Salsa
One US cup of salsa weighs 243.6 grams (8.6 ounces). Going the other way, 100 grams is about 0.41 cups.
Also called jarred salsa, tomato salsa, red salsa, salsa roja, chunky salsa, restaurant-style salsa, salsa dip.
Most sites print a number for a cup of salsa and do not say where it came from. This page publishes 243.6 g (8.6 oz), names Rosarita Green Chile Salsa, foodservice gallon (Conagra product page), La Victoria Suprema Salsa Medium, foodservice case (Hormel product record), Rosarita Green Chile Tomato Salsa, Medium (producer label) and Tostitos Restaurant Style Salsa, 15.5 oz (producer label), and records the source that was checked against an independent standard and rejected.
| Volume | Grams | Ounces |
|---|---|---|
| 1 cup | 243.6 g | 8.6 oz |
| 3/4 cup | 182.7 g | 6.4 oz |
| 2/3 cup | 162.4 g | 5.7 oz |
| 1/2 cup | 121.8 g | 4.3 oz |
| 1/3 cup | 81.2 g | 2.9 oz |
| 1/4 cup | 60.9 g | 2.1 oz |
| 1 tablespoon | 15.2 g | 0.54 oz |
| 1 teaspoon | 5.1 g | 0.18 oz |
Salsa ounces to grams and cups
| Weight | Grams | US cups |
|---|---|---|
| 1 oz | 28.3 g | 0.12 |
| 4 oz | 113.4 g | 0.47 |
| 8 oz | 226.8 g | 0.93 |
| 16 oz (1 lb) | 453.6 g | 1.86 |
Compared side by side
Condiments and sauces compared: cup weights side by side, the source behind each, and why they differ.
Where this number comes from
A cup of jarred tomato salsa weighs about 243.6 g (8.6 oz), just over the weight of a cup of water. Foodservice gallons from Rosarita and La Victoria, weighed by their makers, give 241 to 244 g, and the 31 g two-tablespoon servings on Rosarita's and Tostitos' labels give 248 g. USDA's 36 g for two tablespoons is too heavy for a sauce that is 89% water and is rejected.
Salsa here means the cooked, jarred tomato salsa sold in supermarkets: tomatoes, onions, chiles, vinegar, salt and spices, mild to hot, smooth restaurant style or chunky. It is a dip for chips and a topping for tacos, eggs and burritos, and it goes by the cup into dips, casseroles, slow-cooker chicken and Mexican-style rice.
The best figures come from foodservice gallons, which state net weight and volume. Rosarita's green chile salsa, four 1-gallon jugs at 34.375 lb net, is 3,898 g per gallon, 243.6 g per US cup; the retail label on the same jug gives 8 lb 9.5 oz, the same weight. La Victoria's Suprema medium salsa, four gallons at 34 lb, comes to 241.0 g a cup. US labels weigh salsa by the two-tablespoon serving, a volume, and both Rosarita and Tostitos Restaurant Style print 31 g, 248 g a cup. Labels round to whole grams, so 31 g covers 244 to 252 g a cup. All four sit within 2.9% of each other, inside the 5% this site allows for liquids, and this site publishes Rosarita's 243.6 g.
USDA's ready-to-serve salsa record, as ReciPal lists it, gives two tablespoons as 36 g, with 32.1 g of that water. That is 288 g a cup, 1.22 g/mL. The physical check rules it out. Salsa is 89% water by USDA's own figures. The remaining 11% is tomato solids, onion, chile, a little sugar and about 1.5 to 2% salt, and those solids together can add at most about 5% to the weight of water: a salsa with no air in it weighs about 1.05 g/mL, 248 g a cup. A density of 1.22 belongs to a syrup about half sugar, not a vegetable sauce. The measured gallons, at 1.02 to 1.03 g/mL, sit a little below that ceiling, as a sauce with chunks and a little trapped air should.
King Arthur Baking's chart has no salsa row.
Chunky and smooth salsas differ less than they look. Chunks leave small gaps in a measuring cup, so a cup of very chunky salsa can weigh a few grams less; a thin, smooth restaurant-style salsa fills the cup completely. Fresh pico de gallo, made of diced raw vegetables, is a different product and weighs much less per cup because of the air between the pieces.
Practical guidance: use 244 g per cup, 122 g per half cup, 61 g per quarter cup and 15 g per tablespoon. A 16 oz jar holds a little under 2 cups, and a 24 oz jar about 2 3/4 cups. Spoon chunky salsa into a dry measuring cup and level it rather than pouring it into a liquid measure, where the chunks sit above the line.
Sources
Jarred tomato salsa, spooned and leveled
- Rosarita Green Chile Salsa, foodservice gallon (Conagra product page)243.6 g per cup8.6 ozConagra Foodservice: "Packaging Size: 4/1 GLL", "Net Weight: 34.375" lb. 3,898 g per gallon jug, 243.6 g per US cup (density 1.0298 g/mL). The retail label for the same gallon jug reads "NET WT 8 LB 9.5 OZ (3.90kg)", the same weight.
- La Victoria Suprema Salsa Medium, foodservice case (Hormel product record)241 g per cup8.5 ozSalsify product record: "4/1G LV SUPREMA-MED SALSA", "Net Weight (in pounds) 34". 3,856 g per gallon, 241.0 g per cup (density 1.0185 g/mL).
- Rosarita Green Chile Tomato Salsa, Medium (producer label)248 g per cup8.7 ozSmartLabel: "Serving Size2 tbsp (31g)", about 126 servings per container, net weight 8 lb 9.5 oz (3.90 kg). 248.0 g per cup (density 1.0482 g/mL). Labels give whole grams, so 31 g covers 244 to 252 g a cup.
- Tostitos Restaurant Style Salsa, 15.5 oz (producer label)248 g per cup8.7 ozTarget listing: "Amount 2 Tbsp (31g)", about 14 servings per container. 248.0 g per cup.
- USDA SR Legacy "Sauce, salsa, ready-to-serve" (NDB 6164)288 g per cup10.2 ozDefault serving "2 tbsp (36g)" with 32.1 g of water, as listed by ReciPal from USDA. 288 g per US cup (density 1.2173 g/mL).Rejected. USDA's own figures make salsa 89% water (32.1 g in 36 g). Water weighs 1.00 g/mL, and the 11% of tomato solids, salt, onion and peppers can add only about 5% to that, so salsa with no air in it weighs at most about 1.05 g/mL, 248 g a cup. 1.22 g/mL is the density of a syrup about half sugar. The foodservice gallons weigh 241 to 244 g a cup and the labels 248 g.
Corrections on this ingredient
The following published figures for salsa are rejected here, with the physics or standards reasoning behind each rejection on its own page:
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