10 lbs can you get it at a Food Service/Institution Restaurant supply place like Smart & Final? I would also consider a 'fork friendly' pasta like penne for easier serving.

Pasta is cheap.

Figure 5 people to a pound of dry spaghetti....so if you are talking 25 people...5 pounds of uncooked spaghetti.
BUT...I feed 100 people at a church luncheon on 5 pounds of pasta mixed with veggies, chicken and a sauce....but these are mostly "Old" people not hungry teens.
I would cook 3 pounds to begin with....and have another pot boiling....then pour the hot woater into the big pot and start it again while you are serving the first 3 pounds....then you will see how much more you need to do.
I can't imagine a pot that will go on a home stove big enough to cook 5 pounds of pasta at once...much less carrying that to the sink to drain the pasta!!
But best you buy 5 pounds of pasta....maybe 6...pasta is cheap!
Linda C

For teen aged athletes, I would figure 3.5 servings to a pound of spaghetti plus a little extra. Especially if this dinner is after a game or practice.

So if your total guest list is going to be close to 26-28 people, I would second Jessy's suggestion of 10 pounds, the extra will keep. And I would second Linda's suggestion of not trying to cook it all in one pot at the same time. Maybe two pots to start, with a total of six pounds of pasta, and then go from there.

It sounds like a lot of fun.

Lee

Thank you all! I am going to buy 7 1 lb boxes of penne. It is easier to serve and I'm more likely to use the extras.
(and it is after a practice).
You guys are wonderful.
Jo

Jo I think I can feed more than 5 people with a pound of pasta but I defer to Linda on food/people ratios. For sure I would buy 5 pounds but you may only need 4....so buy 6! LOL

I would have three large pots of water going and as Linda says start out with 3 pounds, a pound in each. Pasta takes no time to cook once the water is boiled. Dump the first pot of water out, remove the pasta and drain the next pot of boiling water into the empty pot...repeat if needed.

By the way I have great luck cooking the pasta in advance. I simply toss with a wee bit of EVOO and then bag it in ziplocks. When I want to serve it I simply pour boiling water over it. So you may want to make up a batch or two indavance, then just toss with the freshly cooked stuff.

That's a big team! I agree to start with 6 lbs, but be on stand by for more. If you're at BJ's, you can also grab a couple of cheese trays to fill them up before the pasta comes out.

Have fun! You have a teenage son, right? He must love having 19 beautiful girls over for dinner!

AM

Ooops just went to check my spaghetti package and it's almost 2 lbs not 1 lb . No wonder I think I can feed more than 5! LOL

So go with the higher number. It is cheap you can always use it!

I'm with Lee. I consider a pound good for 4 average servings but that's not enough if I'm particularly hungry. I'd figure 3 people per pound. I also prefer to coat with a bit of sauce rather than olive oil to keep it from sticking. Maybe it's psychological, but I feel oil keeps the sauce from holding to the pasta.

My pound package of pasta says it serves 8.
My "church lunch" notes say that there are 7 cups of dry pasta in a pound of Bertolli fusilli...and I know that to be true because I measured it myself...because we get pasta in 20 pound bags and I needed to know how much to cook to make a pound, so I bought a pound and measured it.
And 7 cups of dry fusilli makes about 10 cups of cooked pasta...a little more if you cook it a bit longer.
So....figuring 1 1/2 cups per serving ( and that's a lot!!) a pound will make a little more than 6.5 servings.
Also, thin spaghetti needs more to make as erving....don't know why..I guess less spaces between the pieces.
So...if you are doing penne or fusilli or shells I wouldn't cook more than 5 pounds....and that will be lots for 35 people.
But if you are serving thin spaghetti you will need more.
Linda C

FWIW, 1/2 cup of cooked pasta is considered a "serving". Linda's right, 1-1/2 cups is a lot of pasta.

/tricia

1/2 cup will be a serving if it's a side dish. But as the main course I say you need more. And others agree:

http://www.itscooking.com - Allow 50 to 75 g (2-3 oz) of uncooked pasta per person if serving pasta as a starter before a substantial main course dish. If serving pasta as a main course dish for an informal meal, then increase the quantity to 100 to 175 g (4-60z) per person.

http://www.thenibble.com - A one-pound package should provide four dinner-size servings. If youÂre serving pasta as a first course or a side dish, 1/8 cup of dried pasta (2 ounces) per person.

http://www.rte.ie - For a starter: 60g : 2.5oz uncooked, dried pasta per person. For a main course: 100g : 4oz uncooked, dried pasta

http://www.recipetips.com - Main course, 4 oz. Side dish or first course, 2.5 oz.

http://www.creamette.com/cooking/CookingPasta.asp - When purchasing pasta as a main dish, plan for two ounces of pasta per person, although hearty eaters may prefer four ounces.

I didn't look hard for these, just the first sites that came up on my search that seemed to address this.

Here's a breakdown of pasta, sauce, meatballs, & garlic bread. In the example, the hypothetical person consumed in just this one meal 6 of 9 daily servings in the grain category for an active teen girl or adult man.

Maybe I starve my family; but I agree with LindaC that 1-1/2 cups of pasta is a lot served with meatballs & probably bread. Anyway, I don't think you need that much pasta.

/tricia

Here is a link that might be useful: I can't believe I ate the whole thing!

My family is only 2 adults and 2 children and when we are hungry we can eat a pound of pasta between us. I would go with Jessy's recommendation of 10 lbs.

-Robin

Another reason why I went high is because others are bringing food...and I usually don't trust the quantities of others (unless its my FIL, oh man, he usually way over does something, so I cut my own stuff back, you should see his salads, but I digress). Jojoco also didn't specify how many extra bodies are coming, and there could be more attached friends etc. So I wanted to ensure that there would be enough food in case others didn't bring mass quantities. And I bet you could send doggie bags home with appreciative moms.

Also, I consider 1.5 cups of cooked pasta to be a bite or two for hungry teenagers. More important to me is how nice it is to see LindaC and TriciaE agree on something (darfc)