How Much Chicken Do You Need Per Person?

Entertaining and cooking for a large group of people is stressful enough without having to worry about whether or not there will be enough food to go around.

Choosing how many pounds of chicken to buy and cook for each person is particularly difficult, considering the variety of chicken parts and chicken cut alternatives available.

When it comes to calculating portions, a pound of chicken wings is a whole different beast (pun intended) than a pound of boneless chicken thighs.

How much chicken do you eat per person? You should be OK as long as you follow the golden rule of 5 ounces of cooked chicken for adults and 2 to 3 ounces of cooked chicken for youngsters. Of course, because of the way chicken is offered, you need consider how many chicken pieces you want to serve each particular visitor.

Chicken Portions are Better Broken Down by Parts, Not Weight

Since chicken portions may vary so much in size and weight, it might be difficult to get the 5 or 6 ounces of cooked chicken per person quite right.

Instead, consider how many people they serve and how many people they serve and how many people they serve and how many people they serve.

Boneless Chicken

Boneless chicken (boneless chicken thighs or boneless chicken breasts) typically yields anywhere from 6.5 to 10 ounces of cooked chicken.

This typically implies that you can get away with serving each visitor a single boneless chicken breast or boneless chicken thigh, but having a little bit more on hand isn’t a terrible idea.

Some visitors may consume more food than others, so make sure you have plenty for anybody who wants seconds.

Split Chicken Breasts

Split chicken breasts are often sold in packs of four and weigh around 2.5 to 3 pounds uncooked.

This will reduce the amount of flesh and produce somewhere between 6 and 8 ounces of meat per breast, allowing you to serve four people (and six children) with only a pair of split breasts.

When purchasing any chicken that has bone, allow for a 15% reduction from the top of the package weight.

Chicken Thighs

Chicken thigh sizes and weights may range from little chicken thighs that weigh next to nothing (even with bones) to massive chicken thighs that appear like they could easily feed a small army.

When you average things out, most chicken thigh four packs will weigh between one and 1.5 pounds, with each side delivering roughly four or five ounces of cooked meat by the time you’re done.

It wouldn’t be a terrible idea to anticipate your visitors to be able to consume two chicken thighs of average size, while keeping in mind that some will probably only eat one and others would want a bit more than the two they’ve been given.

Chicken Drums

Chicken drumsticks come in a variety of forms and sizes, but the typical chicken drumstick weighs roughly 4 ounces. After everything is said and done, the yield here will be around half that.

Aim for two drumsticks for each adult diner (and one for each youngster) and you’ll nearly always be OK.

Whole Legs

Chicken legs are composed of the drumstick and the thigh, with complete legs typically delivering 6 to 7 ounces of cooked meat.

One complete leg is generally plenty for each adult diner (even for those that are bigger eaters than others). If you aren’t going to divide them down into component sections like drums and thighs, stick to one leg per individual.

Four complete chicken legs will nearly always enough to feed a family of four!

Chicken Wings

There isn’t a soul on the planet who doesn’t like a nice plate of chicken wings, which is why you should always go a bit beyond when calculating how many wings per person you’ll need.

Four to six complete wings will generally enough, with full wings including both the drum and the flat. If you purchase pre-split wings, it’s a good idea to double them so that everyone gets between eight and twelve wings to plunge into.

Roast Chickens and Cornish Game Hens

The normal roaster chicken weighs between 3 and 4 pounds, which is generally enough to serve 4 to 6 people comfortably. There are smaller and bigger roaster birds available, but the 3 to 4 pound sweet spot is great.

Cornish game chickens are much smaller than your ordinary roasting chicken, often weighing between 1.5 and 2 pounds. Smaller Cornish game chickens will typically serve one person, while bigger birds may feed two.

To Eyeball Chicken Portions, Use a Closed Fist

Just hold a balled fist up to each individual piece of chicken to determine whether or not you have enough chicken to serve everyone. Each fist sized chunk represents one adult diner.

Your closed fist will roughly indicate the amount of space a typical quantity of chicken should occupy on a platter.

This tiny cheat code might also help you buy the appropriate quantity of chicken at the grocery store. Just raise your fist to the package, moving from one piece of chicken to the next, verifying that you will have enough chicken for the meals you are making and the guests you will be serving.

Go a little beyond to account for yield when the cooking is finished, and you’ll be fine!