Food Service Recipes

Old Recipe Cards

In the interest of researching how to scale a recipe that feeds 6 people up to a recipe that feeds the masses, I found that it’s actually very hard to scale a recipe more than 4x up or down from the original recipe.  Well, that puts a restraint on new restaurant owners looking to make a big batch of soup to feed the lunch rush or a slew of cinnamon rolls to feed hungry breakfast goers.

Where do you get those recipes?
There’s a couple of ways to increase the size of your recipes, but a lot of it is from either trial and error or learning from others.  After spending 10 years in a commercial kitchen, you have likely learned a few secrets to whip up larger batches, but for those that are starting fresh, it’s a bit harder to get your hands on large scale recipes.  However, we found a few online resources to help give you the push you need to start getting creative in the kitchen.  The list is below, but we thought it’d be best to also share a few examples of those recipes, so you can get an idea of what LARGE recipes actually look like.

Spaghetti with Fresh Vegetables for 100 People

  • 265 ounces Spaghetti Noodles (which is equivalent to 20 13.25 ounce boxes or 16.56 pounds of spaghetti noodles)
  • 2 cups Olive Oil
  • 10 cloves Garlic, diced
  • 10 small White Onions, chopped
  • 10 small Zucchini, diced
  • 10 small Yellow Squash, diced
  • 10 bunch Asparagus, cut into 1-inch pieces
  • 10 medium Yellow Bell Peppers, julienned
  • 10 pints Cherry Tomatoes, halved
  • Salt, to taste
  • Black Pepper, to taste
  • 20 leaves Fresh Basil, torn
  1.  Cook pasta according to directions.
  2. As the pasta cooks, heat the olive oil in a large skillet.  Add the garlic and onions, and sauté for 5 minutes (or until onions become translucent).
  3. Add the zucchini, yellow squash, asparagus, and yellow bell peppers.  Sauté until heated through, but still crisp.
  4. Add tomatoes, salt, and pepper, and sauté for 2 minutes.
  5. Drain pasta, and mix together with veggie skillet mix.  Toss in the basil, and serve.

(Recipe Credit)

Batch of 500 Cinnamon Rolls

Dough

  • 7 ounces Active Yeast
  • 16 pounds All-Purpose Bleached Wheat Flour
  • 16 pounds Whole-Grain Wheat Flour
  • 2 pounds 3 ounces Non-Fat Milk Powder
  • 2 pounds 12 ounces Granulated Sugar
  • 14 ounces Salt
  • 2 quarts 3/4 cup Soybean Oil
  • 2 1/4 gallons 1 cup Water
  • 6 pounds 1 ounce Non Hydrogenated Margarine

Cinnamon Spread

  • 5 pounds 6 ounces Light Brown Sugar
  • 9 pounds Granulated Sugar
  • 1 1/2 cup Ground Cinnamon
  • 2 13 ounce cans plus 2 ounces Condensed Evaporated Milk
  1. Bring all ingredients and utensils to room temperature.
  2. Mix yeast, flours, milk powder, sugar, and salt on setting for 4 minutes.
  3. Slowly add in oil and water, then mix on setting for 14 minutes.
  4. Turn the mixer off, and let dough rise in warm area (about 90°F) for 45-60 minutes.
  5. Place dough on lightly floured surface and weigh out balls at 3 pounds 6 ounces each.
  6. Mix light brown sugar, granulated sugar, ground cinnamon, and evaporated milk until it becomes a spreadable paste.
  7. Roll each ball of dough into a rectangle 25”x10”x1/4”.
  8. Spread cinnamon mixture over rectangle (about ½ cup per rectangle).
  9. Roll each rectangle into long, slender roll (with cinnamon spread on the inside). Cut each roll into uniform one-inch pieces.
  10. Place rolls on lightly floured sheet pans, and cover with a bag.
  11. Place in a warm area (about 90°) until double in size – about 25-30 minutes.
  12. Bake the cinnamon rolls until lightly browned: 400° in a conventional oven for 18-20 minutes and 325° in a convection oven for 12-14 minutes.

Optional: Frost with white glaze frosting

Serving Size: 2 ounces
(Recipe Credit)

Macaroni Salad for 100 People

  • 24 pounds Elbow Macaroni, cooked and cooled
  • 6 pounds Creamy Salad Dressing
  • 2 quarts Carrots, shredded
  • 7 cups Celery, diced
  • 2 cups Onions, chopped
  • 16 ounces Sweet Pickle Relish
  • 4 teaspoon Black Pepper
  • 4 tablespoon Dry Mustard
  • 4 teaspoon Salt
  • 2 tablespoon Paprika, for garnish
  1. Mix cooled elbow macaroni with salad dressing.
  2. Add carrots, celery, onions, relish, black pepper, dry mustard, and salt, and toss gently so the macaroni doesn’t tear.
  3. Garnish with paprika, cover, then refrigerate until ready to serve.

Serving Size: 1 cup
(Recipe Credit)

Where to Find More Recipes

Other areas that you can find recipes scaled large enough for the food service industry, include:

Have other large recipes you’d like to share? Or tips for serving the masses? Let us know below.

About Kasy Allen

Kasy Allen is the owner and lead marketing strategist of Annapurna Digital, a digital marketing agency. In addition to working with Tundra Restaurant Supply with their online marketing strategies, Kasy has helped many online brands find their online voice and an online marketing strategy that brings in the right users and increased revenue. When not in the office, Kasy can be found exploring the great outdoors of the Colorado Rocky Mountains.

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