John Myers
Goulash is an extremely practical and tasty dish to feed many mouths at the same time. But before the preparation, there is the question: how much goulash should be planned per person? Here comes the shopping aid.
Who eats it
It should be an informal meal – the recipe is quickly found: Goulash. This is great to prepare and can also be cooked in large quantities. But then the exciting question: How much goulash per person do you actually have to calculate?
You should consider the following:
- Women usually eat less meat than men
- Kids eat significantly less than adults
Is there anything?
Each recipe complements the goulash meat with various ingredients such as onions, peppers, and tomatoes. That’s a good thing because their aromas bring a strong taste. But before you go to buy meat, you should ask yourself the following question: Should there be a pure goulash dish that comes across more like a thick stew, or are there side dishes such as potatoes, spaetzle, rice, or dumplings? Then a smaller amount of meat is enough.
If you decide to have a side dish with your goulash, we can warmly recommend homemade spaetzle or delicious potato dumplings.
Rough guideline
Due to the high water content, meat loses about 15 to 30% of its weight during roasting and cooking.
Nevertheless, there are rough guidelines for the purchase of goulash meat:
- an average of 200-280 g per person of raw, undercooked meat
- Plan about half for children
- Guide value for quantity applies to all types of meat
Meat quantity shopping list: Table
Here you will find a practical table for your meat shopping for up to 20 guests. After the number of people you get the required total amount:
Number of People Required amount of meat (raw)
- 1 – 200-280g
- 2 – 400-560g
- 3 – 600-840g
- 4 – 800-1120g
- 5 – 1-1.4kg
- 6 – 1.2-1.68kg
- 7 – 1.4-1.96kg
- 8 – 1.6-2.24kg
- 9 – 1.8-2.52kg
- 10 – 2-2.8kg
- 11 – 2.2-3.08kg
- 12 – 2.4-3.36kg
- 13 – 2.6-3.64kg
- 14 – 2.8-3.92kg
- 15 – 3-4.2kg
- 16 – 3.2-4.48kg
- 17 – 3.4-4.76kg
- 18 – 3.6-5.04kg
- 19 – 3.8-5.32kg
- 20 – 4-5.6kg
Calculations were made here with average adults. It is better to calculate more generously for a group of strong craftsmen or movers than for a girls’ night out. You should plan half the amount for children.
Note: In the case of a pure goulash, orientate yourself more towards the upper limit of the specified quantity of meat, and for dishes with a side dish, rather towards the lower limit.
Preparation trick
Beef, pork, and lamb, but also game or poultry are equally suitable for a delicious goulash. You need a bit of patience when frying because it is best to sear the meat in batches. If you put all the finely diced goulash meat into the pot or roaster at once, water will form. Then your goulash will boil instead of fry and will quickly become tough. Instead, you want nicely browned meat with delicious roasted aromas.
Therefore, proceed in portions:
- Divide the amount of meat
- only as much meat in the pot/roaster that there is enough space
- fry at a very high temperature
Still, need a trick for the perfect sauce? We’ll tell you what you can use to thicken your goulash sauce.
Tip: If there is any leftover goulash, it freezes really well and is a delicious meal when you need something quick.
Now that you know how much goulash you should calculate per person, it’s high time to try out some delicious recipes. For example, a hearty beer goulash or an oven goulash with potatoes.
