Chickpeas
For dry, uncooked, one US cup of chickpeas weighs between 181 and 200 grams (6.4 to 7.1 ounces), depending on how the cup is filled and which source measured it. Use 181 grams (6.4 ounces) for store-bought dried chickpeas. Every figure behind it is below, with the method each source used.
Cooked or canned, drained: 164 g (5.8 oz) per cup.
Also called garbanzo beans, garbanzos, dried chickpeas, dry chickpeas, kabuli chickpeas, chana, ceci beans.
Most sites print one number for a cup of chickpeas. This page prints 181 to 200 grams, because that is what USDA SR Legacy "Chickpeas (garbanzo beans, bengal gram), mature seeds, raw" (FDC 173756), America's Test Kitchen, Slow-Cooker Braised Chickpeas, USDA Food Buying Guide for Child Nutrition Programs (garbanzo or chickpeas, dry) and Konak, Çarman and Aydın (2002), Biosystems Engineering 82(1):73-78 actually measured, and it names the method behind every figure rather than picking a favourite.
Two or more sources describe the same way of filling the cup and still disagree, by 10.5%. That is more than this site will average over, so all the figures stand and none is chosen. USDA's cup weighs 200 g; America's Test Kitchen and the USDA Food Buying Guide both count 2 1/2 cups to the pound, 181 g a cup. The 10.5% gap is just beyond the 10% tolerance for whole seeds and grains, and a poured bulk-density measurement (189 g) falls between them, so the range is published rather than one figure.
| Volume | Grams | Ounces |
|---|---|---|
| 1 cup | 181–200 g | 6.4–7.1 oz |
| 3/4 cup | 135.7–150 g | 4.8–5.3 oz |
| 2/3 cup | 120.7–133.3 g | 4.3–4.7 oz |
| 1/2 cup | 90.5–100 g | 3.2–3.5 oz |
| 1/3 cup | 60.3–66.7 g | 2.1–2.4 oz |
| 1/4 cup | 45.2–50 g | 1.6–1.8 oz |
| 1 tablespoon | 11.3–12.5 g | 0.40–0.44 oz |
| 1 teaspoon | 3.8–4.2 g | 0.13–0.15 oz |
| Filling the cup | 1 cup | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Dry, uncooked | 200 g7.1 oz | USDA SR Legacy "Chickpeas (garbanzo beans, bengal gram), mature seeds, raw" (FDC 173756) |
| Dry, uncooked | 181 g6.4 oz | America's Test Kitchen, Slow-Cooker Braised Chickpeas |
| Dry, uncooked | 181 g6.4 oz | USDA Food Buying Guide for Child Nutrition Programs (garbanzo or chickpeas, dry) |
| Dry, uncooked | 189.3 g6.7 oz | Konak, Çarman and Aydın (2002), Biosystems Engineering 82(1):73-78 |
Cooked or canned, drained
| Volume | Grams | Ounces |
|---|---|---|
| 1 cup | 164 g | 5.8 oz |
| 3/4 cup | 123 g | 4.3 oz |
| 2/3 cup | 109.3 g | 3.9 oz |
| 1/2 cup | 82 g | 2.9 oz |
| 1/3 cup | 54.7 g | 1.9 oz |
| 1/4 cup | 41 g | 1.4 oz |
| 1 tablespoon | 10.3 g | 0.36 oz |
| 1 teaspoon | 3.4 g | 0.12 oz |
Chickpeas ounces to grams and cups
| Weight | Grams | US cups |
|---|---|---|
| 1 oz | 28.3 g | 0.14–0.16 |
| 4 oz | 113.4 g | 0.57–0.63 |
| 8 oz | 226.8 g | 1.13–1.25 |
| 16 oz (1 lb) | 453.6 g | 2.27–2.51 |
Compared side by side
Dried beans, lentils and peas compared: cup weights side by side, the source behind each, and why they differ.
Where this number comes from
A cup of dried chickpeas weighs between 181 and 200 g (6.4 to 7.1 oz). Use 181 g for store-bought chickpeas: America's Test Kitchen and the USDA Food Buying Guide both count 2 1/2 cups to the pound. A cup of cooked or canned chickpeas, drained, weighs 164 g (5.8 oz).
Chickpeas, or garbanzo beans (Cicer arietinum), come in two main kinds. Kabuli chickpeas, the large, pale, rounded ones sold dried and canned in US and European supermarkets, are the subject here. Desi chickpeas are smaller, darker and angular, and are mostly split and sold as chana dal.
USDA SR Legacy "Chickpeas (garbanzo beans, bengal gram), mature seeds, raw" (FDC 173756) gives 1 cup = 200 g at 7.7% water. America's Test Kitchen's Slow-Cooker Braised Chickpeas calls for "1 pound (2½ cups) dried chickpeas", and the USDA Food Buying Guide says 1 lb dry is about 2 1/2 cups; both come to 181.4 g a cup, entered here as 181 g. The two ends are 10.5% apart, just past the 10% this site allows for whole seeds and grains, so the page shows the range rather than choosing one end.
The physical check sits between them. Konak, Çarman and Aydın (2002) measured chickpeas at 800 kg per cubic metre in bulk at their driest, 5.2% moisture on a dry basis, falling to 741 as the seeds took up water, against a kernel density of 1,368 to 1,428. A cup poured at 800 kg per cubic metre weighs 189 g, and at USDA's own 7.7% water the study's trend gives about 185 g. USDA's 200 g needs the cup filled tighter than a free pour, as a cup shaken down on the counter would be. Large seeds also pack less tightly in a small cup than in a big container, because the cup's walls leave gaps, which favours the lighter figures for a measuring cup.
Cooked chickpeas: USDA's boiled record (FDC 173757) weighs a cup at 164 g, 60% water. Chickpeas stay firm when cooked or canned, so canned ones weigh nearly the same: the USDA Food Buying Guide gives a 15-ounce can as about 9.6 oz (1 2/3 cups) drained, 163 g a cup, and USDA's canned, drained and rinsed record (FDC 173801) gives 152 g. Those three sit within 8% of each other, so 164 g is published for cooked or canned chickpeas. America's Test Kitchen counts a 15-ounce can, drained, as 1 1/2 cups of cooked beans.
Practical guidance: use 181 g per cup of dried chickpeas, 91 g per half cup, and expect a pound to measure about 2 1/2 cups. For cooked or canned and drained chickpeas, use 164 g per cup; one 15-ounce can gives 1 1/2 to 1 2/3 cups. USA Pulses gives 1/2 cup dry as 1 cup cooked. Soak dried chickpeas overnight, or quick-soak them, before cooking. Chickpea flour, ground from the same seed, has its own entry and weighs far less per cup.
Sources
Dry, uncooked — no single figure published
USDA's cup weighs 200 g; America's Test Kitchen and the USDA Food Buying Guide both count 2 1/2 cups to the pound, 181 g a cup. The 10.5% gap is just beyond the 10% tolerance for whole seeds and grains, and a poured bulk-density measurement (189 g) falls between them, so the range is published rather than one figure.
- USDA SR Legacy "Chickpeas (garbanzo beans, bengal gram), mature seeds, raw" (FDC 173756)200 g per cup7.1 ozUSDA Standard Release gives 1 cup = 200 g (density 0.845 g/mL). Water 7.68 g, protein 20.5 g, carbohydrate 63.0 g, fibre 12.2 g per 100 g.
- America's Test Kitchen, Slow-Cooker Braised Chickpeas181 g per cup6.4 oz"1 pound (2½ cups) dried chickpeas, picked over and rinsed": 453.6 g for 2 1/2 cups, 181.4 g per cup, entered as the round 181 g (density 0.765 g/mL).
- USDA Food Buying Guide for Child Nutrition Programs (garbanzo or chickpeas, dry)181 g per cup6.4 ozVegetables yield table (foodbuyingguide.fns.usda.gov, Section 2): "Beans, Garbanzo or Chickpeas, dry", whole, purchase unit pound, "1 lb dry = about 2-1/2 cups dry beans", 181.4 g per cup, entered as the round 181 g (density 0.765 g/mL).
- Konak, Çarman and Aydın (2002), Biosystems Engineering 82(1):73-78189.3 g per cup6.7 oz"Physical Properties of Chick Pea Seeds": bulk density fell from 800 to 741.4 kg/m³ and kernel density from 1,428 to 1,368 kg/m³ as moisture rose from 5.2% to 16.5% (dry basis). 800 kg/m³, the driest seed, is 189.3 g per cup (density 0.800 g/mL); at USDA's 7.7% water the study's trend gives about 185 g.
Cooked or canned, drained
- USDA SR Legacy "Chickpeas (garbanzo beans, bengal gram), mature seeds, cooked, boiled, without salt" (FDC 173757)164 g per cup5.8 ozUSDA Standard Release gives 1 cup = 164 g (density 0.693 g/mL). Water 60.2 g per 100 g.
- USDA Food Buying Guide for Child Nutrition Programs (garbanzo or chickpeas, canned)163.3 g per cup5.8 ozVegetables yield table (foodbuyingguide.fns.usda.gov, Section 2): "Beans, Garbanzo or Chickpeas, dry, canned", No. 300 can (15 oz), "1 No. 300 can = about 9.6 oz (1-2/3 cups) drained, unheated beans": 272.2 g for 1 2/3 cups, 163.3 g per cup (density 0.690 g/mL).
- USDA SR Legacy "Chickpeas (garbanzo beans, bengal gram), mature seeds, canned, drained, rinsed in tap water" (FDC 173801)152 g per cup5.4 ozUSDA Standard Release gives 1 cup drained, rinsed = 152 g (density 0.642 g/mL). Water 66.9 g per 100 g.
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