One gram of dried lentils is 0.0052083333 cups, so converting grams of dried lentils to cups means multiplying by 0.0052083333. That factor is specific to this ingredient — it comes from its density, not from any relationship between the two units.
Put next to water — 1 g per mL exactly — dried lentils measures 0.81154 g per mL. That ratio, 81.15%, is what separates this page from every other ingredient in the same units, and it is measured rather than defined.
A cup of dried lentils is 192 g when it is measured the standard way, but how it gets into the cup changes the answer: between about 172.8 g and 230.4 g covers the range from lightly spooned to firmly packed. That 20% spread is larger than most of the adjustments recipes fuss over, and it disappears entirely the moment the ingredient is weighed instead.
Grams are the unit this conversion is really for. A domestic scale resolves to a gram, which is 0.521% of a cup of dried lentils, so weighing gets an accuracy no measuring cup can reach. A 500 g pack of it is 2.604 cups, and a 1 kg pack 5.208.
What the number depends on: Brown or green, dry. Split red lentils are a little lighter per cup.
The formula
grams- The amount of dried lentils you are converting, in grams
0.00520833333333- Cups per gram for dried lentils, from its density of 0.81154 g/mL
cups- The equivalent quantity in cups
How it works, step by step
- Enter the quantity in grams.
- It is multiplied by 0.00520833333333, the cups-per-gram figure for dried lentils.
- The result appears in cups, with a second reading in tbsp 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 dried lentils in cups
Take 50 g of dried lentils: 50 × 0.0052083333 gives 0.260417 cups. Doubling the batch takes it to 0.520833 cups, because the relationship is a straight proportion once the density is known.
150 g of dried lentils in cups
150 g of dried lentils weighs out at 0.78125 cups. Divide 0.78125 by 0.0052083333 and you get back to 150 g, which is the quickest check that the factor is the right way up.
500 g of dried lentils in cups
A recipe calling for 500 g of dried lentils needs 2.60417 cups on the scale. The arithmetic is 500 × 0.0052083333 = 2.6041667, and halving the recipe halves the weight to 1.30208 cups.
How to read your score
Frequently asked questions
How many cups are in 1 g of dried lentils?
One gram of dried lentils is 0.0052083333 cups. Half that quantity is 0.00260417 cups and double it is 0.0104167 cups, so the figure scales straight up and down — there is no offset in this conversion, only the factor.
Why is a cup of dried lentils not 236 g like water?
Because weight per cup depends on what is in the cup. Dried lentils has a density of 0.81154 g per mL where water has 1.00, so a cup of it weighs 192 g rather than 236.6 g. That is a difference of 44.6 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 dried lentils by roughly 20% — about 19.2 g either side of 192 g — because brown or green, dry. Weighing removes the question entirely.
Is a fluid ounce of dried lentils 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 dried lentils weighs 0.8466 oz, so the two readings differ by 15.3%. 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 dried lentils would weigh 202.88 g instead of 192 g — 10.9 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?
A scale, if the result matters. Volume measuring carries a spread of about 20% for dried lentils — roughly 38.4 g on a 192 g cup — while a domestic scale is accurate to a gram or two. For anything where the ratio of ingredients drives the outcome, bread and pastry above all, weigh it.
How much does 2 cup of dried lentils weigh?
2 cup of dried lentils comes to 384 g, or 384 grams. This page runs that calculation in reverse — enter a weight and it returns the volume — and the cups-to-grams page does it in the direction the question is usually asked.
Dried lentils in grams and cups
| Grams | Cups | Unrounded |
|---|---|---|
| 5 g | 0.0260417 cup | 0.02604166667 |
| 10 g | 0.0520833 cup | 0.05208333333 |
| 25 g | 0.130208 cup | 0.1302083333 |
| 50 g | 0.260417 cup | 0.2604166667 |
| 100 g | 0.520833 cup | 0.5208333333 |
| 125 g | 0.651042 cup | 0.6510416667 |
| 150 g | 0.78125 cup | 0.78125 |
| 200 g | 1.04167 cup | 1.041666667 |
| 250 g | 1.30208 cup | 1.302083333 |
| 300 g | 1.5625 cup | 1.5625 |
| 500 g | 2.60417 cup | 2.604166667 |
| 1000 g | 5.20833 cup | 5.208333333 |
Based on 192 g per cup of dried lentils. One gram of dried lentils is 0.0052083333 cups.
| Measure | Grams | Ounces | Millilitres |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 cup | 192 g | 6.77 oz | 236.6 mL |
| 3/4 cup | 144 g | 5.08 oz | 177.4 mL |
| 2/3 cup | 128 g | 4.52 oz | 157.7 mL |
| 1/2 cup | 96 g | 3.39 oz | 118.3 mL |
| 1/3 cup | 64 g | 2.26 oz | 78.86 mL |
| 1/4 cup | 48 g | 1.69 oz | 59.15 mL |
| 1 tbsp | 12 g | 0.423 oz | 14.79 mL |
| 1 tsp | 4 g | 0.141 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) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dry couscous | 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 (this page) | 192 g | 6.773 oz | 0.8115 |
| Granulated sugar | 200 g | 7.055 oz | 0.8454 |
| Arborio rice | 200 g | 7.055 oz | 0.8454 |
| Dried chickpeas | 200 g | 7.055 oz | 0.8454 |
Ordered by weight. The spread across this group is why a single generic cups-to-grams factor cannot work.