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Burger Calculator
How many burgers per person, how much ground beef to buy, and how many buns — worked out from your guest count.
Your results
Burgers to grill
18
Ground beef
2.7 kg (6.0 lb)
Buns (with spares)
20
Cheese slices
18
Plan on one and a half burgers per person. That sounds like a lot until you watch a grill empty: some guests eat one, a few eat three, and the average lands just above one.
Buy 20% more ground beef than the patty maths suggests if you are forming patties by hand — they shrink on the grill and the last one is always short.
Ground beef must reach an internal temperature of 160°F (71°C). Unlike a steak, the outside of the meat has been mixed all the way through, so a rare burger is not the same risk as a rare steak.
Questions people ask
How many burgers per person?
Plan 1.5 burgers per adult. For a crowd of mixed ages, 1.25 per head is usually enough; for teenagers or a late-afternoon BBQ with no other main, go to 2.
How much ground beef for 20 burgers?
At 5 oz (150 g) per patty, 20 burgers need 3 kg (6.6 lb) of ground beef. At the classic 4 oz (113 g), 2.3 kg (5 lb).
What fat percentage is best for burgers?
80/20 ground chuck. Leaner than that and the patty dries out on a hot grill; fattier and it flares up and shrinks hard.
How many buns should I buy?
Buy 10% more buns than patties. They crush, they burn on the grill, and someone always wants a bun with just cheese.