"It might sound like a contradiction, but sometimes, cooking for a crowd is much easier than only cooking for one person. Many recipes comfortably feed at least three people, so when you're trying to scale those recipes down, you inevitably need to modify them a bit. Tasting Table spoke to chef and cookbook author Abbie Gellman (MS, RD, CDN) to narrow down any big mistakes we might be making when cooking in smaller quantities."
"When it comes to the main ingredients, it's totally okay not to overthink it and scale down proportionally. "If you are going from one pound of chicken breast to half a pound or one bell pepper to half a bell pepper, then generally, that is fine," Gellman said. "Where it can get a bit tricker," she warned, "is with seasonings and spices.""
Cooking for a crowd can be easier than cooking for one because many recipes make multiple servings and need modification when scaled down. Main ingredients can generally be reduced proportionally without issue. Seasonings and spices require more caution because their potency does not scale linearly; start with less than the proportional amount and add more to taste. Heat and specific dish characteristics influence how much seasoning to add. Changing the cooking vessel, such as using a smaller baking dish for casseroles, can help. Oven temperatures often remain the same, but cooking times usually shorten when making smaller quantities.
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