Taco Bar Calculator: How Much Taco Meat and Fillings to Buy
At a taco bar with 3 tacos for each adult or teen and 2 for each kid, 20 adults and 10 kids eat 80 tacos. Enter your own numbers to see how many taco shells to buy and how much taco meat and other fillings the party needs. Every taco gets every filling you tick. If you tick both ground beef and black beans, each taco starts at 80% beef and 20% beans. Ground beef is listed by weight. Cheese and sour cream are listed by weight and cups. Tomatoes and avocados are listed as whole ones to buy. These are the numbers for a few kinds of party:
- Children's party: 1.32 kg (2.9 lb) of ground beef covers 12 kids at 2 tacos each, which is 24 tacos. If some of the kids eat like adults, count them with the adults and teens instead.
- Sleepover for six teens: at 3 tacos each, they eat 18 tacos and need 990 g (2.2 lb) of ground beef. Hungry teens after a game may eat 5 each, so the party eats 30 tacos and needs 1.65 kg (3.6 lb) of beef.
- Work lunch or team event: 30 adults at 3 tacos each eat 90 tacos and need 4.95 kg (10.9 lb) of ground beef. With rice and corn chips on the side, 2 tacos each means 60 tacos and 3.3 kg (7.3 lb) of ground beef.
- A meat-free filling: a 400 g (14 oz) can of black beans gives 240 g of beans once drained, so each can fills 6 tacos at 40 g a taco. A party that eats 26 tacos needs 5 cans.
Plan the taco bar
How much taco filling a party needs
Work from the tacos first. With 10 adults and teens at 3 tacos and 6 kids at 2, the party eats 42 tacos. Every filling you tick is bought for all 42. At 55 g of raw ground beef a taco, that is 2.31 kg (5.1 lb) of beef. At 15 g of cheese a taco, that is 630 g (1.4 lb, 6.3 cups) of cheese. With black beans ticked as well, the slider starts at 80% beef. That makes 1.85 kg (4.1 lb) of beef and 340 g of drained beans, or 2 cans. Change the number of tacos for each guest if yours eat more or less.
How the list rounds
Weights round up to the next whole gram below 100 g, and up to the next 10 g at 100 g or more, so you do not buy too little. Tomatoes, avocados, onions and lettuce are counted as medium ones and rounded up to a whole item. 42 tacos at 20 g of diced tomato need 840 g. That is 6.8 medium tomatoes at 123 g each, so the list rounds up to 7. Each taco gets one lime wedge, which is an eighth of a lime, and a quarter of a jalapeño. For 42 tacos, that is 6 limes and 11 jalapeños. Cups are metric cups of 250 ml.
Frequently Asked Questions
- How much taco meat do I need per person?
- Plan on 165 g (about 6 oz) of raw ground beef for an adult who eats 3 tacos, at 55 g a taco. A kid at 2 tacos needs 110 g (about 4 oz). For 20 adults at 3 tacos each, that is 60 tacos and 3.3 kg (7.3 lb) of raw ground beef. Open the ground beef converter
- How many tacos does 1 lb of ground beef make?
- A 1 lb (454 g) pack makes about 8 tacos at 55 g of raw beef each. Two packs make 16 tacos. The 55 g is the site's own estimate for a standard taco, which is a hard shell or a 15 cm (6 in) soft tortilla. If each taco gets more than 55 g of beef, a pack makes fewer than 8 tacos. Convert ground beef to pounds
- How many tacos per person should I plan for?
- Three tacos fill most adults and teens, and two fill most kids. Count a big eater with the adults, even at ten years old. Count a light eater with the kids. Plan on fewer tacos each when rice or corn chips are on the table. Six adults and teens plus four kids eat 26 tacos between them, so buy 26 shells.
- How much food for a taco bar for 50?
- Forty adults and teens at 3 tacos and ten kids at 2 eat 140 tacos. That takes 7.7 kg (17.0 lb) of ground beef, 2.1 kg (4.6 lb) of shredded cheese, 23 tomatoes and 3 medium heads of lettuce. If you swap a fifth of the beef for black beans, buy 6.16 kg (13.6 lb) of beef and 5 cans of beans. Convert tomatoes by size
- How many lettuce heads for a taco bar?
- Plan on 10 g of shredded lettuce a taco. A medium head of lettuce weighs 540 g, so one head covers 54 tacos. That is enough for 18 adults at 3 tacos each. Twenty adults at a taco bar eat 60 tacos and need 2 medium heads, or 600 g (1.3 lb, 8.0 cups) of bagged shredded lettuce at 75 g a metric cup. Convert lettuce heads to cups
- How much cheese do I need per taco?
- Plan on 15 g (about half an ounce) of shredded cheese a taco. A metric cup of shredded cheese weighs 100 g, so one cup covers 6 tacos with 10 g to spare. A children's party of 12 kids at 2 tacos each eats 24 tacos and needs 360 g (13 oz) of cheese. That is 3.6 metric cups of 250 ml, or 3.8 US cups. Convert grated cheese to cups
More conversions
Convert ingredient measurements or fresh fruit and vegetables.
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