potato salad for a crowd

15 years ago

I am beginning to plan for my son's graduation party, and I am having a little trouble figuring out how much food I need. I am planning for about 75 people.

The Menu:

Pulled pork sandwiches

Chicken Salad Sandwiches

Cucumber Sandwiches

Potato Salad

Pasta Salad

Meatballs

Hot Wings

Veggie Tray

Cheese & Sausage Tray

Various Desserts

I think I am OK with quantities, except for the potato salad. How many pounds of potatoes should I use to serve 75? Also, is there anything that is glaringly missing from my menu?

Thanks,

Gail

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Comments (12)

Teresa_MN
15 years ago
I would add a fresh fruit tray or salad. With everything else you are serving I would say 12 to 15 lbs of potatoes. But I love potato salad and would be eating more of that than anything. :-)
lindac
15 years ago
Teh rule of thumb for potato salad is 5 pounds of potatoes and a dozen eggs for 30 people.
But with a pasta salad too, you will need only a little more than half that.

Sounds like a buffet/open house sort of meal?
I would add coleslaw...or sub slaw for the pasta salad.
Here's the recipe I use....best made the day before....2 heads of cabbage will easily feed your crowd.

Fred Harvey Cole Slaw:
Shred one medium head of cabbage and one small onion, cover with 1/2 cup of sugar.
Bring to a boil 1 tsp sugar
1/2 Tablespoon salt
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/2 tsp celery seed
1/2 c peanut oil
1/2 c cider vinegar.
Pour over the cabbage and set stand at least 4 hours before eating.
Keeps well.
Linda C
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FWIW, the original post is 13 years old. 2008. But the watery issue seems to be a problem for some. I agree it might be the miracle whip breaking down. I packed up some lunches this morning and the potato salad i made Saturday was like glue. Very creamy loaded with vegetables---celery, green onion, red pepper, etc. I used both russet, cut into quarters, and small waxy white creamers, cut in half, before boiling. Cut probably releases alot more steam when cooling. I cut further when cool enough to handle. The russets crumble a bit making a starchy 'gravy'. Probably helps that i use mustard and horseradish powder in my dressing. As well as Korean chili flake. Cucumber will definitely release water overnight. I like to add cucumber but to the table and not fully incorporated. You could probably save a watery salad by draining the puddle and adding dry mustard powder. It will not only add flavor but it is a water absorber. Also, make sure your potatoes are fully cooked. When pierced easily with a fork, give them just a few more minutes. Slightly undercooked potatoes are bland. They will not absorb the dressing as well as slightly overcooked.
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User
15 years ago
I agree that a slaw would be a nice change up for the pasta salad especially with the pulled pork. I use Linda's recipe all the time and it's delish!

If you do the pasta salad then perhaps an oil and vinegar based dressing would be a nice offset to the mayo based potato salad.

Woodie has a great pasta salad recipe that is oil and vinegar based. Can post if you want.

As far as quantities...whatever Linda says!

Sounds like a lovely meal!
lindac
15 years ago
LOL! Chase....only once have I been short.....and that scared me!!
Served about 135 lunch, pasta veggie salad, chicken salad sandwiches, ham sandwiches and 2 huge punch bowls of fruit salad!
The first 100 people ate all the fruit! Charged $5 for lunch....next time I will charge $7.50 and have twice the amount of fruit!!

Remember....fruit is expensive and has to be peeled and cut up...it also quickly gets soft and icky.
Cabbage slaw is cheap and keeps for easily a week.
If you have lots of help and a big budget....go for the fruit, people love it....but if you are doing it yourself and money matters....do slaw!
arandygail
Original Author
15 years ago
Thanks so much for the suggestions. I like the idea of slaw in place of the pasta.
Cndy223
13 years ago
I need help in figuring out how much I need:
Menu
Goulash: made with hamburger, elbow pasta, tomatoe soup, onions and green peppers
Salad: simple garden bag lettuce, with cucumbers and tomatoes
Cold cut meat/ cheese platter
Rolls
Chips
Fresh fruit tray
Assorted desserts: cookies, brownies, cupcakes

Can you advise me how many pounds of hamburger, potatoes.
How many bags of salad:lettuce ?
How many cucumbers and tomatoes
Is there anything else you would add to the menu?
jimster
13 years ago
The amount of hamburger needed will depend on the goulash recipe. Also, the number of sandwiches consumed will affect the amount of goulash needed. Let's plan for one sandwich and one portion of goulash per person. At 4 servings of goulash per pound of meat (each serving having the amount of meat in a quarterpounder) you will need 25 pounds of hamburger. At 6 servings of goulash per pound of meat you would need about 16 pounds of hamburger.

Are the potatoes for potato salad? About 25 pounds of potatoes should do it.

Bags of lettuce are various sizes. At 6 servings per bag it will take about 16 bags. But this is not an economical way to buy lettuce. You should consider buying bulk lettuce and chopping it up yourself. Figure on about 25 tomatoes and 8 to 12 cucumbers, depending on what kind of cucumbers.

Jim

This post was edited by jimster on Sun, Feb 10, 13 at 18:40
debbyga
13 years ago
I can't even imagine 5 pounds of potatoes being enough to serve 30 people in a potato salad.
jimster
13 years ago
I can't either. That's why I said 25 lbs. for 100 people.

5/30 = 1/6 lb. per serving

25/100 = 1/4 lb. per serving. And even that may be skimpy. I love potato salad!

Some will eat more and some may eat none of any particular item. That makes estimating tricky.

Jim

This post was edited by jimster on Sun, Feb 10, 13 at 19:11
coconut_nj
13 years ago
Did I miss where Cndy said how many people this is for? Plus, is it for all adults? How many kids, teens, etc.?
jimster
13 years ago
It's in the header of her post:

RE: serving 100 ppl for Jack N Jill party

It took a while for me to notice it.

You raise some good questions.

Jim
coconut_nj
13 years ago
Sorry Jim, the original post was back in 2011. This is easy to have happen when old posts are brought up with a new question/poster. Unless this new poster is having same number of people and type of party..lol.. Just thought I'd try to make sure.

potato salad for a crowd

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potato salad for a crowd

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