Publix Party Platters and How Many to Order
Publix party platters are labeled for about 4, 10, 18 or 28 people. Publix’s own sandwich platter guide is stingier, counting 15 people for a medium platter and 25 for a large.
That gap matters when the platters are the whole meal. So does temperature, because Publix serves its fried chicken platters cold and sells hot chicken separately.
How many people each platter size feeds
Every platter on publix.com lists a head count next to each size, usually about 10, 18 or 28 people, plus about 4 where there’s a mini. Publix’s deli platters page repeats those numbers as advice from its catering party planners, with the mini at about 5, and the FAQ on its game day page gives the same four.
The sandwich platters page is the odd one out. Its sizing guide puts the two biggest sizes three people lower.
Publix’s news site used ranges instead in a February 2022 game day post, with 4 to 6 people for a mini platter, 8 to 12 for a small and 16 to 20 for a medium.
We’d plan from the sandwich guide’s lower numbers whenever the platters are the whole meal, such as an office lunch with nothing else on the table. For 18 people that means a large platter, not the medium the label suggests.
The label’s numbers are fine when the platters share the table with chips, sides and a cake. The sandwich platters themselves are priced size by size in our breakdown of Publix sub platter prices.
Hot chicken comes in a box
Publix’s platter FAQ says its fried chicken platters, tenders and wings included, are served chilled rather than warm.
The hot versions are sold separately, mostly as boxes, and the game day page says Publix makes its chicken tender boxes fresh in the store and serves them hot. These prices come from publix.com for Publix’s Southgate Shopping Center store in Lakeland, Florida (#1270), on October 23, 2026.
| Served hot | Serves | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Chicken Tender Box, fried or baked | 10, 18 or 28 | $31.99, $53.99 or $75.99 |
| Popcorn chicken, plain or hot and spicy | 10, 18 or 28 | $23.99, $39.99 or $59.99 |
| Fried chicken wings, 50 pieces | About 10 | $39.99 |
| Meatball marinara or pepperoni pizza sliders | About 5 | $16.99 |
| Smoked pulled pork or Cuban style mojo pork sliders | About 5 | $19.99 |
Prices vary by store. Each hot box costs the same as its chilled platter twin at every size, so taking tenders or popcorn chicken cold only makes sense if you’re collecting them hours before the party.
Bone-in chicken comes hot too, in fried chicken boxes from 16 to 200 pieces.
The fried tender and popcorn boxes come with a choice of nine sauces, from honey mustard and ranch to hot honey and spicy gold. Publix’s photos show the chicken on a serving dish, but the product pages note the dish isn’t included. The wings page goes further and suggests arranging them on “a large, sturdy platter,” so bring one.
The sliders come in one small size on Hawaiian rolls. The pepperoni pizza version is listed for about 4 on the menu and 5 on its own page, one more case of Publix head counts that don’t match.
What to order for a kids’ party
Publix’s deli platters page suggests the honey and banana roll-up platter for a kids’ party. It’s one of three roll-up platters, and all three cost $16.99 for about 10, $22.99 for about 18 and $27.99 for about 28 at the Lakeland store.
The pizza roll-ups are white and wheat wraps with marinara, Boar’s Head pepperoni and mozzarella, at 120 calories each. The meat and cheese roll-ups hold sweet ham, oven roasted turkey or half of each, with American cheese and a cream cheese spread.
The honey and banana roll-ups add cinnamon and almonds, and Publix lists both wheat and almonds as ingredients. Check that before a class party with a nut rule.
The sandwich platters page also calls its pinwheels a hit at kids’ parties. We’d still pick roll-ups for children. A large pizza roll-up platter for about 28 costs $27.99, while a large Publix Deli Pinwheels Platter for the same crowd costs $74.99, with grown-up fillings like marinated artichokes and garlic and herb spread.
Vegetarian platters at the deli
Beyond the fruit, vegetable and cheese trays, these deli platters can be ordered with no meat at all. Prices vary by store.
- Publix Deli Veggie Sub Platter, $23.99, $35.99 or $48.99 for about 10, 18 or 28
- Publix Deli Veggie Wrap Platter, $25.99, $39.99 or $49.99 for the same three sizes
- Publix Deli Pinwheels Platter with the vegetarian filling of spinach, mushrooms, artichokes, sunflower seeds and guacamole, $39.99, $59.99 or $74.99
- Publix Deli Veggie Ringleader, a party sandwich for about 10, $20.99
- Boar’s Head Mediterranean Style Veggie Lettuce Wrap platter, hummus, carrots, bell peppers and feta rolled in lettuce, $14.99 for 8 to 12
- Publix Deli Deviled Egg Platter, from $6.99 for about 4 to $39.99 for about 28
The veggie sub, wrap and Ringleader can be made with Chao vegan cheese or no cheese, and the wrap platter offers a gluten-free white wrap among its six wraps. The deli’s allergen note still warns that anything it makes may have touched wheat, milk, eggs, tree nuts and other allergens.
Both naan platters carry chicken, so they don’t count here.
Dessert platters by the piece
Bakery platters list how many pieces they hold, and that number is a better guide than the head count. Publix’s 21-piece chocolate covered strawberry platter, for one, is listed for about 10 people on the catering menu and 10 to 15 on its own page.
| Dessert platter | Pieces | Serves | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chocolate Strawberry Crispie, small | 12 | 10 or 12 | $13.99 |
| Chocolate Covered Strawberry, medium | 21 | 10 to 15 | $24.99 |
| Mini Cannoli, medium | 23 | 15 to 20 | $21.99 |
| Macaron Strawberry, medium | 30 | 15 to 20 | $42.99 |
| Donut Bite, medium | 60 | About 18 | $22.99 |
| Gourmet Cookie Bite, large | 96 | About 28 | $38.99 |
Prices vary by store. Where a platter shows two serving counts, the menu card gives the lower one and the product page the higher.
Worked out from those counts, Publix plans on one or two pieces a guest for the strawberry, cannoli and macaron platters, and more than three for the cookie and donut bites. When strawberries are the only dessert, order by the piece count.
For a football party, the game day page adds a brownie bite platter decorated like footballs, $16.99 for 8 to 10, and a football field cake with 24 cupcakes in team colors that serves 34 to 36 for $79.99.
A crowd that size is also sheet cake territory, and our list of sheet cake sizes and prices runs through every option.
Timing the pickup
Almost every platter shows “Ready as soon as tomorrow,” and the platter pages can filter by party size and pickup time. Some platters ordered before noon can be picked up any time the next day, a rule our guide to cold cut and cheese trays explains.
Plan the pickup around the hot food. Chilled platters can wait in the fridge, but a hot box is best collected last, close to when guests arrive.
The FDA’s buffet guidance says perishable food shouldn’t sit out for more than 2 hours, or 1 hour above 90 degrees. It also says to swap nearly empty dishes for freshly filled ones rather than topping them up.
For a long party, two smaller platters with one held back in the fridge follow that advice better than one big platter left out all afternoon.
For a bigger event, Publix’s catering consultants at select stores will help work out the right amount of food. Our breakdown of sub, wrap and fruit platter prices covers the rest of the catering menu.
