Dry to Cooked Yields: Rice, Pasta, Grains and Beans Chart
Most dry grains roughly triple in volume when cooked: 1 cup of uncooked white rice makes about 3 cups cooked. Dried pasta a little more than doubles in weight, and dried beans gain about 2.3 times their weight and swell to 2½–3 times their volume.
Assumptions used on this page
- US cup, 236.6 mL, spooned and levelled for dry foods.
- Standard cooking methods: rice and grains by absorption, pasta boiled to al dente and drained, beans soaked then simmered until tender.
- Cooked weight is the drained weight. Softer, longer-cooked food absorbs more water and weighs more.
- All figures are rounded averages. Brands, grain age and cooking time shift them by about 10%.
Rice and grains
| Grain (1 US cup dry) | Dry weight | Cooked volume | Cooked weight | Weight gain |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Long-grain white rice | 185 g | 3 cups | 480 g | ×2.6 |
| Basmati or jasmine rice | 185 g | 3 cups | 480 g | ×2.6 |
| Brown rice | 190 g | 3–3½ cups | 600 g | ×3.1 |
| Wild rice | 160 g | 3½ cups | 570 g | ×3.6 |
| Quinoa | 170 g | 3 cups | 555 g | ×3.3 |
| Pearl barley | 200 g | 3½ cups | 550 g | ×2.75 |
| Bulgur (medium) | 140 g | 3 cups | 545 g | ×3.9 |
| Couscous (instant) | 175 g | 3 cups | 470 g | ×2.7 |
| Rolled oats (as porridge) | 90 g | 2 cups | 470 g | ×5 |
| Steel-cut oats | 160 g | 3½–4 cups | 880 g | ×5.5 |
| Cornmeal (as soft polenta) | 140 g | 4 cups | 950 g | ×6.8 |
For the water each grain needs, see the rice to water ratio chart.
Pasta and noodles
Pasta is easiest to portion by weight, because shapes pack into a cup very differently.
| Pasta | Dry | Cooked | Weight gain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dried spaghetti, linguine | 100 g | 220–250 g | ×2.2–2.5 |
| Dried short shapes (penne, fusilli) | 100 g (about 1 cup) | 220–250 g (about 2 cups) | ×2.2–2.5 |
| Elbow macaroni | 1 cup (105 g) | About 2 cups (250 g) | ×2.4 |
| Dried egg noodles | 1 cup wide (40 g) | About 1 cup (100 g) | ×2.5 |
| Fresh egg pasta | 100 g | 130–150 g | ×1.3–1.5 |
Fresh pasta already contains about 25–30% water, so it absorbs far less as it cooks. A 2 oz (56 g) bundle of spaghetti, about 2.5 cm (1 in) across, makes roughly 1 cup cooked.
Dried beans, lentils and peas
| Legume (1 US cup dry) | Dry weight | Cooked volume | Cooked weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chickpeas | 200 g | 3 cups | 480 g |
| Black beans | 195 g | 2½ cups | 450 g |
| Kidney beans | 185 g | 2½–3 cups | 430 g |
| Navy or cannellini beans | 200 g | 2½–3 cups | 460 g |
| Brown or green lentils | 190 g | 2½ cups | 480 g |
| Red lentils | 190 g | 2 cups (they break down) | 450 g |
| Split peas | 200 g | 2 cups | 450 g |
Dried beans vs canned
| Can size | Drained beans | Dried beans to replace it |
|---|---|---|
| US 15 oz (425 g) | About 1½ cups, 250 g | About ½ cup, 110 g |
| Canadian 540 mL (19 oz) | About 2 cups, 330 g | About ¾ cup, 140 g |
Vegetables and meat shrink
Not everything grows. Foods full of water shrink as moisture cooks out.
| Food (raw) | Cooked yield | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Spinach, 300 g (about 10 cups loose) | About 1½ cups, 1 cup squeezed | Cell walls collapse and release water |
| Mushrooms, 450 g | 225–270 g (loses 40–50%) | About 90% water, much of it evaporates |
| Onions for caramelizing, 1 kg | 250–350 g, about 1–1½ cups | Long, slow cooking drives off 65–75% of the weight |
| Boneless meat or poultry, 113 g (4 oz) | About 85 g (3 oz) | Proteins tighten and squeeze out juice |
| Bacon, 450 g | About 150 g | Fat renders out and water evaporates |
As a rule of thumb, boneless meat, poultry and fish lose about 20–30% of their weight when cooked to standard doneness. Lean cuts cooked well done lose the most.
Why grains and beans swell
Starch granules in grains and legumes are tightly packed and dry. Heated in water past about 60–80 °C / 140–175 °F, they soak up water, swell and soften. This is starch gelatinization. Beans also rehydrate their protein and fibre-rich skins, which is why soaking speeds up cooking.
Chef Fizz says: Tracking macros? Weigh your pasta dry, write it down, then cook. Water has zero calories, but it sure makes the scale jump!
Converting a portion
If you only have cooked food, divide by the weight gain: 250 g of cooked white rice is about 250 ÷ 2.6 ≈ 95 g dry. For the most accurate tracking, weigh the whole cooked batch, divide by the number of servings, and use the dry weight on the package for the totals.
Questions
How much does rice expand when cooked?
White rice roughly triples in volume and gains about 2.6 times its weight. One cup (185 g) of uncooked long-grain rice makes about 3 cups, or about 480 g, of cooked rice.
How much dry pasta per person?
About 75 to 100 g (2 1/2 to 3 1/2 oz) of dried pasta per person for a main course, or 50 to 60 g (2 oz) as a side or with a rich sauce. 100 g dry becomes about 220 to 250 g cooked.
How many cups of cooked beans are in 1 pound of dried beans?
About 6 cups, or roughly 1 kg. One pound (454 g) of dried beans replaces about four 15 oz (425 g) US cans or three 540 mL Canadian cans.
Should I weigh food raw or cooked for calories?
Weigh it dry or raw when you can, because nutrition labels on rice, pasta and dried beans are for the uncooked product. Cooked weight changes with how much water is absorbed, so it's less consistent.