How Many Grams in a Cup of Quinoa?
One cup of uncooked quinoa weighs 170 grams. Quinoa is a seed, not a grain, and its tiny beads pack the cup densely and evenly — once rinsed, though, surface water changes the measure. This page covers dry quinoa only. Below are the full conversion tables, a converter for any amount, and how to rinse and weigh it.
Convert quinoa (uncooked) instantly
This converter uses the same chef-reviewed database as our Cups to Grams converter for all 128 ingredients. Weights assume a US cup of 236.588 ml; see our methodology and sources.
Cups to grams: quinoa (uncooked)
| Cups | Grams |
|---|---|
| ¼ cup | 43 g |
| ⅓ cup | 57 g |
| ½ cup | 85 g |
| ⅔ cup | 113 g |
| ¾ cup | 128 g |
| 1 cup | 170 g |
| 1½ cups | 255 g |
| 2 cups | 340 g |
| 3 cups | 510 g |
| Measure | Grams |
|---|---|
| 1 tablespoon | 10.6 g |
| 1 teaspoon | 3.54 g |
| 1 cup in ounces | 6 oz |
Grams to cups: quinoa (uncooked)
| Grams | Cups (decimal) | Cups (fraction) |
|---|---|---|
| 50 g | 0.29 cups | ⅓ cups |
| 100 g | 0.59 cups | ⅝ cups |
| 125 g | 0.74 cups | ¾ cups |
| 150 g | 0.88 cups | ⅞ cups |
| 200 g | 1.18 cups | 1 ⅛ cups |
| 250 g | 1.47 cups | 1 ½ cups |
| 300 g | 1.76 cups | 1 ¾ cups |
| 400 g | 2.35 cups | 2 ⅓ cups |
| 500 g | 2.94 cups | 3 cups |
Working with more than one ingredient? The grams in a cup chart puts 40 ingredients in one table, and the Whole Recipe Converter converts a full ingredient list in a single paste.
How to measure quinoa (uncooked) properly
Weigh it dry, then rinse. Quinoa's natural coating (saponin) tastes bitter and soapy, so it must be rinsed — but rinsing adds clinging water that inflates a cup measure. Weigh out the dry grams first, then rinse in a fine sieve and cook; the weight you measured is the weight in the pan.
Water at 1.5 times the weight. For fluffy, separate quinoa, cook it in about 1.5 times its weight of water — 255 grams of water for a 170-gram cup of quinoa — then rest it, covered, off the heat for ten minutes and fluff. Volume ratios wander; weight ratios repeat.
Expect it to triple. A cup of dry quinoa (170 grams) cooks up to roughly 3 cups of fluffy quinoa. Cooked weight varies with how much water it absorbed, which is why no honest 'cup of cooked quinoa' figure exists — plan and portion from the dry weight.
Frequently asked questions
How many grams are in a cup of quinoa?
170 grams, for dry, uncooked quinoa — white, red, black or tricolour, which all weigh the same per cup. Rinsed and drained quinoa weighs more per cup because of surface water, so weigh before rinsing.
How many grams are in half a cup of quinoa?
85 grams — exactly half of the 170-gram cup, and a sensible amount for two servings once cooked. A tablespoon of dry quinoa weighs 10.6 grams.
How much cooked quinoa does a cup of dry quinoa make?
Roughly 3 cups of cooked quinoa from 170 grams dry, as it absorbs about twice its volume in water while it cooks. Portions are best planned dry: about 50 grams of dry quinoa per person for a side dish.