4 adults, no children
- Input
- 4 + 0
- Expected output
- 4 lb (1.9 kg) | 6 lb (2.8 kg)
No leftovers | with leftovers. 4 lb is the floor of the USDA tables.
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what size turkey for 10 people
Plan on 1 pound of whole turkey per adult, which is the USDA rule, and 1½ pounds if you want leftovers. For 10 adults that is 10 lb, or 15 lb with leftovers. Each child counts as half a portion. The tool adds it up, always rounds up and warns when the weight goes past the limit of the tables.
No leftovers | with leftovers. 4 lb is the floor of the USDA tables.
No leftovers | with leftovers. The most common sum.
No leftovers | with leftovers. That is 14 portions.
No leftovers | with leftovers. With leftovers the sum passes 24 lb and becomes two birds.
No leftovers | with leftovers. Smaller than the smallest bird in the tables: pick a turkey breast.
Plan on 1 pound of whole turkey per person, which is the USDA figure, and up to 1½ pounds per person if you want leftovers. For 10 adults that is a 10 lb bird, or 15 lb with leftovers. This calculator counts a child as half a portion, a planning choice rather than a USDA number, so 8 adults and 2 children need 9 lb.
For a dinner with no leftovers in mind, yes: it is the USDA figure. For sandwiches the next day, move up to 1½ pounds per adult, the top of the range the UAF reprint cites.
For 20 adults it is 20 lb, a single bird. With leftovers it is 30 lb, above the 24 lb limit, so two birds of 15 lb each.
That is our own planning assumption and not a USDA rule. If the children at your table eat like adults, count them all as adults.
The USDA does not recommend buying a fresh pre-stuffed turkey. A frozen pre-stuffed one is fine only with the USDA or state mark of inspection, and goes in the oven without thawing, at 1¼ pounds per person.
A 9 lb bird feeds about 9 adults or 18 children.
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Calculating your plan...
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Tables: USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service, Let's Talk Turkey (roasting and thawing). Preheat and carving times are planning assumptions.
Tables checked on 2026-11-10 against a government-archived copy of the USDA guide and two state reprints. Birds outside 4 to 24 lb are not covered.