How Much Taco Meat Per Person (2024)

How to

ByMelissa Riker Updated on

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Are you planning on cooking tacos for a large group of people, and wondering how many pounds of ground beef per person for tacos? Whether you’re hosting a Cinco De Mayo or taco Tuesday dinner party, a birthday celebration, or a backyard barbecue, you don’t want to be short on taco meat!

Everyone’s appetite and single serving size varies and it can be difficult to come up with an exact amount. Never fear, I have an easy way to know how many pounds of ground beef per person you’ll need for a successful taco night. Read on to find out!

How Much Taco Meat Per Person (1)

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How Many Pounds of Ground Beef Per Person for Tacos

When you’re cooking for others, this is an important question to consider, since the ground beef can often be one of the more expensive ingredients in a taco meal. The answer to this question will depend on a number of factors, including the size of the crowd you’re feeding, what other ingredients you’re including, and how much everyone typically eats.

Generally speaking, four ounces of taco meat per person should be enough to make plenty of tacos for everyone in your group. That’s approximately one-half to three-quarters of a pound of raw ground beef, depending on the size of the portion.

For example, if you’re feeding 10 people, you’ll want to aim for the upper end of that range just to err on the side of caution so you end up with too much taco meat instead of not enough. In this case, you’ll want to purchase 7.5 pounds of ground beef. However, if you’re just making tacos for two, you could lean more towards the lower end of the range, and go with one pound of beef.

Planning a Taco Party for a Group

When planning a ground beef taco meal for a group, you will need to consider the following:

  • Size of the group
  • Size of the tacos (portion size)
  • Amount of lean ground beef or ground turkey needed (or any type of meat you choose)
  • Type of taco shells: hard shell, soft, etc.
  • Soft tortillas (flour or corn tortillas)
  • Your favorite taco toppings: lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, sour cream, salsa, guacamole, etc.
  • Any side dishes that might be needed such as rice, refried beans, chips, etc.

Tips for Using Any Leftover Taco Meat

Sometimes you just can’t know for sure how many pounds of meat you’ll need when you’re feeding a large crowd a delicious Mexican dish like tacos, even if you know the number of people you’re feeding. Since you can’t get a concrete, definitive answer, you may have leftovers since some people may eat more or less than you planned for.

If you have leftover taco meat, that’s actually a good thing, because there are so many things you can do with it and other simple ingredients. So if you have too much ground beef meat left over, try one of these different ways to use that cooked meat for other meals.

  • Create a Taco Casserole– Combine your taco meat with canned beans, diced tomatoes, and cheese for a delicious and easy-to-make casserole.
  • Stuff Peppers– Cut bell peppers in half and fill them with taco meat for a simple and flavorful meal.
  • Make Taquitos– Roll up leftover taco meat in flour tortillas to make tasty taquitos.
  • Create Enchiladas– Combine taco meat with enchilada sauce and shredded cheese for delicious enchiladas.
  • Make Nachos– Layer chips, taco meat, salsa, guacamole, and cheese to make an easy and flavorful dish.
  • Turn it Into Soup– Create a delicious spicy soup by combining taco meat, tomatoes, beans, and vegetables in a pot and simmer for 30 minutes.
  • Make Burritos– Roll up taco meat, cheese, beans, and veggies in a flour tortilla and top with salsa for a delicious burrito.
  • Throw together a taco salad– Even if you have just a couple of ounces of meat left, you can make a quick and easy taco salad with all the leftover taco ingredients.
  • Walking tacos– Make more tacos with your leftover meat, but this time, toss the meat and your favorite toppings into an individual serving bag of tortilla chips or Doritos!
How Much Taco Meat Per Person (2024)

FAQs

How much taco meat do I need for 20 people? ›

For instance, plan for about 3-4 ounces of ground beef taco meat per person, which means a pound of ground beef can feed roughly four people. Use a similar scale when shopping for other proteins, and remember, it's easier to have a little extra at the end of the party than to run out of food for your guests!

How many tacos will 1lb of meat make? ›

With just the meat and spices, you can make about 8 tacos from a pound of meat.

How much ground beef for tacos for 12 people? ›

Using a traditional 6-inch tortilla or traditional size hard taco shell, you can use about 2-3 tablespoons of taco meat per taco. That means that depending on how much you load up the ground beef tacos with other ingredients, one pound of beef could serve between 8 and 12 people.

How many pounds of taco meat for 100 guests? ›

How much taco meat is needed for 100 people? A portion of meat for one person is considered to be about 1/4–1/3 of a pound. The high end of that is about 35 lbs. Since some people will eat more, especially at a large gathering, I would add another 10 lbs.

How many pounds of meat for 20 people? ›

What weight of meat per person to order?
Boneless MeatNumber of PeopleBone in meat
9lb / 4.08kg18 – 1914lb / 6.35kg
10lb / 4.54kg20 – 2116lb / 7.25kg
11lb / 4.98kg22 – 2318lb / 8.16kg
12lb / 5.44kg24 +20lb / 9.07kg
8 more rows

How many pounds of ground beef for 10 people? ›

When Meat Is a Component of a Dish. If the meat is part of a bigger dish, like pasta or curry, plan for 1/4 to 1/3 pound (four to six ounces) per person. That means you'll want at least 2 1/2 pounds of meat if you're planning to have 10 people over to dinner, and 5 or more pounds of meat if you're cooking for 20 guests ...

How many tacos does 2 lbs of meat make? ›

The "conservative" amount of ground beef in a typical taco is 2.5 ounces, but because of the other taco fillings we can estimate 2 ounces of beef for the average taco. So that being said, probably about 8 tacos per pound of ground beef.

How do you calculate taco meat? ›

We estimated that the average person would need 6.5 oz (184 g) of ground beef or shrimp, 5.0 oz (142 g) of hamburger meat, 5.5 oz (156 g) of chicken, or 7.0 oz (198 g) of pork (Carnitas). 🥩 Let's see exactly how many pounds of taco meat for 200 people we need: Pork (Carnitas) — 87.5 lb.

How many people will 1lb of ground beef feed? ›

Try serving 3/4 of a pound per person to factor in the extra weight. If you're dishing up some ground beef for taco night, ¼ of a pound per person should be sufficient. You might want to consider ¾ of a pound for those with heartier appetites. A half a pound might not be enough.

How many tacos do I need for 15 people? ›

Usually you can buy these inexpensively but I'd plan on about 2-3 tacos per guest. If you're feeding teens, go with three! Some quantities will depend on what other side dishes you're servings as well. Tip: If you're planning this for a graduation party, consider if there are other parties going on the same day.

How much hamburger meat do I need for 12 people? ›

6 people – 36 oz. (2 lbs.) 12 people – 68 oz. (4 lbs.)

What items to include in a taco bar? ›

It's always a good idea to include something meaty, like ground beef, slow-cooked shredded chicken, or spicy shrimp. Saucy black beans or canned refried beans are also hearty options. Sautéed or grilled peppers and onions are a great vegetable-forward filling to include.

How much taco meat do I need for 125 people? ›

That is a lot of meat for a soft taco to hold, so I figured that for each person to get 4 oz of meat they would probably need at least two tacos. There were roughly 125 rsvps, Joannie told me to plan for 150, just to be on the safe side. Roughly 40 pounds of meat would be needed to make an estimated 300 tacos.

How much taco meat for 200 people? ›

So, how much taco meat should you prepare for 200 guests? Typically, we recommend planning for about 1/4 pound of meat per person. Therefore, for 200 guests, you will need around 50 pounds of meat.

How many pounds of meat for 50 guests? ›

How Much Food to Serve at a Party
FOODSERVE 25SERVE 50
Meats
Chicken or turkey breast8–9 pounds16–18 pounds
Fish (fillets or steaks)7-1/2 pounds15 pounds
Hamburgers6-1/2–9-1/2 pounds13–15 pounds
35 more rows
Aug 12, 2024

How many pounds of carne asada for 20 people? ›

When making carne asada, figure on about 1/2 pound of raw meat person. If necessary, trim the meat of any excess fat.

What is the average amount of tacos per person? ›

Our taco algorithms show that people will eat approximately 4-5 tacos. Keep in mind that some will eat less, and some will eat more, but it will average out to approximately 4-5 tacos per person.

How many tacos does a pound of chicken make? ›

His advice was that 1 pound of boneless chicken yields about 6 tacos. He also said he usually assumes a ratio of 3/2/1 tacos for each man/woman/child. For calculating how much chicken I needed, I assumed two tacos per person because I wasn't using quite as much meat since I was adding peppers and onions as fillings.

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