When planning for a dinner party or other event, it can be tough to know how much food to make, especially when it comes to figuring out how much salad per person to serve.
You definitely don’t want to run out of salad midway through the party, but you also don’t want to end up with a bunch of leftover greens that sit in your fridge for a week afterwards. So, what’s the sweet spot?
For a typical side or appetizer salad, a good rule to follow is three ounces (85 grams) of salad per person. This includes the salad greens as well as any other vegetables or toppings you might add. For a bigger entrée salad, an eight-ounce total portion is a solid baseline.
So, what’s the best way to get those three ounces of salad? An easy way of thinking of it is to have a 2:1 ratio of toppings to greens.
That means for a three-ounce portion of salad, one ounce will be lettuce or other salad greens and the other two ounces will be made up of other vegetables or toppings, such as carrots, cucumbers or tomatoes. This ratio maintains a good balance between greens and toppings, ensuring a varied and satisfying salad.
Measuring out three ounces of salad is easy, and you don’t even need a scale. To measure out an ounce of salad greens, take two conservative (not heaping) handfuls of greens and toss them into a bowl. This will get you approximately an ounce of salad greens almost every time.
Another good way of measuring is to tightly pack some salad greens into a one-cup measure, that will yield about an ounce of greens as well.
From there, a few normal-sized salad toppings like 4-5 slices of cucumber, 2-3 cherry tomatoes and a big pinch of shredded carrots will add up to the other two ounces. Note that those three ounces do not include salad dressing.
To figure out how much salad you’ll need for a gathering or event, all it takes is some quick math. Most containers of salad greens in the grocery store come with a weight, and from there you can figure in one serving of salad for every ounce of greens.
For example, if you buy a five-ounce container of salad greens, you can assume it will get you five portions of salad, aside from other salad toppings.
Calculating how much salad to buy is easy when the weight is listed right on the container, but what if you’re buying heads of lettuce?
For Iceberg, a head of chopped lettuce will yield 4-6 servings of salad (4 for a smaller head, 6 for a larger head)
For Romaine, a head of chopped lettuce will yield 3-5 servings of salad (3 for a smaller head, 5 for a larger head)
While three ounces or two handfuls of salad is a good starting point, there may be some other things that might make you want to serve more or less salad.
For example, if you’re serving lots of children, two ounces of salad per person might be better. Alternatively, if you have a few vegans or vegetarians at your gathering who are less likely to eat other offerings, 4 ounces of salad per person would be safer.
The weather is another factor too. If you’re serving salad at a backyard barbecue in the heat of the summer, guests are likely going to eat more greens than at an indoor holiday gathering on a chilly December night.
For most gatherings, the salad you’re most likely to serve is a small appetizer or side salad with a couple of fresh vegetable toppings and a simple dressing. However, some other salads might be more substantial and even serve as the main course for your event.
Especially in the summertime, you may find yourself making heartier entrée salads with nuts, seeds, cheese, eggs or other proteins added.
If this is the case, then you’ll want to figure an eight-ounce total portion of salad per person. For an entrée salad, you’ll want to assume 2-3 ounces of greens (2-3 tightly packed cups or 4-6 loose handfuls of greens) and 5-6 ounces of toppings.
For example, a typical main-course serving of cobb salad might be built as follows:
Once you’ve got the amount of salad figured out, you need to know how much dressing to buy or make. A simple, easy to remember rule for dressing is one ounce of dressing per salad, which is two tablespoons or ⅛ of a cup of dressing.
For a larger entrée salad, 3-4 tablespoons of dressing is usually appropriate.
Depending on the kind of greens and dressing you’re serving, however, you may want to use a little more or less than one ounce per salad. For example, some lighter and more delicate greens such as baby spinach or arugula do better with less dressing, while heartier greens like romaine or kale can take more dressing.
At the same time, loose, acidic dressing like vinaigrettes will go further than creamy, sweeter dressings like ranch or Caesar.
Remember that with dressing, less is more. Nobody wants their salad wilted and drowning in dressing. Never dress your salad ahead of time. Only dress it right before you serve so it doesn’t wilt.
If possible, keep the dressing on the side and let guests choose how much they would like to add.
