There are about 4 cups in a pound of Cashews. Cashews weighs 113 g per cup (spooned and levelled), so a pound — 453.59 g — divides to 4.01 cups. Mild, buttery kidney-shaped nuts. Stir-fries, curries, vegan sauces and baking. Every figure on this page is approximate, because a cup measures volume and the weight depends on how the ingredient settles and how it was measured; when the amount matters — a cake, a sauce that must set, a dough that must rise — weigh the Cashews on a kitchen scale instead of trusting the cup. This page gives you the full table for a pound and beyond, worked examples from real recipes, the method behind the figure, and the mistakes that catch people out.
How many cups in a pound of Cashews?
A pound of Cashews is about 4 cups (4.01 cups, to be exact). The table below covers a quarter of a pound up to ten pounds, so you can read off whatever your recipe or your bulk buy calls for without doing the division yourself. If your recipe lists Cashews in grams, the same table works in reverse: find the grams and read across to the cups.
| Amount | Cups | Grams | Tablespoons | Millilitres |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.25 lb | 1.00 | 113 | 16 | 237 |
| 0.5 lb | 2.01 | 227 | 32 | 475 |
| 0.75 lb | 3.01 | 340 | 48 | 712 |
| 1 lb | 4.01 | 454 | 64 | 950 |
| 2 lb | 8.03 | 907 | 128 | 1899 |
| 5 lb | 20.07 | 2268 | 321 | 4749 |
| 10 lb | 40.14 | 4536 | 642 | 9497 |
The tablespoons column is the useful one for small amounts: a pound of Cashews is about 64 tablespoons, and a single tablespoon weighs about 7.1 g. Use the pounds to grams converter if your recipe lists a different weight, and the cups to grams converter if you need the figure for a single cup of cashews.
How the maths works
The conversion is a single division: one pound is 453.59 g, and one cup of Cashews weighs 113 g, so 453.59 ÷ 113 = 4.01 cups. Going the other way, one cup of Cashews weighs 113 g, which is 0.25 lb, and one tablespoon weighs about 7.1 g while one teaspoon weighs about 2.35 g. To get any number of cups, weigh that many times 113 g: two cups is 226 g, three cups is 339 g, and half a cup is 56 g. In volume terms, a pound of Cashews is about 950 ml, since one US cup is 236.6 ml. Remember that the cup is a volume and the pound is a weight, so this maths only works because we know the density of Cashews; the same pound of a different ingredient would be a different number of cups entirely.
Worked examples
The examples below use real recipes, with the cups and the grams side by side so you can follow the maths in context. Each one also notes where the cup is good enough and where the scale earns its keep.
A stir-fry for four
A stir-fry for four needs 1 cup of Cashews — about 113 g — tossed with chicken, peppers and broccoli. One cup is about 113 g; add the cashews in the last minute of cooking so they stay crunchy instead of steaming soft.
A vegan cashew sauce for pasta
A vegan cashew sauce for pasta needs 1 1/2 cups of Cashews — about 170 g — soaked and blended with nutritional yeast. One and a half cups is about 170 g; soak the cashews for at least two hours, or the sauce stays gritty no matter how long you blend.
A curry for six
A curry for six needs 3/4 cup of Cashews — about 85 g — stirred into a coconut curry. Three-quarters of a cup is about 85 g; cashews thicken a curry as they soften, so add them early if you want body, or late for crunch.
How the figure was measured
The weight figure on this page comes from King Arthur Baking: Cashews weighs 113 g per cup, measured spooned and levelled, and that figure carries high confidence in CookScale's 120-ingredient table. All weights are per US cup (236.6 ml), and every cup-based result on this page is approximate, because a cup measures volume while the weight depends on how the ingredient settles, how fresh it is, and how it was measured. When the amount matters — a cake, a sauce that must set, a dough that must rise — weigh the Cashews on a kitchen scale instead of trusting the cup. Read more about this ingredient on the Cashews hub, which covers its weight, its measures, its storage and its substitutes in one place.
How to measure it
Spoon Cashews into a dry cup measure and level it off — never pack them down, and never scoop the cup through the bag. Whole nuts, halves and chopped pieces all measure differently in the same cup, because the pieces settle differently and the air gaps change. If a recipe says '1 cup chopped', chop first and then measure; if it says '1 cup, chopped', measure first and then chop. When it matters, weigh: 113 g of Cashews is 113 g however you chop them.
Practical guidance
Nuts go rancid faster than almost anything else in the pantry because their oils are exposed to air. Airtight container, cool and dry, up to 6 months. Soak cashews before blending for a sauce; unsoaked cashews stay gritty no matter how powerful the blender is. Buy smaller bags more often rather than one huge bag that sits open, and taste one before baking with an old bag: fresh nuts taste sweet and clean, stale ones taste like old oil.
Why recipes ask for a pound of Cashews
Cashews are sold by weight in bags and bulk bins, while recipes call for cups, so the pound question is about how far a bag stretches across stir-fries and curries. A pound is about four cups, and a stir-fry takes one cup, so a pound covers four family stir-fries.
Buying and storing a pound of Cashews
A pound of nuts is the standard bag size, and the price per pound drops sharply in bulk bins and warehouse packs. Only buy the big bag if you have freezer space — nuts keep for a year in the freezer and for months in the fridge, but only weeks in a warm cupboard.
Frequently asked questions
How many tablespoons are in a pound of Cashews?
About 64 tablespoons. A pound of Cashews is about 4.01 cups, and there are 16 tablespoons in a cup, so 4.01 × 16 is about 64. A single tablespoon weighs about 7.1 g.
Do whole and chopped Cashews measure the same?
No. Chopped Cashews pack tighter, so a cup of chopped pieces weighs more than a cup of whole ones. The 113 g per cup figure is for Cashews spooned and levelled as sold — weigh them if the recipe is a cake where the amount matters, and chop after measuring if the recipe says '1 cup, chopped'.
How many cups are in an 8 oz bag of Cashews?
About 2.01 cups. An 8 oz bag weighs 227 g, and at 113 g per cup that divides to 2.01 cups. A full pound bag is double that, about 4.01 cups.
How long does a pound of Cashews keep?
Airtight container, cool and dry, up to 6 months. In practice, a pound lasts a few weeks in a cupboard, months in the fridge and up to a year in the freezer. Taste one before baking with an old bag — fresh nuts taste sweet and clean, stale ones taste like old oil.
Are raw cashews the same weight as roasted cashews?
Very nearly — roasting drives off a little moisture, so roasted cashews are a fraction lighter per cup, but the difference is a gram or two and does not matter in cooking. Use the 113 g per cup figure for both.