The short version
Two to three per person alongside other desserts. Four to five per person if macarons are the dessert. Round up rather than down — a leftover macaron keeps for days, and running out at your own party does not.
Everything below is a refinement of those two numbers: what to change for children, for a long afternoon, for a table that also has a cake, and how to turn the count into boxes you can actually order.
By guest count
The left column assumes about two and a half per guest, the right column about five, both rounded up to a full box. Anything over 200 pieces needs a custom order and at least 14 days, because that many boxes cannot be baked in a single morning.
| Guests | Alongside other dessert | Macarons as the dessert |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | 24 pieces | 48 pieces |
| 15 | 36 pieces | 72 pieces |
| 20 | 48 pieces | 96 pieces |
| 30 | 72 pieces | 144 pieces |
| 50 | 120 pieces | 240 pieces |
| 100 | 240 pieces | 480 pieces |
By type of event
Events that run for hours always eat more than events with a single dessert moment. A shower or an open house where the table stays out all afternoon should be planned at the top of the range, not the middle.
| Event | Per person | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Office meeting or team treat | 2 | Eaten standing up, between other things |
| Birthday party with cake | 2 | Cake is the main event; macarons are the side table |
| Baby or bridal shower | 3 | A long afternoon, a dessert table, and guests who graze |
| Dinner party, macarons as dessert | 3–4 | Served after a full meal, with coffee |
| Dessert table with no cake | 4–5 | The macarons are the dessert |
| Wedding dessert table beside a cake | 2–3 | Late in the evening, after dinner and cake |
| Wedding favors | 2–4 per favor box | One box per household, not per guest |
See also: Baby shower macarons · Birthday macarons · Wedding macarons · Corporate gifting
Turning the count into boxes
Boxes come in 12, 24 and 36, and every size works out at the same $3 a macaron, so there is no penalty for splitting a large count across smaller boxes. That matters, because each box holds one flavor — splitting is how you get variety.
| You need | One way to order it | Price |
|---|---|---|
| 24 | Two 12s in different flavors | $72 |
| 36 | Three 12s, or one 36 | $108 |
| 48 | Two 24s, or a 36 and a 12 | $144 |
| 72 | Three 24s, or two 36s | $216 |
| 96 | Four 24s | $288 |
| 120 | Five 24s | $360 |
| 144 | Four 36s, or six 24s | $432 |
See also: Build a box
Adjust for the room
- Add a little if the group skews younger — children eat more of them than adults do, and faster.
- Add a little if the macarons are out for a long event rather than served at one moment. A table that is open for three hours empties more than a dessert course does.
- Take a little off if there is a cake as well. Cake is filling in a way macarons are not, and people will take one of each rather than three macarons.
- Take a little off for a lunchtime office event, where most people take one, mean to come back for a second, and then get pulled into a meeting.
- Add a box if the macarons are also the decoration. A tower or a styled table needs to still look full at the end of the evening, which means ordering past what will be eaten.
How many macarons can one person eat?
More than the host expects. A macaron is about the size of a large coin, roughly 12 to 20 grams, and two bites. Most people will eat two without thinking about it and a third if the flavors are different from each other.
As a rough guide, a single macaron is somewhere around 60 to 100 calories depending on the filling — the chocolate and hazelnut end of the collection sits higher than the fruit end. Two or three is a reasonable dessert portion for one adult; the four-to-five figure in the chart only applies when there is nothing else sweet on offer.
Why more flavors makes a table look fuller
Three flavors of twelve look like considerably more than one box of thirty-six, for the same count and the same price. If the table matters, split the order across flavors and colours rather than ordering one large box.
A useful rule is one flavor for every 12 to 24 pieces: two flavors for a small party, three or four for a shower, five or six for a wedding table. Beyond six, the table starts to look busy rather than generous.
See also: How to choose the flavors
Mistakes that leave a table short
- Counting adults only. Children at a family party will each take at least as many as an adult.
- Ordering for the guest list rather than the room. Plus-ones, partners and the neighbour who drops by all eat dessert.
- Ordering too late. Everything is baked to order with three days’ notice, and a popular Saturday can fill earlier than that.
- Forgetting allergies. Every macaron is made with almond flour and egg white, so a guest with a nut allergy needs a different dessert, not fewer macarons.