Pappas Bar-B-Q family packs cost $71.95 to $229.95 and serve 4 to 20 people. The smaller Family Board is $42.95 and serves 3–4. Every pack includes beef, sausage, vegetables, pickles, onions, jalapeños, bread and barbecue sauce; adding a slab of pork ribs costs $26.95 and a whole chicken $9.95. Party trays are priced per person from $11.75 and include plates, silverware and napkins. Bulk barbecue above ten pounds runs $14.25–$14.95 per pound. Trays and bulk orders need 24 hours' notice and are pickup only; value packs are usually same-day.
Which option, at which headcount
The short version, before the tables.
| People | Order this | Roughly | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1–3 | Individual plates | $12–$19 each | Two free sides per plate make plates competitive at this size. |
| 3–4 | Family Board | $42.95 total | 1.5 lbs of three meats, four ribs, two family sides. About $11–$14 a head. |
| 4–6 | Value Pack 1 or meat by the pound | $71.95, or ~$30 in meat | By the pound is cheaper if you supply your own sides and bread. |
| 6–12 | Value Pack 2, 3 or 4 | $98.95–$142.95 | Best per-head figures on the menu. Everything included. |
| 12–20 | Value Pack 5 or 6 | $199.95–$229.95 | Pack 6 at $229.95 for 17–20 is the cheapest per head anywhere on this menu. |
| 20+ / formal | Party trays or bulk | $11.75+ pp / $14.25+ lb | Trays bring plates, silverware and napkins. 24 hours' notice. |
Family Board — $42.95
The smallest bundle and the one most people should start with.
What's in it
- Half a pound of beef brisket
- Half a pound of pulled pork
- Half a pound of link sausage
- Four pork ribs
- Two family-size sides
That is a pound and a half of sliced and pulled meat plus four bones, which is genuinely enough for four adults with the sides. At $42.95 it lands between $10.74 and $14.32 a head.
Is it better than four plates?
Four brisket plates cost $67.80. The Family Board is $42.95 and gives you three meats plus ribs instead of one meat — a saving of nearly twenty-five dollars with more variety.
What you lose is choice: everyone eats the same three meats, and you get two family sides for the table rather than two sides each. For a family dinner that's a non-issue. For four colleagues with different preferences, plates still win.
The six value packs
Each includes beef, sausage, vegetables, pickles, onions, jalapeños, bread and barbecue sauce. Available for pickup; call the location nearest you.
Value packs
Per-head figures below are calculated across the stated serving range. Add a slab of pork ribs for $26.95 or a whole chicken for $9.95.
| Pack | Per person | Total |
|---|---|---|
| Value Pack 1Serves 4–6 | $12.00–$17.99 | $71.95+ |
| Value Pack 2Serves 6–8 | $12.37–$16.49 | $98.95+ |
| Value Pack 3Serves 8–10 | $12.20–$15.24 | $121.95+ |
| Value Pack 4Serves 10–12 | $11.91–$14.30 | $142.95+ |
| Value Pack 5Serves 14–17 | $11.76–$14.28 | $199.95+ |
| Value Pack 6Serves 17–20 | $11.50–$13.53 | $229.95+ |
The per-head curve is flatter than you'd expect. Going from Pack 1 to Pack 6 — quadrupling the headcount — only drops the cost per person by about fifty cents at the low estimate. Pappas hasn't built a steep bulk discount into the packs. The practical consequence: pick the pack that matches your actual headcount rather than sizing up hoping to save money, because you won't save much and you'll have leftovers.
Add-ons worth taking
- A slab of pork ribs, $26.95. The same slab bought separately is $29.95, so the pack add-on saves three dollars. It also adds the one thing the packs lack — something to eat with your hands.
- A whole chicken, $9.95. Against $15.95 for a whole chicken bought on its own, this is the single biggest discount on the menu — six dollars off, a 38% saving. If you're buying a pack, add the chicken almost regardless of whether you planned to.
- Gallons of tea, $7.95. Not part of the pack, but see the drinks maths — it saves twenty dollars over cups at a dozen people.
Party trays
Priced per person, with the full service kit included. 24 hours' notice.
Trays for pickup
Each tray includes your meats, two vegetables, pickles, onions, jalapeños, barbecue sauce, bread, plates, silverware and paper napkins.
| Item | Price |
|---|---|
| One or Two Meatsper person | $11.75+ |
| Three Meatsper person | $12.25+ |
| Four Meatsper person | $12.75+ |
Vegetables, choose two: spicy rice, ranch beans, lima beans, cucumber salad, potato salad, yams, macaroni salad, coleslaw. Note that lima beans appear on the tray vegetable list but not on the standard nine-side plate list — catering is the only place you'll find them.
Bulk barbecue to-go
Choose your meat: beef, turkey, sausage, pork, ham, ribs or chicken (half or whole). Each order includes barbecue sauce, pickles, onions and jalapeños. 24-hour notice, pickup only.
| Item | Price |
|---|---|
| 10 – 19 lbsper lb | $14.95+ |
| 20 – 49 lbsper lb | $14.55+ |
| 50 lbs & upper lb | $14.25+ |
Bulk pricing is not the cheap option. At $14.25–$14.95 a pound, bulk to-go costs roughly double the $7.75 counter price for brisket by the pound. What you're paying for is guaranteed volume held for you at a set time, with sauce and trimmings, on 24 hours' notice. For fifty pounds of barbecue that reliability is the whole point — but if you only need three pounds, walk up to the counter instead.
Meat by the pound
The cheapest barbecue on this menu, and the option most people forget exists.
Counter pricing
No sides, but sauce, pickles, onions and jalapeños are included. No notice needed — walk up and order.
| Item | Price |
|---|---|
| Beef BrisketSliced or chopped, per lb | $7.75+ |
| Turkey Breastper lb | $7.25+ |
| Chicken Breastper lb | $7.25+ |
| Pulled Porkper lb | $6.25+ |
| Pork or Beef Sausageper lb | $6.25+ |
| Hickory Smoked Hamper lb | $5.75+ |
| Jumbo 1/2 Chickeneach | $10.95 |
| Whole Chickeneach — or $9.95 as a pack add-on | $15.95 |
| Baby Back Ribsfull slab | $22.95 |
| Whole Brisket6–8 lbs, untrimmed and unsliced | $22.95+ |
| Pork Ribsfull slab | $29.95 |
| Beef Ribsfull slab | $31.95 |
The four-person test
Four people want barbecue. Here are the three honest ways to do it:
- Four brisket plates: $67.80. Everyone gets their own two sides, bread and pickles, and nobody has to portion anything.
- Family Board: $42.95. Three meats plus four ribs and two family sides. Saves $24.85 and adds variety.
- By the pound: one pound of brisket ($7.75) plus one pound of sausage ($6.25) plus four standard sides ($11.80) is $25.80 — but you're eating off your own plates at home with your own bread.
The by-the-pound route is $42 cheaper than plates for the same amount of meat. That gap is the single most useful fact on this website, and it widens with every extra person you add.
Gluten-Free Texas Dinner
Listed on the gluten-free menu but available to order regardless. Three sliced meats at half a pound each with three large sides.
| Item | Price |
|---|---|
| Texas Dinner3 sliced meats, 1/2 lb each & 3 large sides | $38.95+ |
Catering questions
How much is a Pappas Bar-B-Q family pack?
Six value packs run from $71.95 (serves 4–6) to $229.95 (serves 17–20). The smaller Family Board is $42.95 and serves 3–4. Every pack includes beef, sausage, vegetables, pickles, onions, jalapeños, bread and barbecue sauce. Adding a slab of pork ribs costs $26.95 and a whole chicken $9.95.
Value pack or party tray — which is cheaper?
Value packs are cheaper per head at every size. Value Pack 3 at $121.95 for 8–10 people works out at roughly $12.20–$15.24 a head; a three-meat party tray is $12.25 per person before you add drinks or dessert. The tray's advantage is control — you choose up to four meats and it arrives with plates, silverware and napkins, which matters at an office or a hall.
How much notice does Pappas Bar-B-Q need for catering?
Party trays and bulk to-go orders need 24 hours. Value packs can usually be collected the same day if you phone ahead, but calling in the morning for an evening pickup is safer, particularly at weekends. Add-on rib slabs are the item most likely to need notice.
How much barbecue per person should I order?
The industry rule is a third to a half pound of cooked meat per adult when there are sides. Pappas' own pack sizing is more generous than that, which is why the packs feel like good value. For a self-assembled order: one pound of brisket plus one pound of sausage plus two family sides comfortably feeds four adults for around $30 in meat.
Can I order a whole brisket?
Yes — $22.95+ for a whole 6–8 lb brisket, untrimmed and unsliced. That is by far the cheapest brisket on the menu per pound, but you are buying it raw-weight-style with fat cap on and doing the trimming and slicing yourself. For most people the $7.75 per pound sliced counter price is the better deal.
Packs are pickup only — find your store
Sixteen Pappas Bar-B-Q locations across Houston, Pasadena, Humble, The Woodlands, Dallas and Duncanville, with the phone number for each.