The Complete Braai Shopping List
A braai shopping list is not just meat. It is the wors, the wood, the firelighters, the salt, the rolls you forgot, and the ice you definitely forgot. This is the full list, sized for 4, 8, 12, 20 and 50 guests. Print this page. The calculator will cost the same basket in your currency if you want a total.
Open the Braai Calculator →
1. Meat
Plan for 400-500g raw meat per adult. Full breakdown here.
| Item | 4 | 8 | 12 | 20 | 50 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boerewors | 0.8 kg | 1.6 kg | 2.4 kg | 4 kg | 10 kg |
| Rump or sirloin | 1 kg | 2 kg | 3 kg | 5 kg | 12.5 kg |
| Lamb chops (optional) | 0.4 kg | 0.8 kg | 1.2 kg | 2 kg | 5 kg |
| Chicken pieces | 0.6 kg | 1.2 kg | 1.8 kg | 3 kg | 7.5 kg |
2. Sides
| Item | 4 | 8 | 12 | 20 | 50 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mielie meel (2.5kg pack) | 1 pack | 1 pack | 1 pack | 2 packs | 2 packs |
| Tomato & onion smoor (cans) | 2 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 25 |
| Potato salad 500g | 1 tub | 2 tubs | 3 tubs | 5 tubs | 13 tubs |
| Greek/garden salad 500g | 1 tub | 2 tubs | 3 tubs | 5 tubs | 13 tubs |
| Hotdog/burger rolls (6-pack) | 2 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 17 |
| Garlic bread loaf | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 8 |
3. Drinks
| Item | 4 | 8 | 12 | 20 | 50 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beer (340-440 ml each) | 8 | 16 | 24 | 40 | 100 |
| 2 L Coca-Cola | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 13 |
| 1.5 L sparkling water | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 9 |
| Brandy 750ml (optional) | - | 1 | 2 | 3 | 7 |
| Wine bottles (optional) | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 12 |
4. Sauces, spices, oils
- Salt & coarse pepper
- Spur sauce / Mrs Ball's chutney
- Tomato sauce + mustard
- Mayonnaise (for the potato salad and the boerie rolls)
- Worcestershire / Steers monkeygland (optional)
- Cooking oil for the salad & brushing meat
- Lemon juice or lemons (for the chicken)
- Robertson's Spice for Chops, BBQ Spice, Chicken Spice, at minimum one
5. Fire & equipment (the easy-to-forget extras)
- Charcoal or wood (4 kg covers a braai for 8; 8 kg for 20; 20 kg for 50, plus a second fire if the grid is small)
- Firelighters or blitz
- Matches / long lighter
- Tin foil (for potatoes & covering finished meat)
- Tongs & basting brush
- Sharp knife & cutting board
- Paper towel
- Bin bags
- Ice (1 kg per 4 guests)
- Disposable plates & cutlery (only if you really want to)
6. The "you'll regret forgetting these" list
- Lemons, for the gin and the fish
- Extra rolls (someone always wants a second boerie roll)
- Marinade ingredients (yoghurt, garlic, paprika for the chicken)
- Toothpicks
- An extra 6-pack, always
What does this all cost?
Use the calculator for a total in your country. A braai for 8 with all three meats, sides, beers and brandy comes out around R2,158–R2,265 at Pick n Pay / Checkers. At Woolworths, closer to R2,326. Pick n Pay is an estimate from the 25 September 2026 check. Checkers and Woolworths are estimates from the 24 September 2026 check. Those are planning numbers, not a till slip.
For SA expats: roughly $228 / £187 / A$326 in the USA, UK and Australia for the same full basket. The UK and Australia totals are estimates from the 25 September 2026 check, except Tesco 2L Coke and Woolworths Australia sparkling water, which are older estimates. The USA total is an older estimate.
A note on 30–50 people
Once you pass about 25 guests, supermarket tubs of salad become silly. For a 50-person fire, either make potato salad in a catering bowl the night before, or order trays from a deli. Two 2.5 kg maize packs still cover the pap; the constraint is pots and burners, not mealie meal. At that size, assign one person to drinks and ice only, or the host will never leave the grid.
For a total in rand, dollars, pounds or Australian dollars, put the same guest count into the calculator rather than multiplying the 8-person figure in your head. Shared packs (pap, brandy, a 2 L Coke) do not scale in a straight line.