Beef Chuck Roast and Potato Dinner for a Crowd

How to make Sunday dinner for a crowd of 15 people when your menu is a beef chuck roast, baked potatoes, salad, homemade bread and cookies!

Jump to Recipe

Sunday nights are for feeding a crowd at my house! (check out my list of big group dinners here).

Every Sunday night since my kids grew up and moved out, we invite them back for dinner. We also include other people just to truly make it a crowd. We invite nieces, nephews, in-laws or even friends. Generally, we shoot for 10-15 people per dinner, just to keep things fun.

So, this series is for documenting the meals I’ve been making, how much food and ingredients I need, and how to modify the dinner for my current health goals.

What I served with this Pot Roast and Potato dinner

With this meal, I used:

• Beef chuck roast, cooked in a slow cooker.
• Kale salad from Costco (or other salad kit).
• Baked potatoes, with all the toppings.
• Homemade bread (optional, but my kids love my bread!)
• Fruit I had some grapes, so I added them to the meal.
• and Chocolate chip cookies for dessert.

Shopping for a the Beef Roast Dinner for 15 people

The hardest part of feeding a crowd is knowing how many groceries and ingredients to buy. Here’s how I shopped for this meal:

• The Beef Chuck Roast– Typically when I plan meat for a crowd, I like 6-8 ounces (raw) per person. When it cooks down, it becomes just over 4-6 ounces per person. Then, I’ll round up for the people who want seconds. So, for 15 people, I bought 7 pounds of Beef Chuck Roast

• For the Kale salad, I bought the double bag at Costco. For salads, I like to have 1 cup of salad per person. Each bag of Kale salad contained 8 cups, so buying two bags perfectly would feed 15 people.
• Baked potatoes. Normally I wouldn’t serve bread PLUS a baked potato, HELLO CARBS!! But, I felt like this meal could use a little extra. For baked potatoes, I count one potato per guest. It’s RARE someone will take a second potato. So, 15 potatoes it is!
• For the bread, I count one slice per person, plus a second slice for half the guests. Bread and rolls are a funny thing. I do see about half of my guests taking a second slice, so I arrived at this amount for baking the bread. So, for 15 people, I need 22-25 slices of homemade bread.
• Fruit– Depending on what’s in season, and what’s in my fridge is what fruit I’ll bring out. I only had a small amount of grapes, So, I just put a bowlful with a spoon that was a little bit larger than a regular spoon. You can definitely control how much people will take by the size of the spoon. If you want to serve an entire watermelon, put a huge ladle or serving spoon in it. They’ll probably eat all the fruit, but once it’s gone it’s gone. I had 1 lb of grapes for this meal.
• And cookies! 2 dozen is usually perfect for 15 people . Most people will take 1 and half the people will have a second. But I round up to two dozen and send the rest home with the kids.

To prep in the morning

In the morning before a big dinner, I’ll prep the roast, mix the bread dough, and mix the cookie dough.

The Beef Chuck Roast:

• I cut the 7lbs of Beef Roast just big enough that it would fit appropriately in a slow cooker.
• I sprinkled it with course/kosher salt, brown sugar, and a mesquite seasoning.
• I set it on low and moved on to my bread.

For the Homemade bread:

• I doubled the recipe and mixed the dough for this 3 ingredient bread.
• This can sit in a bowl to rise as long as you want. I usually come back to it around 1 or 2 in the afternoon.

Mix the Cookie Dough

• And the last thing in the morning, I mixed the cookie dough and put it in the fridge to chill until the afternoon.

To make in the afternoon

• In the afternoon, I’ll finish the bread and bake the cookies.
• First, I take the bread dough and divide it into four loaves, and cover with plastic wrap (sprayed with cooking spray), and let rise for another 45 minutes to 1 hour.
• While the bread is rising, I’ll bake the cookies.
• As soon as the cookies are finished, I rinse the potatoes and wrap in foil. Then, I bake the potatoes for about 1 hour to 1 1/2 and then turn off the oven and leave them in the oven until dinner time.

To finish just before dinner

• Just before dinner, I’ll bake the bread (it only takes 15 minutes for each cookie sheet to bake – so baking two pans I need 30 minutes).
• Then, I’ll assemble the Kale salad with the dressing and add-ins. You can always add extra greens if you want even more salad, and extra dressing.
• Then, I’ll prep the roast by draining it of extra juices and cutting or shredding it into appropriate size chunks.

Tips for making this roast and potato dinner weight loss friendly

You can absolutely make delicious food for your family, and stay on your diet!

For this meal, I took:

• About 3 ounces of the chuck roast (200 calories, 21 g protein, 0 carbs, 13 g fat)
• 1 cup of the Kale Salad (160 calories, 3 g protein, 17 g carbs, and 10 g fat)
• 1 baked potato, with 1 teaspoon butter (180 calories, 4 g protein, 35 g carbs, 4 g fat)
• 4-5 grapes (30 calories, 0 protein, 10 g carbs, 0 fat)
• and I skipped the homemade bread.

For a grand total of 570 calories, 28 g protein, 62 g carbs, and 27 g fat.

Then, you’re ready to eat! Honestly, this meal takes less time in the kitchen than you would think. It’s quick, easy, and everyone loves it! Make this roast and potato dinner, and your guests will not be disappointed!