Recently we hosted my son’s 16th birthday party. To make my life easy and serve a bunch of people we decided on ordering pizza.
Once again, we did not order enough pizza pies for the event! I promised that this would be the last time we ran out of pizza or were left with 10 pies too many.
I decided my first quest would be to seek the truth for a baffling question that affects so many people, namely: How many pizzas to buy for a pizza party?
According to national surveys, the average American consumes 27 pounds of pizza a year….serving pizza is always a popular food choice. If you are planning for a party or trying to feed a large group, how many pizzas should you buy for 10, 20, 30 people, or more?
First, you need to know how many slices your pizza pie will be cut into
Slices can vary between pizzerias and restaurants so it’s always wise to contact the establishment. A general guideline: 6 slices per small (8-10”) pizza, 8 slices per 12 inch pizza (medium), and a large (which can range from 14” to 18”) might have 8, 10, or even 12 slices.
After you’ve called your pizzeria and know how many slices they cut their pies into, then you can get an estimate of how many people they will serve.
A small 10” pizza is normally cut into 6 slices and serves 2-3 people
A medium 12 inch pizza is normally cut into 8 slices and serves 3-4 people
A large 14” pizza cut into 8 slices and serves 3-5 people
A large 16” pizza cut into 8 or 10 slices and serves 5-6 people
An 18” pizza is normally cut into 10 or 12 slices and serves 6-7 people
Tip: If your pizzas are the typical 8 slices, that makes each slice one eighth of a pizza. Typically a hungry person can eat 3 slices, so here is a simple equation:
X*⅜ = P
where X is the number of guests and P is the number you should order
It is important to note that no two pizzas are alike. If you are opting for thin crust pizza, round P up to the nearest pie. For deep-dish, round down. There are other variables in play, like the diameter of the pie and the number of toppings as well as the crowd. Does your crowd contain children, elderly, or those super hungry from sports or other activities?
Just keep in mind, despite all the philosophical connotations, pizza is supposed to be simple. If I learned anything on my quest it was not to complicate things.
The best way to calculate how many pizzas you should order is by following the 3/8 rule. Each guest is likely to eat three pizza slices, and the average large pizza serves around eight slices. Remember to round up to get whole numbers and order more or less based on your party's needs.
When serving adults at a regular mealtime, go by what is known as the 3/8 pizza rule. This rule assumes that a large pizza is cut into 8 slices, and to figure out how much pizza for 20 people you simply multiply 20 x (3/8).
Number of Guests multiplied by 3 ( avg.slices a person eats) then divide that by 8 (avg slices on a large pizza) = how many pizzas you should order. Example: 20 guests X 3 slices each = 60 slices of pizza. Divide 60 slices into 18 and you get 7.5, so you should order 8 pizzas.
Example: If you have 30 people in your group: 30 people x 2.5 slices of pizza each (30 x 2.5 = 75 slices) divided by number of slices of pizza in a large = 75 / 8 = ~ 10 large pizzas for 30 people.
Pizza is high in saturated fats due to cheese and processed meat toppings, which can increase your cholesterol levels as well as risk for heart disease. Eating three-four slices of pizza or more, on a regular basis, can have detrimental health consequences.
A state-by-state poll of 5,000 US adults found the average person can eat over half (five slices) of an entire pizza by themselves in a single sitting and eats pizza three times in any given month — an equivalent of 180 potential slices in a single year.
Vincenzo: “An important detail when making the preferment is the temperature of the water you add. For this, I use the rule of 55. You take the number 55 as a starting point and subtract the temperature of the flour and the room temperature.The number that remains is the desired water temperature.
Jeff Bezos' infamous “two-pizza rule” essentially states that any meeting Amazon has shouldn't include more people than two pizzas could feed. Based on the hunger level of those in the meeting and the type of crust, this can mean between five and eight people.
The 2 pizza rule is a guideline for deciding how many attendees should be invited to a meeting. According to the rule, every meeting should be small enough that attendees could be fed with two large pizzas.
If offered, a standard extra-large pizza is 16 inches — so while an 18-inch large pizza is more pizza than two 12-inch medium pizzas, it's also a harder option to find. Based on the standard sizes, two medium 12-inch pizzas will give you more pizza than one 14-inch large pizza.
To prevent drastically under or overestimating how much pizza to order for a party, it's typically best to follow the 3/8 rule: Simply multiply the number of guests by 3/8.
You've got your dough as the foundation. Then your sauce. The cheese is the next solid layer. Then your toppings (after all, they're called top-pings and not bottom-ings), and then finally your garnishes like basil, pepper, fresh mozzarella, etc, after the pizza is cooked.
Thus, for 100 attendees you would order 38 pies (100 x 3/8 = 37.5). If you arrive at a number with a decimal, round up to be on the safe side. This math is based on the average person eating three pieces of pizza, with the typical pie being cut into eight slices.
Three slices per adult and two slices per child offer a good base to start from when you're estimating how many pizzas to order. If you know in advance that you have guests with major pizza appetites, allow for one or two more slices per person, just to be safe.
A solid fallback is "The ⅜ Rule." Anticipate three slices of pizza per person and eight slices per pie. To calculate, simply multiply your crowd size by ⅜ (i.e. 20 x ⅜). Following the ⅜ rule, you would need 60 slices to feed 20 people, which comes out to eight large pies.
Introduction: My name is Dean Jakubowski Ret, I am a enthusiastic, friendly, homely, handsome, zealous, brainy, elegant person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
We notice you're using an ad blocker
Without advertising income, we can't keep making this site awesome for you.
