How Much Turkey per Person: Size Chart for 4 to 24 Guests

Plan on 1 pound of whole turkey per person, the figure the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service gives for both fresh and frozen birds. If you want leftovers for sandwiches and soup, buy 1¼ to 1½ pounds per person. That works out to a 10- to 15-pound turkey for 10 people and a 12- to 18-pound turkey for 12. For a bone-in turkey breast, figure ¾ to 1 pound per person; for a boneless breast, about ½ pound.

The pound-per-person rule sounds like a lot because it is raw weight, and a whole turkey is partly bone, skin, giblets and moisture that cooks off. The tables below turn the rule into a shopping list for 4 to 24 guests, and show what each size means for thawing and oven time.

How much turkey per person: the short version

What you are buying	Per adult	Source
Whole turkey, enough for dinner	1 lb	USDA FSIS
Whole turkey, with leftovers	1¼ to 1½ lb	Test-kitchen guidance (The Kitchn: 1 to 1½ lb)
Frozen pre-stuffed whole turkey	1¼ lb	USDA FSIS
Bone-in turkey breast	¾ to 1 lb	The Kitchn
Boneless turkey breast or roast	About ½ lb	Common butcher's rule of thumb

Children under about 10 usually eat half an adult portion. Count two small children as one adult, and count teenagers as adults, or more.

Turkey size chart by number of guests

The first column of weights uses USDA's 1 pound per person. The second uses 1½ pounds, which leaves enough for a round of next-day meals. The last column is what to look for in the store, since whole turkeys are sold in ranges.

Guests	Dinner only (1 lb each)	With leftovers (1½ lb each)	What to buy
4	4 lb	6 lb	A 6- to 7-lb bone-in breast, or the smallest whole turkey (8 to 10 lb)
6	6 lb	9 lb	8- to 10-lb turkey
8	8 lb	12 lb	10- to 12-lb turkey
10	10 lb	15 lb	12- to 15-lb turkey
12	12 lb	18 lb	14- to 18-lb turkey
14	14 lb	21 lb	16- to 20-lb turkey
16	16 lb	24 lb	18- to 24-lb turkey, or two 10- to 12-lb turkeys
18	18 lb	27 lb	Two 12- to 14-lb turkeys
20	20 lb	30 lb	Two 12- to 15-lb turkeys
24	24 lb	36 lb	Two 14- to 18-lb turkeys, or one turkey plus a ham

The Kitchn's test kitchen puts it the same way from the other direction: a 12- to 15-pound bird serves 10 to 12 guests.

Why a pound per person is not too much

The number on the label is not the amount of meat on the plate. A whole turkey's weight includes:

• The carcass, leg and wing bones
• The neck and the bag of giblets, usually tucked into the cavity and counted in the net weight
• Skin and fat, some of which renders into the pan
• Water that evaporates during three or more hours in the oven
• For "basted" or "self-basting" birds, an added solution. USDA allows about 3 percent of added solution by weight in bone-in poultry, and it is included in the net weight on the label.

What is left after roasting and carving is a good deal less than the raw weight. A pound of raw whole turkey per person yields a generous dinner serving with modest seconds, not a pound of meat on each plate.

Smaller turkeys have a lower ratio of meat to bone than big ones. If you are buying a bird under 12 pounds, lean toward the higher figure: 1¼ to 1½ pounds per person.

Adjusting for your table

Go up when

• You want leftovers for the weekend. Use 1½ pounds per person.
• Turkey is the only main dish and the sides are light.
• The guest list is mostly adults with big appetites, or includes teenagers.
• The turkey is small (under 12 pounds).
• You are sending guests home with plates.

Go down when

• There is a second main dish, such as ham, brisket or a vegetarian centerpiece.
• Several guests are small children or light eaters.
• You are serving a long list of sides and several pies. If dessert is a serious matter at your house, our apple pie guide is a good place to start.
• Nobody wants leftovers. Stay at 1 pound per person.

How much turkey and ham per person

When turkey shares the table with a ham, a workable rule of thumb is to halve each: about ½ to ¾ pound of whole turkey per person plus about ⅓ to ½ pound of bone-in ham. For 12 guests that is an 8- to 10-pound turkey and a 4- to 6-pound ham portion. Guests tend to take some of both, so do not cut either below those figures.

How much turkey breast per person

A turkey breast is the sensible choice for a small table or an all-white-meat crowd.

Guests	Bone-in breast (¾ to 1 lb each)	Boneless breast (about ½ lb each)
2	One 3-lb half breast	1 to 1½ lb
4	3 to 4 lb	2 to 3 lb
6	5 to 6 lb	3 lb
8	6 to 8 lb	4 lb
10	Two breasts, 8 to 10 lb total	5 lb

The Kitchn's guidance is that one 3-pound half breast feeds two to four people, and a whole 6- to 7-pound breast (both sides, joined at the breastbone) feeds six to eight. Cooking times are in turkey breast.

A whole turkey plus an extra bone-in breast is also the easiest way to stretch a meal for a crowd that prefers white meat. The breast can roast on a second rack or in a slow cooker while the main bird has the oven.

What the size you pick means for thawing and cooking

Size drives the whole schedule. A turkey that is 6 pounds heavier needs more than an extra day to thaw and about an extra hour in the oven. These are USDA's figures for a refrigerator at 40°F and an oven at 325°F. Thanksgiving 2026 is Thursday, November 26.

Turkey weight	Feeds (with leftovers to dinner only)	Fridge thawing	Latest day to start thawing	Roasting time, unstuffed
8 to 12 lb	6 to 12	1 to 3 days	Monday, Nov. 23	2¾ to 3 hours
12 to 14 lb	8 to 14	3 to 4 days	Sunday, Nov. 22	3 to 3¾ hours
14 to 18 lb	10 to 18	3 to 5 days	Saturday, Nov. 21	3¾ to 4¼ hours
18 to 20 lb	12 to 20	4 to 5 days	Saturday, Nov. 21	4¼ to 4½ hours
20 to 24 lb	14 to 24	5 to 6 days	Friday, Nov. 20	4½ to 5 hours

More detail is in how long to thaw a turkey and how long to cook a turkey.

One big turkey or two small ones?

Once the math calls for more than about 20 pounds, two smaller birds are usually the better buy.

• Timing. Two 12-pound turkeys each take about 3 hours at 325°F. One 24-pound turkey takes about 5.
• Evenness. On a very large bird the breast is done long before the thighs. Smaller birds cook more evenly.
• Thawing. Two 12-pound turkeys thaw in about 3 days each. A 24-pound turkey needs 5 to 6.
• More of the good parts. Two birds means four drumsticks, four wings and four thighs.
• Method limits. USDA advises a turkey of 12 pounds or less for deep-frying and 8 to 12 pounds for smoking. A big guest list and a fryer or smoker means two birds by definition. See deep-fried turkey and smoked turkey.

The catch is oven space. Two turkeys need two pans, and both must have air around them. Before you buy, check the three things below.

Will it fit?

1. The oven. Put your roasting pan on the lowest rack and make sure there are a couple of inches of clearance on every side and above where the breast will sit. USDA notes that a turkey or pan too large for the oven blocks heat circulation and slows cooking.
2. The pan. USDA recommends a shallow pan, 2 to 2½ inches deep. The bird should sit inside the rim without hanging over, or the drippings will land on the oven floor.
3. The refrigerator. A 20-pound turkey in a pan takes most of a shelf for five days. Clear the space before you bring it home.

Hen or tom, fresh or frozen: does it change the amount?

Not really. USDA explains that "hen" and "tom" on a label simply indicate size: hens are the smaller females and toms the larger males, and both should be equally tender. The pound-per-person rule is the same for fresh and frozen birds.

What does change is timing. USDA advises buying a fresh turkey only 1 to 2 days before cooking, so for Thanksgiving 2026 that means Tuesday, November 24, or Wednesday, November 25. Popular sizes, especially 12 to 16 pounds, tend to go first, so many stores take orders in advance. A frozen turkey can be bought weeks ahead and kept at 0°F; USDA says it is safe indefinitely and best cooked within a year. If you are shopping at the last minute, check which stores are open on Thanksgiving.

Worked examples

Eight adults, leftovers wanted

8 × 1½ lb = 12 pounds. Buy a 12- to 13-pound turkey. It thaws in about 3 days, so it goes into the refrigerator by Sunday, November 22, and roasts in about 3 hours unstuffed.

Six adults and four small children, no leftovers

Count the four children as two adults: 8 × 1 lb = 8 pounds. The smallest whole turkeys run 8 to 10 pounds; buy one of those. Roasting time is 2¾ to 3 hours.

Fourteen adults, turkey and ham

14 × ¾ lb = about 10½ pounds of turkey. A 10- to 12-pound bird plus a half ham covers it comfortably.

Twenty adults, leftovers wanted

20 × 1½ lb = 30 pounds. Buy two 14- to 15-pound turkeys. Each takes 3¾ to 4¼ hours; if they cannot share the oven, roast one earlier, carve it, and reheat the slices covered with broth to 165°F while the second bird rests.

Four adults

A 6- to 7-pound bone-in breast gives everyone white meat and a few sandwiches. If someone insists on a drumstick, buy an 8- to 10-pound whole turkey and accept the leftovers.

How much of everything else

These are planning figures. The stuffing numbers are USDA's; the others are common rules of thumb.

Item	Amount
Stuffing inside the bird	About ¾ cup per pound of turkey (USDA): 9 to 12 cups for a 12- to 16-lb bird
Stuffing or dressing as a side	About ¾ cup per person
Gravy	About ⅓ to ½ cup per person
Mashed potatoes	About ½ pound of raw potatoes per person
Cranberry sauce	About ¼ cup per person
Pie	One 9-inch pie per 8 guests

For a potluck, where guests bring the sides, the menu-splitting advice in our Friendsgiving ideas guide helps keep the totals sensible.

Planning the leftovers

If you bought at 1½ pounds per person, expect a few pounds of cooked meat after dinner. USDA's storage rules decide what happens to it:

• Refrigerate within 2 hours of serving. Take the meat off the bones and store it in shallow containers.
• Use refrigerated turkey within 3 to 4 days. For a Thursday, November 26, dinner, that means by Monday, November 30.
• Freeze what you will not eat in time. Frozen leftovers are best within 2 to 6 months.
• Reheat to 165°F.

The carcass is worth keeping too. Simmered with an onion, a carrot and a celery rib for a few hours, it makes stock for soup; refrigerate the stock within 2 hours and use it within 3 to 4 days, or freeze it.