Plan your cookout with confidence. Enter the number of guests, patties per person, and patty weight to find out exactly how many burger patties you need and how much ground beef to buy. Adjust for kids, big eaters, or smash-style burgers with the optional settings.
Total Patties to Make
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Ground Beef to Buy
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Ground Beef (kg)
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Cooked Patty Weight
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Raw Beef Per Person
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A standard serving is one burger patty weighing about 1/3 lb (5.3 oz) raw, which is roughly 4–4.5 oz after cooking. For a crowd, plan on 1.5 patties per person to account for guests who eat two. That works out to about 0.5 lbs of raw ground beef per person.
Burger patties typically shrink 15–25% during cooking as fat and moisture are released. An 80/20 ground beef blend shrinks about 20%, so a 5.3 oz raw patty cooks down to roughly 4.2 oz. Leaner blends like 90/10 shrink less (around 15%), while fattier blends shrink more.
The most popular patty sizes are 1/4 lb (4 oz), 1/3 lb (5.3 oz), and 1/2 lb (8 oz) raw. A 1/3 lb patty is widely considered the sweet spot — substantial enough to feel like a real burger without being overly heavy. Smash burgers typically use 2–3 oz balls pressed thin on a griddle.
For 20 guests, plan on about 30 patties (1.5 per person) plus a 10% buffer, bringing you to 33 patties. Using a 1/3 lb patty size, you'll need roughly 11 lbs of raw ground beef. The calculator above gives you the exact numbers based on your patty weight and serving preferences.
Yes — children typically eat one small patty or share with an adult. A good rule of thumb is to count children under 12 as half a serving. You can reduce your patties per person slightly (e.g. use 1.2 instead of 1.5) if your guest list includes many kids.
80/20 ground chuck is the gold standard for juicy, flavorful burgers. The 20% fat content keeps patties moist and adds rich flavor. Leaner blends (90/10 or 93/7) can be used but often result in drier patties. For smash burgers, 80/20 is especially important since the high heat needs fat to create a good crust.
You can form patties up to 24 hours ahead and store them covered in the refrigerator. Place parchment paper between patties to prevent sticking. For best results, keep them cold until just before grilling. If freezing, patties keep well for up to 3 months when wrapped tightly.
Smash burgers use smaller, thinner patties — typically 2–3 oz each — and are usually served as doubles or triples per bun. For a smash burger cookout, plan on 4–6 oz of raw beef per person (two 2–3 oz smash patties). Use the calculator above, set your patty weight to your smash ball size, and increase patties per person to 2.