Dry Bean Calculator
Cooked beans, servings, and can swaps from dry amount.
What it does
Dry beans are cheap pantry weight that turns into triple the cooked food, which makes party math and meal prep easy to botch. Starting with too much means a fridge full of beans; starting with too little means a second pot at midnight.
The tool above takes dry cups or dry grams. It returns cooked yield with half cup servings and 15 oz can equivalents, so recipes written either way convert in one glance.
The defaults start with 2 dry cups: 6 cups cooked, 12 servings, about 3.4 cans. The metric mirror (454 g) gives 1.42 L cooked with the same 12 servings and 3.4 cans.
Yields follow University of Florida extension with University of Nebraska Lincoln matching it: one pound (2 cups) of dry beans gives about 6 cups cooked. Wisconsin school nutrition guidance prints the same 1 cup dry to 3 cups cooked line.
How to use
- Pick imperial (cups) or metric (grams).
- Enter the dry beans going into the pot.
- Read cooked yield for the recipe.
- Read servings for the crowd.
- Read can swaps for canned recipes.
- Soak, rinse, then simmer until tender.
Formula
- 3
- Cooked cups per dry cup, drained.
- 2
- Servings per cooked cup at half cup each.
- 1.75
- Cooked cups per 15 oz can, drained.
- 226.8
- Grams per dry cup (1 lb = 2 cups).
Yields are approximate because bean age, variety, soak length, and hard water all move tenderness and swelling. Old beans can stall well below triple, so the tenderness test always overrules the math.
Worked example
Example: 2 dry cups
Defaults: imperial, 2 dry cups.
- Cooked: 2 x 3 = 6 cups.
- Servings: 6 x 2 = 12.
- Cans: 6 / 1.75 = 3.4 cans.
- Metric: 454 g / 226.8 = 2 cups dry, same batch.
- Liters: 6 x 0.236588 = 1.42 L.
- Tool shows 6 cups cooked, 12 servings, 3.4 cans (15 oz).
Reference table
| Start | Cooked | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 1 cup dry | 3 cups cooked | Drained |
| 1 lb (2 cups) dry | 6 cups cooked | Drained |
| 15 oz can | 1.75 cups cooked | Drained |
| 1/2 cup cooked | 1 serving | Side dish |
Limits
- Yields vary with age, variety, and water.
- Lentils and split peas follow different ratios.
- Salt timing and acid slow softening.
- Altitude stretches cooking time, not yield math.
Common mistakes
- Cooking party beans without the triple rule.
- Swapping cans one for one with dry cups.
- Skipping the soak on old beans.
- Cooking in hard water without extra time.
- Storing cooked beans past 4 days refrigerated.
Try it yourself
Quick checks. Answers sit tucked under each question.
1 dry cup gives what?
3 cups cooked, 6 servings, 1.7 cans.
4 dry cups gives what?
12 cups cooked, 24 servings, 6.9 cans.
Why discard soak water?
Fresh water cooks cleaner and rinses some gas causing sugars.
Questions
How much do dry beans expand?
About triple: 1 cup dry gives 3 cups cooked, drained.
How many cans equal a pound dry?
About 3.4 cans; one pound dry gives 6 cups cooked.
What is a serving of beans?
Half a cup cooked, so 6 cups serve 12.
Do I need to soak?
Overnight or quick soak evens cooking; lentils skip it.
Why are my beans still hard?
Old beans, hard water, or acid added early; keep simmering and test.
How long do cooked beans keep?
3 to 4 days refrigerated, months frozen in cooking liquid.