Blogs
How Many Catering Trays Do You Need? A Headcount Guide for Patchogue Parties
September 21, 2026 ◆ 3 min read ◆ Nino’s Pizzeria
Most of the calls on our catering line aren’t about flavors. They’re about quantity: how many trays does it actually take to feed this many people? Order too few and the food runs out before the last guests arrive. Order too many and you’re sending foil pans home with everyone. These are the numbers we use when we help someone plan an order at Nino’s Pizzeria on Medford Ave in Patchogue.
Start with the rule of thumb
A full catering tray of pasta or an entree works out to roughly 15 to 20 servings when it’s part of a spread with other food on the table. If a tray is the only thing people are eating, plan on the low end of that range. If there’s pizza, salad and sides alongside it, plan on the high end.
For most parties the simplest approach is to pick one pasta, one protein and one salad, then scale the count of each to your headcount. Three dishes keep the table interesting without turning the order into a puzzle.
Tray counts by guest count
| Guests | Pasta trays | Entree trays | Salad trays |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 40 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| 60 | 3 | 2 to 3 | 2 |
| 100 | 5 | 4 | 3 |
These assume an evening party where the trays are the main meal. For a lunch, or an event where people graze over a few hours, you can usually drop one pasta tray from each row. If there are a lot of teenagers on the list, add one back.
What each tray costs
Our catering trays are priced per tray, not per head, so the math is simple. Full-tray prices on our ordering menu at the time of writing:
- Spaghetti with tomato sauce: $45
- Spaghetti with meat sauce: $55
- Baked ziti, baked ravioli, lasagna, stuffed shells or penne alla vodka: $60
- Meatballs, sausage and peppers, or eggplant parmigiana: $60
- Chicken parmesan: $65
- Chicken francese or chicken marsala: $75
- Shrimp parmesan: $80
- Caesar salad: $37.50 · Greek salad: $40 · Antipasto salad: $55
- Chicken fingers: $40 · Mozzarella sticks: $50
The live ordering menu is always the final word on price.
A worked example: a 40-person graduation party
Say you get two trays of baked ziti ($120), one tray of chicken parmesan ($65), one tray of sausage and peppers ($60) and one Caesar salad ($37.50). That comes to $282.50 before tax. That’s about $7 a guest for a full hot meal. Add a few Sicilian trays of pizza for the kids and the late arrivals, and nobody goes home hungry.
Where pizza fits in
Pizza stretches a catering order further than anything else, and it’s the one food every age group eats. It’s also the easiest thing to add at the last minute if the headcount creeps up. For the slice math, see our guide on how much pizza to order for a party. And if you’re deciding between styles, Grandma pizza is built for parties: thin, square and easy to grab.
Four mistakes we see every season
- Ordering one of everything. Ten different trays for thirty people means half of them go back barely touched. Three or four dishes in real quantity beats a sampler.
- No vegetarian option. Eggplant parmigiana, baked ziti or spaghetti with tomato sauce covers it. Heads up, our penne alla vodka is made with ham, so it isn’t vegetarian.
- No buffer. Guests bring guests. Round up, not down.
- Calling the morning of. Small orders are usually fine same day. For anything large, give the kitchen at least a day’s notice so the trays come out right.
How to order
The fastest way is to call us at (631) 654-4530 with your date, time and headcount. We’ll tell you what to order and give you a total on the call. You can also browse our catering options, including pasta trays, party trays and graduation party catering.
