Quinoa: Cups to Grams
One US cup (240 ml) of quinoa weighs about 170 grams, based on its typical kitchen density. Convert any amount below, or use the reference table for common cup fractions.
170 g
1 cups of quinoa, us legal cup
1 cup quinoa = 170 g (cupsngrams.com)
Based on quinoa at 170 g per US cup.
Cup standard: US legal cup (240 ml)
Baking from a UK, Australian or New Zealand recipe? Their cup is not the American one. Pick the standard your recipe assumes and every cup figure above follows it.
Quinoa conversion table
| Cups | Grams | Millilitres | Tablespoons | Ounces (weight) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1/4 cup | 42.5 g | 60 ml | 4 tbsp | 1.5 oz |
| 1/3 cup | 56.7 g | 80 ml | 5.33 tbsp | 2 oz |
| 1/2 cup | 85 g | 120 ml | 8 tbsp | 3 oz |
| 2/3 cup | 113 g | 160 ml | 10.7 tbsp | 4 oz |
| 3/4 cup | 128 g | 180 ml | 12 tbsp | 4.5 oz |
| 1 cup | 170 g | 240 ml | 16 tbsp | 6 oz |
| 1 1/2 cups | 255 g | 360 ml | 24 tbsp | 8.99 oz |
| 2 cups | 340 g | 480 ml | 32 tbsp | 12 oz |
| 2 1/2 cups | 425 g | 600 ml | 40 tbsp | 15 oz |
| 3 cups | 510 g | 720 ml | 48 tbsp | 18 oz |
Ounces here are ounces of weight (1 oz = 28.35 g), not fluid ounces. One US cup is 8 fluid ounces of volume whatever is in it, but what it weighs in ounces depends on the ingredient: a cup of quinoa weighs about 6 oz. Why these two are not the same.
In grams, 1/4 cup of quinoa is about 43 g, 1/3 cup is about 57 g, 1/2 cup is about 85 g, 2/3 cup is about 113 g, 3/4 cup is about 128 g, 1 cup is about 170 g, 1 1/2 cups is about 255 g, 2 cups is about 340 g and 3 cups is about 510 g.
A tablespoon of quinoa is about 10.6 grams, and a teaspoon is about 3.5 grams.
About measuring quinoa
Quinoa is a small, protein-rich seed cooked and eaten like a grain, and one US cup uncooked weighs about 170 grams. The seeds are coated in bitter saponins, which is why most quinoa is rinsed or pre-rinsed by the packer before you cook it. Like rice, quinoa expands a great deal once it absorbs water, so a modest cup of dry seeds turns into a much larger amount of cooked quinoa, useful to know when you are planning portions or scaling a recipe.
Rinse quinoa before cooking unless the bag says pre-rinsed, to wash off the bitter natural coating.
How many grams is a cup of quinoa?
One US cup (240 ml) of quinoa weighs about 170 grams. Because a cup measures volume rather than weight, that figure is specific to quinoa and does not transfer to any other ingredient: the same cup holds 125 grams of all-purpose flour and 340 grams of honey.
- 1/4 cup of quinoa is about 43 grams
- 1/3 cup of quinoa is about 57 grams
- 1/2 cup of quinoa is about 85 grams
- 2/3 cup of quinoa is about 113 grams
- 3/4 cup of quinoa is about 128 grams
- 1 1/2 cups of quinoa is about 255 grams
- 2 cups of quinoa is about 340 grams
- 3 cups of quinoa is about 510 grams
Working the other way round, 100 grams of quinoa is about 0.588 cups, and 500 grams is about 2.94 cups.
Does it matter which cup my recipe means?
It does, though less than the ingredient itself. This page uses the US legal cup of 240 ml. An Australian metric cup is 250 ml, so a metric cup of quinoa comes to about 177 grams, and the old British imperial cup of 284.1 ml holds about 201 grams. See cup sizes by country for every standard side by side.
Frequently asked questions
How many grams is 1 cup of quinoa?
One US cup of uncooked quinoa is about 170 grams. The small seeds settle fairly densely, similar in weight to other whole grains measured dry.
How much does quinoa weigh once cooked?
Cooked quinoa weighs more per cup than dry, since the seeds absorb water and roughly triple in volume, much like rice. Weigh the dry seeds before cooking for an accurate recipe amount.
Why does quinoa need rinsing?
The seeds carry a natural coating called saponin that tastes bitter and soapy if left on. Rinsing under cold water before cooking removes it.
Where this figure comes from
We have not yet found a published reference that states a weight for a cup of quinoa. The 170 grams on this page follows the calibration the rest of the site is built on, with butter at 227 grams per cup, water at 240, all-purpose flour at 125 and granulated sugar at 200. Treat it as a good working figure rather than a cited one. If you have a better source, tell us and we will check it and credit you.
Published figures for the same ingredient vary between references anyway, because how an ingredient is packed changes what a cup of it weighs. Treat any cup figure as accurate to within a few percent, and weigh on a scale when a recipe is sensitive. Our full approach is on the methodology page.
Figures last verified . Compiled by the CupsToGrams editorial team at FusionStudios. Spotted a value that looks off? Tell us.