Grams of dry couscous to millilitres runs on one number, 1.3916955 millilitres per gram. It is a measured property of this ingredient rather than a defined conversion, which is why a generic volume-to-weight tool cannot give you it.
Put next to water — 1 g per mL exactly — dry couscous measures 0.71855 g per mL. That ratio, 71.85%, is what separates this page from every other ingredient in the same units, and it is measured rather than defined.
Dry couscous has a density of 0.71855 g per mL, so 100 mL of it weighs 71.85 g and 250 mL weighs 179.6 g. That single figure is what every other number on this page is built from — water is 1.00 g per mL, so this ingredient is 71.85% as heavy as the same volume of water.
Grams are the unit this conversion is really for. A domestic scale resolves to a gram, which is 0.588% of a cup of dry couscous, so weighing gets an accuracy no measuring cup can reach. A 500 g pack of it is 2.941 cups, and a 1 kg pack 5.882.
What the number depends on: Before steaming. It roughly triples in volume once hydrated, which is why the dry weight is the useful one.
The formula
grams- The amount of dry couscous you are converting, in grams
1.39169550882- Millilitres per gram for dry couscous, from its density of 0.71855 g/mL
millilitres- The equivalent quantity in millilitres
How it works, step by step
- Enter the quantity in grams.
- It is multiplied by 1.39169550882, the millilitres-per-gram figure for dry couscous.
- The result appears in millilitres, with a second reading in tsp beneath it.
- Use the measure table if you want a standard recipe quantity rather than a number you type in.
Worked examples
50 g of dry couscous in millilitres
Take 50 g of dry couscous: 50 × 1.3916955 gives 69.5848 millilitres. Doubling the batch takes it to 139.17 millilitres, because the relationship is a straight proportion once the density is known.
150 g of dry couscous in millilitres
150 g of dry couscous weighs out at 208.754 millilitres. Divide 208.754 by 1.3916955 and you get back to 150 g, which is the quickest check that the factor is the right way up.
500 g of dry couscous in millilitres
500 g of dry couscous weighs out at 695.848 millilitres. Divide 695.848 by 1.3916955 and you get back to 500 g, which is the quickest check that the factor is the right way up.
How to read your score
Frequently asked questions
How many millilitres are in 1 g of dry couscous?
One gram of dry couscous is 1.3916955 millilitres. Half that quantity is 0.695848 millilitres and double it is 2.78339 millilitres, so the figure scales straight up and down — there is no offset in this conversion, only the factor.
Why is a cup of dry couscous not 236 g like water?
Because weight per cup depends on what is in the cup. Dry couscous has a density of 0.71855 g per mL where water has 1.00, so a cup of it weighs 170 g rather than 236.6 g. That is a difference of 66.6 g per cup, and it is the reason a single volume-to-weight factor cannot be applied to every ingredient.
Does how I measure it change the weight?
Yes, and by more than most people expect. Handling changes the weight of a cup of dry couscous by roughly 20% — about 17 g either side of 170 g — because before steaming. Weighing removes the question entirely.
Is a fluid ounce of dry couscous the same as an ounce?
No. A fluid ounce is a volume — one eighth of a US cup, 29.57 mL — and an ounce is a weight. One fluid ounce of dry couscous weighs 0.7496 oz, so the two readings differ by 25%. They coincide only for something with the density of water, and then only roughly.
Is this a US cup or a metric cup?
US customary: 236.59 mL, which is the cup every US recipe means. A metric cup is 250 mL, so the same cup of dry couscous would weigh 179.64 g instead of 170 g — 9.64 g more, or 5.67%. Australian and some European recipes use the metric cup, and the difference is large enough to matter in baking.
Do I need a scale for this, or will measuring cups do?
At this size the spoon wins. One millilitre of dry couscous is 0.7185 g, and a scale reading to the nearest gram is working at 139% resolution on that — a measuring spoon is the more accurate instrument below about 5 g, which is why spice quantities are still written in spoons.
How much does 15 mL of dry couscous weigh?
15 mL of dry couscous comes to 10.778 g, or 10.778 grams. This page runs that calculation in reverse — enter a weight and it returns the volume — and the ml-to-grams page does it in the direction the question is usually asked.
Dry couscous in grams and millilitres
| Grams | Millilitres | Unrounded |
|---|---|---|
| 5 g | 6.95848 mL | 6.958477544 |
| 10 g | 13.917 mL | 13.91695509 |
| 25 g | 34.7924 mL | 34.79238772 |
| 50 g | 69.5848 mL | 69.58477544 |
| 100 g | 139.17 mL | 139.1695509 |
| 125 g | 173.962 mL | 173.9619386 |
| 150 g | 208.754 mL | 208.7543263 |
| 200 g | 278.339 mL | 278.3391018 |
| 250 g | 347.924 mL | 347.9238772 |
| 300 g | 417.509 mL | 417.5086526 |
| 500 g | 695.848 mL | 695.8477544 |
| 1000 g | 1391.7 mL | 1391.695509 |
Based on 170 g per cup of dry couscous. One gram of dry couscous is 1.3916955 millilitres.
| Measure | Grams | Ounces | Millilitres |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 cup | 170 g | 6 oz | 236.6 mL |
| 3/4 cup | 127.5 g | 4.5 oz | 177.4 mL |
| 2/3 cup | 113.3 g | 4 oz | 157.7 mL |
| 1/2 cup | 85 g | 3 oz | 118.3 mL |
| 1/3 cup | 56.67 g | 2 oz | 78.86 mL |
| 1/4 cup | 42.5 g | 1.5 oz | 59.15 mL |
| 1 tbsp | 10.62 g | 0.375 oz | 14.79 mL |
| 1 tsp | 3.542 g | 0.125 oz | 4.929 mL |
US customary measures: 1 cup = 236.59 mL, 1 tbsp = 14.79 mL, 1 tsp = 4.93 mL.
| Ingredient | Grams per cup | Ounces per cup | Density (g/mL) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steel-cut oats | 160 g | 5.644 oz | 0.6763 |
| Semolina | 167 g | 5.891 oz | 0.7059 |
| Uncooked quinoa | 170 g | 5.997 oz | 0.7185 |
| Dry couscous (this page) | 170 g | 5.997 oz | 0.7185 |
| Uncooked white rice | 185 g | 6.526 oz | 0.7819 |
| Uncooked brown rice | 190 g | 6.702 oz | 0.8031 |
| Dried lentils | 192 g | 6.773 oz | 0.8115 |
Ordered by weight. The spread across this group is why a single generic cups-to-grams factor cannot work.