Total cooked needed1,600 g

Raw quantity to buy2,133 g

Raw per person267 g

Weight lost in cooking25%

Meat loses 20 to 30% of its weight in cooking, mostly as water, so buying by the plated portion under-buys every time. Bone-in cuts lose more again once the bone is discounted — for a bone-in roast, allow about half as much again as the boneless equivalent.

How the Serving Size Calculator works

The raw quantity needed for a target cooked portion, allowing for what cooking does to the weight. Meat loses 20 to 30%; rice and pasta gain, which is why the raw figure looks so small in the packet.

Also known as: how much meat per person · raw to cooked weight calculator · how much rice per person · portion size for a dinner party

Cooking moves weight in both directions

Meat loses 20 to 30% of its weight in cooking, almost all of it water lost as steam. Higher heat and longer cooking both increase it, which is why a well-done steak weighs noticeably less than a rare one cut from the same piece.

Rice and dried pasta move the other way, absorbing water and gaining substantially — rice roughly triples and pasta roughly doubles and a half. Which is why 75 g of dried pasta looks absurdly small in the packet and is a normal portion on the plate.

Buying by the plated portion therefore under-buys meat and over-buys pasta, in both cases by a large margin. Working backwards from the cooked portion through the yield is the only way to get the shopping list right.

Bone, and what a chicken actually yields

A whole chicken yields roughly half its raw weight as edible meat once the carcass is discounted. A 1.8 kg bird gives around 900 g, which is four to six portions rather than the eight the raw weight might suggest.

Bone-in cuts generally need about half as much again as the boneless equivalent to deliver the same portion. The exact share varies by cut — a rib of beef differs considerably from a chicken thigh.

That does not make bone-in more expensive per portion. Bone-in cuts are usually cheaper per kilogram and the bones make stock, so the saving frequently survives the waste. It is a calculation worth doing rather than assuming either way.

Portions, and whose portion

Restaurant portions are larger than nutritional guideline portions, and both vary enormously by country. Catering at home to remembered restaurant portions is a common reason quantities feel excessive and a common reason they are.

Mixed groups are handled by weighting rather than headcount — children at roughly half an adult, adjusted up for teenagers. It is the same weighting the party calculator uses and it makes the per-person figure comparable.

Leftovers are better planned as extra servings than as a percentage. Adding two servings keeps the portion size honest; adding 20% quietly inflates every portion and produces both more food and larger plates than intended.

Where to go next

The Serving Size question rarely arrives on its own. These are the ones that usually come with it:

Party Food Calculator — A four-hour party is not twice a two-hour one.
Cooking Time Calculator — Twice the weight is nowhere near twice the time.
Meal Cost Calculator — Portion cost, not whole-pack cost.
Ring Size Calculator — Finger measurement to US, UK, EU and Japanese sizes.

Frequently asked questions

How much meat should I buy per person?

Work backwards from the plated portion and the cooking yield. A 200 g cooked portion at 75% yield needs about 267 g raw, and bone-in cuts need more again.

How much does meat shrink when cooked?

Typically 20 to 30%, mostly water lost as steam. Higher heat and longer cooking both increase it, which is why a well-done steak weighs noticeably less than a rare one.

How much dried pasta per person?

Around 75 to 100 g dried, which roughly doubles and a half in cooking. It looks absurdly small in the packet and is a normal portion on the plate.

How much rice per person?

About 60 to 75 g uncooked, which roughly triples. The same trap as pasta — the raw weight looks wrong until it is cooked.

How do I account for a bone-in joint?

Allow roughly half as much again as the boneless equivalent, since the bone is weight you do not eat. The exact share depends on the cut.

Should I plan for leftovers?

Deliberately, if you want them. Adding servings is more reliable than adding a percentage, because it keeps the portion size honest rather than quietly inflating it.

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