The Taco Bar Calculator approximates the amount of ingredients you need to serve a given number of guests. It includes tortillas or shells, meat, and a variety of toppings.
Photo by Paul Keller
INSTRUCTIONS: Enter the following:
- (n) Number of Guests
- (MO) Meat Option (Choose beef or chicken)
- (DT) MEAT or DETAILS (Choose to see needed amount of meat or full details listed below)
Taco Bar Ingredient Amount: The calculator returns the amount of meat needed for the number of guests. If DETAILS are chosen, the following ingredients needed to serve tacos to the given number of guests are also provide:
- number of tortillas/taco shells
- cooked beef in pounds (lb)
- raw beef in pounds (lb)
- chicken in pounds (lb)
- cheese in pounds (lb)
- tomatoes in pounds (lb)
- onions in pounds( lb)
- salsa in ounces (oz)
- lettuce in pounds (lb)
- hot sauce in ounces (oz)
- black beans in pounds (lb)
- sour cream in cups
- taco seasoning in table spoons (tbsp)
The amount of taco seasoning is calculated by finding the amount of raw beef for the number of guests and using that to find the taco seasoning needed. Approximately 2 tablespoons per pound of beef.
Amount of meat per number of guests is assuming one meat selection. The calculator shows amounts of both beef and chicken but you only need one. If you are having more than one meat adjust the proportions accordingly.
To get an estimate of what your taco bar party will cost for the number of guests you will have see our Taco Bar Cost Calculator
General Information
Tacos are one of the absolute best foods for feeding a large number of guests, partly because they're delicious, and partly because they're easy. Essentially you set up the ingredients and your guests finish making them themselves so you don't have to! The calculator has options for the amount of both cooked and raw beef. The raw estimate is higher because it cooks down. If you are estimating by the cooked amount you can assume the returned amount of cooked beef for your guests is approximately the same amount you would need for chicken, pork, chorizo, or any other main taco ingredient you wanted to use.
The average serving size for a meal of tacos is about 4 ounces for the average person. This would probably be 3 tacos if they were assembled traditionally but generally when people make their own tacos they go overboard on the toppings in each tortilla so 2 per person is a better estimate for a taco bar. All the estimates are increased by five to ten percent to give a little margin for error. It is better to have left overs than to run out so if you prefer you can increase the amounts more to give yourself more margin.
In addition to the meat the calculator has options for cheese, chopped onions, chopped lettuce, black beans, hot sauce, salsa, tomatoes, and sour cream.
The Math / Science
- Salsa: according the USDA, 2 tablespoons of salsa weighs approximately 35.7 grams. Therefore, the mean density of salsa is 1.207 g/cm3.
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