Recipe costs

Prices as of 9 May 2026. Last updated February 2026.

How to feed a crowd on a budget

Feed 10-20 people for $5-8 per head. Recipes, shopping lists, and real prices for feeding large groups without going broke.

The golden rule: one-pot meals that scale. Bolognese, curry, chilli, and stew cost $1.60-$3 per head for 15-20 people. Steak costs $15-20 per head. Your menu choice is your biggest cost lever.

6 recipes that actually scale.

These are the meals that feed a crowd without ending up on your stove for four hours. All ingredients priced at current shelf prices (May 2026), assuming you buy the cheapest matching product per ingredient.

Why one-pot meals work.

A bolognese serves 15 for $1.63 per head. A roast chicken serves 4 for $3.55 per head. The difference is not ingredients: it is that one-pot meals use a large volume of cheap base (pasta, rice) and a moderate amount of protein. Steak dinners use expensive protein as the star.

For a crowd, you want the meal structure to be: cheap bulk (grain or potato), moderate protein, vegetables, sauce. That structure scales down cost per head. Curry with rice is the same logic. Taco bar is the same. Even sausage sizzle follows this pattern: bread is your bulk.

Shopping strategy: buy on special and freeze.

Mince goes on special most weeks at one of the four major retailers. Frozen chicken thighs are cheaper than fresh. Pork shoulder is often marked down on Mondays. Buy in the week before your event, freeze everything except fresh vegetables, and you'll knock 15-20 percent off the total.

ALDI has the cheapest sausages (usually $8-$10 per kilogram). Coles often has bulk chicken thigh specials (2kg for $12-14). Woolworths is rarely the cheapest for meat, but their home-brand tinned tomatoes and pasta are competitive. Buy meat at ALDI, fill the rest wherever you're shopping.

The sides that scale: all under $1 per head.

One cabbage makes coleslaw for 20 people ($1.50). A head of lettuce feeds 15 in a green salad ($2). A bag of bread rolls ($5-6) serves 20 as sides. Cook rice or potatoes in bulk: 3 kilograms of rice for 15 people costs $6, or $0.40 per head.

The pattern: vegetables are cheap when you buy them whole. A bag of carrots ($0.50), potatoes ($2 for 2kg), onions ($0.80). Don't buy pre-cut, and don't assume you need a side dish for every person. One big bowl of salad works for 15.

Drinks: let guests bring their own.

In Australia, BYO is standard for gatherings. You provide water (tap is fine), and optionally a big batch of cordial or iced tea (cordial concentrate costs $2, makes 5 litres). That's $0.10 per head. You're not running a bar.

Dessert for 15 under $15.

Pavlova (meringues $8-10, whipped cream $3, berries $4) is $15 for 15 people. Fruit salad (whatever fruit is cheapest that week: $5-7). Brownies from a box mix ($4-5, plus butter and eggs you have at home). None of these require baking skill or precision.

The real math.

A bolognese dinner for 15: $24.50 total. Add coleslaw ($1.50), bread rolls ($5), pavlova ($15). You're at $46 total, or $3.07 per head for a complete dinner with dessert. That's the kind of cost you can absorb for a birthday, a neighbourhood gathering, or feeding your extended family.

Compare to a steakhouse: $25-35 per person before drinks. You're feeding 15 people for less than the cost of two restaurant dinners.

Batch cook the night before.

Bolognese, curry, chilli, and soup improve overnight. Make it the day before, reheat gently on the stove, and you're not stressed on the day. Pulled pork can slow-cook overnight if you own a slow cooker. You'll spend two hours total, spread across two days.