How Much Rice Per Person? A Portion Guide for Curry Nights, Parties and Buffets

Every Friday somebody rings our Batley shop with the same question. “It’s eight of us tomorrow. How much do I need?” After nearly thirty years of answering it, we have some useful portion guidelines to share, the same ones we work from when we plan a buffet for two hundred.

This guide sets them out. It covers rice (uncooked and cooked), curry by weight and by tub, starters, breads and sides, then scales everything from a quiet dinner for two to a hall full of relatives. If you would rather skip the maths, the CurryOut range is portioned so that one tub serves one to one and a half people, and the quick tables below turn that into an order in about a minute.

How much rice per person

The honest answer is that it depends on what else is on the plate. How much rice depends on whether it is the main side dish or sharing the plate with naan or chapattis: rice as the only carbohydrate alongside a curry needs a bigger portion than rice served with bread.

Uncooked rice, as the main side to a curry: 75g per person for long grain white rice as the baseline (a 250ml measuring cup holds roughly 200g, which covers two to three people). Cooked, it becomes about 200g to 225g, which is a proper heaped serving.

Uncooked rice, when you are also serving bread: 50g to 60g per person. Cooked, that is about 150g.

Uncooked rice for a buffet with several dishes: 60g per person. People take less rice when there are four curries and a table of starters competing for room.

Children under ten: halve the adult figure; for larger gatherings, a good rule is 40g to 50g per child under ten.

One cup of uncooked rice gives you about three cups of cooked rice, because it absorbs the water. So if a recipe or a shop tells you the cooked weight, divide by three to get the dry weight, and the other way round. Brown rice needs more water and a longer cooking time than white rice; basmati rice, a long grain white rice, is the usual choice with curry.

What that looks like with CurryOut rice

Our rice tubs are cooked rice, portioned and chilled, so you are not weighing anything. Allow one tub of Pilau Rice (£2.00) or Boiled Rice (£1.70) per person when rice is the only carbohydrate, and one tub between two when you are also putting Plain Naan or Chappaties on the table. If anyone in your group treats rice as the main event, round up. Leftover pilau reheats well the next day; our reheating guide explains how to do it safely. You can store leftover rice in an airtight container in the fridge or freeze it for later use.

For something more than plain, Kheema Rice (£2.40) has minced beef running through it and can carry a light meal on its own with a spoon of raita, and Mushroom Rice or Vegetable Rice (both £2.40) suit a table with vegetarian guests. See the full CurryOut rice range.

How much curry per person

A generous single-curry portion for an adult is 250g to 300g of finished curry, meat and sauce together. That is what you get in a good restaurant, and it is why a takeaway portion usually feeds one person and leaves a spoonful for the fridge.

When you serve two curries side by side, drop each one to 150g to 175g per person. With three or four curries on a buffet, 100g to 125g of each is plenty, because the total on the plate still lands around 350g to 400g and nobody goes hungry.

Curry per person, in CurryOut tubs

Each CurryOut curry is labelled with an estimated weight, and most sit around 280g. Chicken Tikka Masala (£5.40), for example, is 280g. That is why we say each tub serves one to one and a half people: one hungry adult, or one adult and a child, or one and a half portions on a table where several curries are being shared.

The working rule we give customers is this.

One curry for everyone: one tub per person. Eight people, eight tubs.

Two curries shared: three tubs of each for every four people. Eight people, six tubs in total, say three Chicken Karahi and three Chana Dhall.

Three or four curries shared, buffet style: one tub of each curry for every two people. Eight people, four curries, sixteen tubs in total, which sounds like a lot until you see the plates.

Kheema dishes and dhalls are slightly denser and more filling than chicken in sauce, so if your spread includes Kheema Bhuna Peas or a lentil dish, you can shave a tub off the total.

Starters and sides

Starters are where hosts most often over-order, because everything looks small. Use these figures.

Before a full meal: three to four pieces per person. A samosa, a couple of pakoras and a piece of chicken tikka is plenty when there is a curry coming.

Grazing party with no main course: eight to ten pieces per person over an evening.

Buffet alongside curries: four to five pieces per person, mixing meat and vegetable so vegetarians are not left with the salad.

Our starter packs are built on those ratios. They are made to order, arranged on platters ready to reheat and serve, and collected from our shop in Batley: choose a set pack from £30, or build your own and pick exact quantities of Onion Bhajees, Sheek Kebabs, Vegetable Samosas and the rest, with a minimum of 18 pieces per item and a £30 minimum order. Because they are made fresh for you, starter packs need 24 hours’ notice.

For sauces, allow one small pot of Indian Raita or Yoghurt Sauce between two people, and a pot of Mango Chutney and Chilli Sauce for every four. One Indian Salad (£1.70) does four people as a side.

Bread

One naan per person if rice is also on the table, two if it is not. Chapattis are smaller, so allow two per person with rice and three without. Garlic Naan (£1.70) disappears faster than plain, so weight your order towards it.

The quick tables

Curry night for two

Item	Quantity	Approx. cost
Curries (two different, shared)	2 tubs	£9.40 to £11.00
Pilau Rice	1 tub	£2.00
Naan	2	£3.40
Starters	1 portion Sheek Kebabs, 1 portion Onion Bhajees	£6.00
Raita	1 pot	from £0.30

That comes in a little over £21. Add two or three curries for the freezer and you clear the £30 minimum order, with lunches sorted for later in the week.

Family of five

Item	Quantity
Curries (three different, shared)	6 tubs
Rice	3 tubs
Naan or chapattis	5 naan or 8 chapattis
Starters	15 to 20 pieces
Sauces	3 pots

Twelve friends, buffet style

Item	Quantity
Curries (four different)	12 tubs (three of each)
Rice	6 tubs
Naan	8
Starters	50 to 60 pieces
Sauces and salad	6 pots, 3 salads

When the numbers get big: 20 to 200 people

Past twenty guests, tubs stop making sense and chafing dishes start. This is the point where most people ring us about catering rather than the shop, and the per-head maths is already done for you.

Our Essential package is £9.60 per head for 20 or more guests and includes two starters, two curries, pilau or chapatti, salad and sauce. Celebration is £13.20 per head for 40 or more, with three starters, three curries, pilau, and chapatti or naan. Signature is £16.80 per head for 50 or more, with four starters and four curries. All three prices include VAT, and the food arrives hot in chafing dishes at the time you agree.

If you want to do the quantities yourself for a self-catered event, work from the buffet ratios above: 60g uncooked rice per person, 100g to 125g of each curry when there are three or four, four to five starter pieces per head, one bread per person. For 50 people with three curries that is 3kg of uncooked rice, about 6kg of each curry, roughly 225 starter pieces and 50 breads. For 100 people, double it. For 200, ring us, because at that point keeping the food hot matters as much as the food itself, and our chafing dishes are available to hire alongside the buffet. If you are cooking the rice yourself, use a pan or pot with a tight-fitting lid and about two parts water to one part rice, keep the heat moderate rather than high so it cooks evenly, and allow more water and more time for brown rice than white.

The full list of what we can put in a buffet is on the dish options page: nineteen chicken curries, six beef, six kheema and eight vegetarian dishes, plus fourteen starters.

Three mistakes we see every week

Ordering one rice per curry. Rice scales with people, not with the number of curries. Four curries for eight people still only needs four to eight rice tubs.

Forgetting the vegetarians until the end. Plan the vegetable curry and vegetable starters first, then add meat around them. It is much easier than trying to rescue a plate with salad.

Underestimating the mild curry. At any mixed gathering, the Chicken Korma and Butter Chicken go first, because children, grandparents and the friend who “doesn’t really do spice” all head for them. Order more of the mild dish than you think you need. Our curry heat guide explains where every dish sits from korma to vindaloo.

Frequently asked questions

How much rice per person in grams?

75g uncooked (about 200g to 225g cooked) as the main side to a curry; 50g to 60g uncooked when you are also serving bread; 60g uncooked per person on a buffet with several dishes. As a rule, use about 2 parts water to 1 part rice by volume.

How much rice is one CurryOut tub?

One tub is a single generous portion. Allow one per person when rice is the only carbohydrate, or one between two alongside naan or chapattis.

What can I do with leftover rice?

Cool leftover rice quickly, then store it in an airtight container and reheat it thoroughly before serving. You can use cooked rice to make fried rice. You can also stir fry it with vegetables, frozen peas and onions; stir gently, then fry until piping hot. It also works well served with chilli con carne. Once cooled, you can freeze it for later.

What rice works best with curry?

For most curries, long grain white rice, especially basmati rice, is the usual choice because the grains stay separate. You can rinse it first if you like, but not every rice should be washed, as some dishes rely on starch.

What is different about sushi rice?

Sushi rice is washed, sometimes given a short soaking time, then seasoned with a mixture that includes salt. That means sushi rice is prepared differently and portioned differently from curry rice.

How much curry do I need for 10 people?

With two curries shared, eight tubs (four of each). With three curries, ten to twelve tubs. Add five rice tubs, ten breads and 30 to 40 starter pieces.

How much curry per person for a buffet?

100g to 125g of each curry when there are three or four dishes, so the plate totals around 350g to 400g. Our catering packages are built on the same ratio.

Is a CurryOut tub enough for one person?

Yes. Most curries are around 280g, which is a full restaurant portion. With rice and a naan it is a big meal for one adult, which is why we say one to one and a half people.

Do you deliver outside Yorkshire?

CurryOut is delivered chilled across mainland UK in insulated packaging with ice packs. Order by 12pm for next-day delivery, with a £30 minimum order, and delivery is free when you spend over £80. You can also collect from the shop in Batley.

How do I keep it hot for a party?

For up to a dozen people, reheat in batches on the hob and hold in a low oven at 100°C in covered dishes. Past twenty, ask us about catering, where chafing dishes are available to hire to keep the buffet hot for the whole evening.

Order the right amount, first time

Work out your numbers with the tables above, then shop the CurryOut range. Order by 12pm and it arrives chilled tomorrow, ready to heat in five minutes, and an order for a crowd will usually clear the £80 free delivery threshold on its own. Feeding more than twenty? Look at our catering packages from £9.60 a head, or ring the kitchen on 01924 359300 and tell us how many are coming. We have been doing the sums since 1996.