How much meat per person at a BBQ?

About 300 g for an adult, 150 g for a child. Less with plenty of sides.

Count sausages in the total meat or separately ~1–2 per person.

BBQ Meat Calculator

Calculate how much meat and sausage you need for a barbecue based on guests and appetite.

Adults: 8 people

Children: 2 people

Meat / adult: 300 g

2.7 kg

Total meat

Total meat	2.7 kg
For children (half portion)	0.3 kg

ℹ️ Rule of thumb: adult ~300 g, child ~150 g of grilled food. Add more if meat is the main dish without sides.

The BBQ meat calculator helps you estimate how many kilos of meat and sausage to buy for a cookout. Enter your guest count and expected appetite, and you get a clear total to shop by.

How the calculator works and what it’s for▾

How the calculator works

It multiplies the number of adults by your chosen portion size and adds children at a half portion. The output is the total weight of grilled food in kilograms.

For example, 8 adults and 4 children at 300 g per adult means roughly 2.4 kg for adults and about 0.6 kg for kids, so a little over 3 kg in total.

What you enter and what you get

Provide the number of adults and children plus your preferred portion in grams per adult. Children are automatically counted at a smaller serving.

You see the total amount of meat in kilograms and, separately, the share needed for children, which makes the shopping list easy to plan.

Who it is for

It is handy for summer parties, birthdays, cabin trips and anyone grilling through the season who wants to avoid both running out and a big surplus.

The same logic works for sausages, chicken, steaks and vegetarian options — just adjust the portion size to match what you serve.

Good to know about portions

A common rule of thumb is around 300 g of grilled food per adult and about 150 g per child. If meat is the main dish without hearty sides, plan for more.

Salads, bread and potatoes fill plates too, so with generous sides you can scale the portion down a little.

🔄 Reviewed June 2026