Unsweetened Coconut Flakes

One US cup of unsweetened coconut flakes weighs 60 grams (2.1 ounces). Going the other way, 100 grams is about 1.67 cups.

Also called coconut chips, large coconut flakes, coconut flakes unsweetened, dried coconut flakes, unsweetened coconut chips.

Coconut products compared: cup weights side by side, the source behind each, and why they differ.

Unsweetened coconut flakes weigh 60 g per US cup (2.1 oz), a density of 0.254 g/mL. Bob's Red Mill labels a quarter cup at 15 g, Thrive Market half a cup at 30 g, and King Arthur lists large unsweetened flakes at 60 g per cup: three independent sources on exactly the same figure.

Coconut flakes, also sold as coconut chips, are broad, thin slices of dried coconut meat, much larger than shreds, used for toppings, granola, trail mix and toasted garnishes. Unsweetened flakes are just dried coconut: USDA puts dried unsweetened coconut at 3% water and 64.5% fat. Toasted flakes and sweetened chips such as Dang are separate products.

Bob's Red Mill sells two flake products, its 10-oz Coconut Flakes and a 12-oz Unsweetened Flaked Coconut, and both label a quarter cup at 15 g. Thrive Market's organic flakes label half a cup at 30 g. King Arthur's chart lists "Coconut (unsweetened, large flakes)" at 1 cup = 2 1/8 oz = 60 g. For this product King Arthur agrees exactly with the brands, and its figure stands. The US reference serving for coconut is 15 g, and these labels state how much volume that weight fills, which is why their quarter and half cups land so consistently.

Not every product sold as flaked coconut is the same cut. Kroger's unsweetened flaked coconut labels 2 tablespoons at 10 g, 80 g per cup, and its bag says it holds about 2 cups in 5 oz, about 71 g per cup, which points to a smaller flake. A few labels print 15 g beside 2 tablespoons, 120 g per cup, which would make large flakes heavier than finely desiccated coconut, something broad flakes cannot be; those look like the 15 g reference serving written next to a rough spoon count and are not used here. Toasted chips such as Dang label 3/4 cup at 30 g, 40 g per cup, because toasting curls them and they stack even more loosely.

The physical check is about shape. Dried coconut meat itself is roughly as dense as water. Broad flat flakes lie across each other at all angles and leave large gaps, so a cup at 0.254 g/mL is only about a quarter coconut. Medium shreds, at 80 g per cup, and fine desiccated coconut, at 85 g, fill the gaps better and weigh more. Pressing flakes into a cup breaks them, which also adds weight.

Practical guidance: 1 cup is 60 g, 1/2 cup 30 g and 1/4 cup 15 g. A 10-oz bag holds 284 g, nearly 5 cups; a 7-oz bag 198 g, about 3 1/3 cups. Spoon flakes into the cup without pressing. For toasting, spread 1 cup (60 g) on a sheet pan; flakes lose a little moisture and weight as they brown. For recipes built on coconut weight, such as granola clusters, weigh rather than measure.

The coconut products comparison page shows flakes beside shredded, desiccated and sweetened coconut and the other coconut products.