To convert cups of potato starch into pounds, multiply by 0.35273962: one cup comes to 0.35273962 pounds. 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 0.67628 g per mL, against 1.00 for water. A cup of water weighs 236.6 g and a cup of potato starch weighs 160 g, so this ingredient is 67.63% as heavy as the same volume of water — the single fact the whole page rests on.
A cup of potato starch is 160 g when it is measured the standard way, but how it gets into the cup changes the answer: between about 144 g and 192 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 potato starch is bought rather than cooked, so this is the bag-size arithmetic: one pound is 2.835 cups, a 2 lb pack is 5.67 cups and a 5 lb sack is 14.17. That last figure is the one worth knowing before a large bake — it tells you whether one bag covers the recipe.
How the figure is arrived at: Denser than cornstarch, and not the same product as potato flour despite the similar name.
The formula
cups- The amount of potato starch you are converting, in cups
0.352739619496- Pounds per cup for potato starch, from its density of 0.67628 g/mL
pounds- The equivalent quantity in pounds
How it works, step by step
- Enter the quantity in cups.
- It is multiplied by 0.352739619496, the pounds-per-cup figure for potato starch.
- The result appears in pounds, with a second reading in g beneath it.
- Use the measure table if you want a standard recipe quantity rather than a number you type in.
Worked examples
1/3 cup of potato starch in pounds
A recipe calling for 1/3 cup of potato starch needs 0.11758 pounds on the scale. The arithmetic is 0.333333 × 0.35273962 = 0.11757987, and halving the recipe halves the weight to 0.0587899 pounds.
3/4 cup of potato starch in pounds
Take 3/4 cup of potato starch: 0.75 × 0.35273962 gives 0.264555 pounds. Doubling the batch takes it to 0.529109 pounds, because the relationship is a straight proportion once the density is known.
3 cup of potato starch in pounds
3 cup of potato starch weighs out at 1.05822 pounds. Divide 1.05822 by 0.35273962 and you get back to 3 cup, which is the quickest check that the factor is the right way up.
How to read your score
Frequently asked questions
How many pounds are in 1 cup of potato starch?
One cup of potato starch is 0.35273962 pounds. Half that quantity is 0.17637 pounds and double it is 0.705479 pounds, so the figure scales straight up and down — there is no offset in this conversion, only the factor.
Why is a cup of potato starch not 236 g like water?
Because weight per cup depends on what is in the cup. Potato starch has a density of 0.67628 g per mL where water has 1.00, so a cup of it weighs 160 g rather than 236.6 g. That is a difference of 76.6 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 potato starch by roughly 20% — about 16 g either side of 160 g — because denser than cornstarch, and not the same product as potato flour despite the similar name. Weighing removes the question entirely.
Is a fluid ounce of potato starch 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 potato starch weighs 0.7055 oz, so the two readings differ by 29.5%. 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 potato starch would weigh 169.07 g instead of 160 g — 9.07 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 potato starch — roughly 32 g on a 160 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 many cups of potato starch is 1 lb?
1 lb of potato starch is 2.835 cups — 2.83495 cups to one pound, so 1 × 2.83495 = 2.835. Going that way is a division by 0.35274, or a multiplication by 2.83495 if you prefer.
Potato starch in cups and pounds
| Cups | Pounds | Unrounded |
|---|---|---|
| 1/8 cup | 0.0440925 lb | 0.04409245244 |
| 1/4 cup | 0.0881849 lb | 0.08818490487 |
| 1/3 cup | 0.11758 lb | 0.1175798732 |
| 1/2 cup | 0.17637 lb | 0.1763698097 |
| 2/3 cup | 0.23516 lb | 0.2351597463 |
| 3/4 cup | 0.264555 lb | 0.2645547146 |
| 1 cup | 0.35274 lb | 0.3527396195 |
| 1 1/2 cup | 0.529109 lb | 0.5291094292 |
| 2 cup | 0.705479 lb | 0.705479239 |
| 3 cup | 1.05822 lb | 1.058218858 |
| 4 cup | 1.41096 lb | 1.410958478 |
Based on 160 g per cup of potato starch. One cup of potato starch is 0.35273962 pounds.
| Measure | Grams | Ounces | Millilitres |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 cup | 160 g | 5.64 oz | 236.6 mL |
| 3/4 cup | 120 g | 4.23 oz | 177.4 mL |
| 2/3 cup | 106.7 g | 3.76 oz | 157.7 mL |
| 1/2 cup | 80 g | 2.82 oz | 118.3 mL |
| 1/3 cup | 53.33 g | 1.88 oz | 78.86 mL |
| 1/4 cup | 40 g | 1.41 oz | 59.15 mL |
| 1 tbsp | 10 g | 0.353 oz | 14.79 mL |
| 1 tsp | 3.333 g | 0.118 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) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cornmeal | 138 g | 4.868 oz | 0.5833 |
| Graham cracker crumbs | 142 g | 5.009 oz | 0.6002 |
| Rice flour | 158 g | 5.573 oz | 0.6678 |
| Potato starch (this page) | 160 g | 5.644 oz | 0.6763 |
| 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 |
Ordered by weight. The spread across this group is why a single generic cups-to-grams factor cannot work.