To convert pounds of dried lentils into cups, multiply by 2.3624603: one pound comes to 2.3624603 cups. Every ingredient has its own figure here, because the units are measuring different things and only the density links them.
The density behind that figure is 0.81154 g per mL, against 1.00 for water. A cup of water weighs 236.6 g and a cup of dried lentils weighs 192 g, so this ingredient is 81.15% as heavy as the same volume of water — the single fact the whole page rests on.
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.
Pounds are how dried lentils is bought rather than cooked, so this is the bag-size arithmetic: one pound is 2.362 cups, a 2 lb pack is 4.725 cups and a 5 lb sack is 11.81. That last figure is the one worth knowing before a large bake — it tells you whether one bag covers the recipe.
What the number depends on: Brown or green, dry. Split red lentils are a little lighter per cup.
The formula
pounds- The amount of dried lentils you are converting, in pounds
2.36246026042- Cups per pound 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 pounds.
- It is multiplied by 2.36246026042, the cups-per-pound 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
3/4 lb of dried lentils in cups
A recipe calling for 3/4 lb of dried lentils needs 1.77185 cups on the scale. The arithmetic is 0.75 × 2.3624603 = 1.7718452, and halving the recipe halves the weight to 0.885923 cups.
1 1/2 lb of dried lentils in cups
A recipe calling for 1 1/2 lb of dried lentils needs 3.54369 cups on the scale. The arithmetic is 1.5 × 2.3624603 = 3.5436904, and halving the recipe halves the weight to 1.77185 cups.
3 lb of dried lentils in cups
3 lb of dried lentils weighs out at 7.08738 cups. Divide 7.08738 by 2.3624603 and you get back to 3 lb, which is the quickest check that the factor is the right way up.
How to read your score
Frequently asked questions
How many cups are in 1 lb of dried lentils?
One pound of dried lentils is 2.3624603 cups. Half that quantity is 1.18123 cups and double it is 4.72492 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 0.84658 pounds. This page runs that calculation in reverse — enter a weight and it returns the volume — and the cups-to-pounds page does it in the direction the question is usually asked.
Dried lentils in pounds and cups
| Pounds | Cups | Unrounded |
|---|---|---|
| 1/4 lb | 0.590615 cup | 0.5906150651 |
| 1/2 lb | 1.18123 cup | 1.18123013 |
| 3/4 lb | 1.77185 cup | 1.771845195 |
| 1 lb | 2.36246 cup | 2.36246026 |
| 1 1/2 lb | 3.54369 cup | 3.543690391 |
| 2 lb | 4.72492 cup | 4.724920521 |
| 3 lb | 7.08738 cup | 7.087380781 |
| 5 lb | 11.8123 cup | 11.8123013 |
Based on 192 g per cup of dried lentils. One pound of dried lentils is 2.3624603 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.