Mashed potatoes make an appropriate side dish for many meals.
Mashed potatoes go with almost anything, from turkey at a Thanksgiving dinner to fried chicken, pot roast or a rack of barbecue ribs. It can be challenging to judge how many potatoes you need to prepare to feed your family or guests. In general, each pound of raw potatoes makes about 2 cups of mashed potatoes. The exact number of potatoes you need depends on how much you want to serve each person and what size potatoes you use.
Instructions
1. Write out the menu for the meal you are serving and count the number of side dishes in your menu. If potatoes are your only side dish, make a large portion for each person. If you have one or two other side dishes, make a medium portion for each person. If you have three or more other side dishes, as is the case with Thanksgiving dinner, make a small portion for each person.
2. Multiply the number of people you are serving by the number of ounces of potato you want in each portion. A large portion should have 8 oz. of potato, a medium should have 6 oz. and a small should have 4 oz. For example, if you are serving 12 people a medium-sized portion, you need 70 oz. of potato.
3. Divide your total number of ounces by 16 to find out how many pounds of potatoes you need. In this case, 70 divided by 16 is 4.375 pounds of raw potatoes.
4. Divide the number of pounds of potatoes by the average weight of each potato to find out how many you need. Most medium-sized potatoes weigh about 1/3 lb., whereas smaller potatoes only weigh 1/4 lb. or less and very large potatoes could weigh upwards of a pound. For example, if you are buying medium-sized potatoes, you will need approximately 13 potatoes.
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