1/2 Cup Raisins in Grams
1/2 cup of raisins weighs 74.5 g (spooned and levelled, King Arthur Baking). Dried grapes, sweet and chewy. All the figures on this page are approximate conversions based on the King Arthur Baking value, so when a recipe really matters, verify with a kitchen scale. Raisins are the dried fruit that appears in the most baking: scones, fruit cakes, oatmeal cookies, curries and granola, and a half cup is the amount a single batch usually needs, which makes this one of the most useful conversions in the whole series.
Why half a cup of raisins is a useful amount
Half a cup of raisins is the amount that goes into a fruit cake, a batch of scones, a tray of granola or a tagine, and it is an amount where the cup can mislead you badly. Dried fruit pieces vary in size, stick together, and trap air between them, so a level half cup can weigh several grams more or less depending on how the pieces fall. A few grams either way changes the sweetness of a bake and the chew of a finished loaf. Baking, oatmeal, salads and trail mix. The table below is built from the published King Arthur Baking weight for raisins measured spooned and levelled, so you can weigh a batch once and repeat it exactly.
Raisins cups to grams conversion table
| Cups | Grams | Tablespoons (approx.) |
|---|---|---|
| 1/4 cup | 37.2 g | 2.3 g |
| 1/3 cup | 49.7 g | 3.1 g |
| 1/2 cup | 74.5 g | 4.7 g |
| 2/3 cup | 99.3 g | 6.2 g |
| 3/4 cup | 111.8 g | 7 g |
| 1 cup | 149 g | 9.3 g |
| 1 1/2 cups | 223.5 g | 14 g |
| 2 cups | 298 g | 18.6 g |
| 3 cups | 447 g | 27.9 g |
| 4 cups | 596 g | 37.2 g |
The tablespoon column is a bonus for recipes that call for a spoonful or two: one tablespoon of raisins weighs about 9.3 g, and one teaspoon about 3.1 g. A cup is 16 tablespoons, so the numbers in the table are just the cup weight divided by 16, rounded to one decimal place. For small amounts a scale that reads to the gram is far more reliable than a spoon, because a heaped tablespoon can weigh half as much again as a level one.
How the weight was measured
Spooned and levelled means spooning the ingredient into the measuring cup until it is heaped, then sweeping a straight knife across the top to level it off. Never scoop the cup through the bag or jar, and never tap the cup down, because both pack the ingredient and add weight.
The source for the 149 g figure is King Arthur Baking, and the confidence in the value is high. King Arthur Baking publishes a standard ingredient weight chart that recipe developers use as a reference, and this page follows it exactly rather than averaging across sources, because an average of two different measuring methods is a number that matches nobody's cup.
Worked examples
A batch of oatmeal raisin cookies
A batch of oatmeal raisin cookies calls for 1/2 cup of raisins, which is 74.5 g. The raisins have to be weighed before they are folded in, because they sink if they are added too early and burn if they sit on the surface. Weighing 74.5 g keeps the cookies studded without being mostly fruit, and soaking the raisins in warm water for ten minutes first keeps them plump through the bake.
A fruit cake for a holiday
A fruit cake for a holiday table uses 1/2 cup of raisins, which is 74.5 g, soaked overnight in tea or rum with the other dried fruit. The raisins absorb the liquid and swell, so their dry weight decides how much moisture the cake gains. Weighing 74.5 g dry keeps the cake rich without being soggy, and the soaked fruit must be drained well, or the batter turns wet.
A tray of granola for the week
A tray of granola for the week uses 1/2 cup of raisins, which is 74.5 g, stirred in after baking. The raisins go in last because they burn in the oven, and their weight decides whether the granola is sweet or just crunchy. Weighing 74.5 g keeps the mix balanced, and the granola must cool completely before the raisins go in, or they soften and stick.
When this conversion matters most
This conversion matters most when dried fruit is the sweetener as well as the flavour. In a fruit cake, the weight of raisins decides the balance between crumb and fruit; in granola, it decides the ratio of chew to crunch; in a stew, it decides whether the sauce turns sweet or stays savoury. A cup measure hides all of that behind the air gaps between the pieces, so two cooks following the same recipe with cups can end up with visibly different results. Weighing removes the guesswork and tells you exactly how much sugar and chew a recipe really contains.
Common mistakes with raisins
- Measuring sticky pieces in a cup. Dried fruit clumps, so a cup measure can hold a solid lump with hidden air pockets or a loose pile that overflows. Break the pieces apart, spoon them in, and level off.
- Skipping the toss in flour. Dried fruit sinks in cake batter. Tossing the weighed pieces in a spoonful of flour before folding them in keeps them suspended through the bake.
- Using the cup for a sweet recipe. Dried fruit is concentrated sugar, so an extra half cup can make a bake cloying. Weigh it and you know the true sweetness you are adding.
- Storing dried fruit open. Dried fruit dries out further in an open bag, which makes it lighter per cup and tougher to chew. Seal it airtight so the weight you measure stays stable.
Storage and handling
Airtight container, cool and dry, up to 6 months. Keeping raisins stored properly also keeps its weight per cup stable: an ingredient that has absorbed moisture from the air weighs more per cup than a dry one, so a sealed container is not just about freshness, it is about measurement accuracy too. If a bag has been open for months in a humid kitchen, the first thing to do before a precise bake is to weigh the ingredient rather than trusting the cup.
Frequently asked questions
How many grams is 1/2 cup of raisins?
1/2 cup of raisins weighs 74.5 g, measured spooned and levelled according to King Arthur Baking. That is the figure to use when converting a recipe from cups to grams, and it is the value the conversion table on this page is built on.
How do I measure raisins without a scale?
Spooned and levelled means spooning the ingredient into the measuring cup until it is heaped, then sweeping a straight knife across the top to level it off. Never scoop the cup through the bag or jar, and never tap the cup down, because both pack the ingredient and add weight. That gives the closest result to 74.5 g per half cup, but it is still an estimate: the honest answer is that a scale is the only way to know the exact weight, and a basic digital kitchen scale costs less than a bag of good flour.
Does raisins always weigh the same per cup?
No. Brand, grind, moisture and how settled the container is all shift the weight by a few grams, and for some ingredients the swing can be much larger. The 149 g figure is the standard King Arthur Baking value for raisins measured spooned and levelled, and it is the right default, but when a recipe is precise, weigh the ingredient and trust the scale over the cup.
Can I use the same conversion for a different brand of raisins?
Yes, as a starting point. The 149 g figure is a standard average for raisins, and most brands sit within a few grams of it. If you cook with one brand all the time, weigh one cup of it once and note the number on the bag, and you will have a conversion tuned to your own kitchen.
Should I soak raisins before baking with them?
Usually, yes, for cakes and breads: dry raisins steal moisture from the batter and can stay hard in the finished bake. Soak the weighed 74.5 g in warm water, tea or rum for ten to thirty minutes, then drain them well before folding them in. For granola, cookies or trail mix, skip the soak: the raisins are meant to stay chewy, and the oven or the other ingredients give them all the moisture they need.
How should I store raisins?
Airtight container, cool and dry, up to 6 months. Good storage keeps the ingredient fresh and keeps its weight per cup consistent, because moisture absorbed from the air adds grams that the recipe did not ask for.
Related conversions
Use the cups to grams converter, tablespoons to grams converter, weight converter, recipe scaler for instant answers, or browse the cups to grams hub for the full ingredient list. Related pages: Rolled Oats in cups to grams, Brown Sugar in cups to grams, Cinnamon in cups to grams. See also our disclaimer about approximate conversions.