An 8 oz bag of dates holds about 1.5 cups. Dates weigh about 149 g per cup — the same as raisins — so 227 g divides to 1.5 cups. The 8 oz bag is the standard size for pitted dates, and a cup and a half is enough for a batch of date bars, a smoothie and a stuffing. Check whether your bag is pitted or whole: a bag of whole dates with pits weighs more per cup of edible fruit.
How many cups in a 8 oz bag?
A 8 oz bag of dates holds about 1.5 cups (227 g ÷ 149 g per cup).
| Amount | Cups | Grams | Tablespoons |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full 8 oz bag | 1.5 | 227 | 24 |
| Half 8 oz bag | 0.75 | 113.5 | 12 |
| Quarter 8 oz bag | 0.38 | 56.75 | 6 |
| 1 tablespoon | 0.06 | 9.31 | 1 |
The table gives the full package, half a package and a quarter of a package, plus a single tablespoon, so you can scale the answer to whatever your recipe asks for. If your packet is a different size from the one on this page, the same per-cup figure still applies — divide your packet's weight by the grams per cup, or its volume by 236.6 ml per cup, and you have your answer.
Worked examples
Date bars that need a cup and a half
A tray of date bars takes about 1 and a half cups of dates — 224 g, or the whole bag — simmered with 1/4 cup of water until soft, then spread over an oat base of 2 cups of oats and 1/2 cup of butter. The whole bag is the recipe, which is convenient: no measuring left over, no half bag to store. Simmer the dates gently until they collapse into a paste; if the paste is too thick, add water a tablespoon at a time. The bars set as they cool and cut cleanly after an hour.
Smoothie that needs half a cup
A smoothie for two takes about 1/2 cup of dates — 75 g, or about 8 dates — blended with 2 bananas, 2 cups of milk and a handful of oats. Half a cup is a third of the bag, so one bag makes about three smoothies. Soak the dates in warm water for ten minutes first if they feel firm: softened dates blend smooth, while firm ones leave gritty pieces. Medjool dates are the sweetest and softest, but any pitted date works.
Stuffing that needs a cup
A stuffing for a roast takes about 1 cup of dates — 149 g — roughly chopped and mixed into 4 cups of breadcrumbs with an onion and a handful of walnuts. One cup is two-thirds of the bag, leaving half a cup for a smoothie. The dates sweeten the stuffing and keep it moist, which is why they pair so well with pork and poultry. Chop them coarsely: fine pieces disappear into the breadcrumbs, while coarse pieces give the stuffing its character.
How the figure was measured
The weight figure on this page comes from King Arthur Baking: dates weighs 149 g per cup, measured spooned and levelled, and that figure carries high confidence in CookScale's 120-ingredient table. Every cup-based result on this page is approximate, because a cup measures volume and the weight depends on how the ingredient settles, how it was measured, and how fresh it is. When the amount matters — a cake, a cheesecake, a sauce that must set — weigh the ingredient on a kitchen scale instead of trusting the cup. Package sizes vary by brand and region, so check the weight printed on your own packet before planning a recipe around this page.
How to measure it
Dried fruit is spooned into a dry cup measure and levelled, but it is one of the trickiest ingredients to measure by volume because the pieces cling, compress and vary in size. A cup of large dates weighs differently from a cup of finely chopped dates, and raisins settle more densely than cranberries. Never pack dried fruit down — the weight figures on this page assume a loose spooned cup. If the fruit is sticky, dust the measuring cup lightly with a little of the recipe's flour first; the pieces slide out cleanly instead of gluing themselves to the sides. For fruit cakes and breads, weighing is worth the thirty seconds: a heavy hand with the fruit is the difference between a moist loaf and one that sinks in the middle.
Practical guidance
Dried fruit dries out further once a bag is opened, and hard raisins make hard cookies. Seal the bag tightly, or move the fruit to a jar with a lid, and keep it in a cool cupboard away from the stove. If your fruit has gone leathery, soak it in warm water — or warm tea, rum or orange juice — for twenty minutes before baking; it plumps back up and adds moisture to the crumb instead of stealing it. Sugar crystals on the surface are not mould, just sugar migrating out as the fruit dries; a rinse or a soak removes them. Check an old bag for a stale, musty smell before using it in a fruit cake that will be eaten for weeks.
One and a half cups is the figure, and the pitted-versus-whole question is the detail that changes it: a bag of whole dates with pits gives you less edible fruit per cup, so check the label. Medjool dates are the exception to the bag-size rule — they are often sold loose or in smaller boxes, and a cup of whole Medjools is fewer dates but the same weight. The bag size varies too: 16 oz bags hold about 3 cups, and the same 149 g per cup applies to pitted dates throughout. And chop before you measure if the recipe says 'chopped dates': a cup of whole dates and a cup of chopped dates weigh differently, because the pieces settle differently.
Frequently asked questions
How many tablespoons are in an 8 oz bag of dates?
There are 24 tablespoons in an 8 oz bag of dates, because the bag holds about 1.5 cups and there are 16 tablespoons in a cup. A tablespoon of chopped dates weighs about 9.3 g. For a smoothie, 2 tablespoons per serving is the usual amount, so a bag covers roughly a dozen servings.
Are Medjool dates the same as regular dates?
Medjool dates are larger, softer and sweeter than the smaller Deglet Noor dates usually sold in bags, but they weigh about the same per cup once chopped — around 149 g. Whole Medjool dates are bigger, so a cup of whole Medjools holds fewer dates than a cup of whole Deglet Noors, but the weight is the same. For baking, where the dates are chopped, the two are interchangeable by weight.
Do I need to remove the pits from dates?
Yes, if your bag is not labelled pitted. A pit weighs about 10 percent of the date, so a cup of whole dates with pits yields less edible fruit than a cup of pitted dates. Buy pitted dates for baking — pitting a cup of dates by hand takes ten minutes and leaves sticky fingers. If you only have whole dates, slit each one and pull the pit out before chopping.
How long does an opened bag of dates last?
An opened bag of dates lasts about six months in a cool cupboard and a year in the fridge. Seal the bag tightly or move the dates to a jar. If they have gone hard, soak them in warm water for twenty minutes and they soften. Sugar crystals on the surface are harmless — a rinse removes them — and dates rarely go bad, they just dry out.
Can I use dates instead of sugar in baking?
Yes, as a paste: blend pitted dates with a little warm water until smooth, and use about 1 cup of date paste in place of 1 cup of sugar. The paste adds moisture and a caramel flavour, so it suits brownies, bars and muffins better than delicate cakes. Reduce the other liquid in the recipe slightly, since the paste brings its own moisture.