For the most part, you can just multiply recipe ingredient quantities. What might change, however, is the cooking time, method, and equipment used. In general, larger quantities of food are going to take longer to bake in the oven or cook through in a pan.
Don’t rely on the recipe time suggestions and instead use your senses to determine when something is done.
- For example, a single serving of meat or vegetables might crisp up and brown nicely in a pan, but crowding that same pan with larger quantities can overwhelm the heat source and cause everything to just steam together instead.
- For this reason, try searing ingredients in batches (which can often end up going faster than heating one large batch through), or using a large sheet pan in the oven or broiler.
If you’re hosting — consider preparing all or most component parts of a recipe ahead of time. When your guests arrive, heat the elements through and assemble them into a freshly finished dish.
