A 6 oz bag of dried apricots holds about 1.3 cups. Dried apricots weigh about 130 g per cup, so 170 g divides to 1.3 cups — enough for a tagine, a granola and a cake. The 6 oz bag is the standard size, and it is worth knowing that the figure is for the plump, moist apricots sold in most bags: the drier, darker unsulphured apricots weigh a little less per cup because they hold less moisture.
How many cups in a 6 oz bag?
A 6 oz bag of dried apricots holds about 1.3 cups (170 g ÷ 130 g per cup).
| Amount | Cups | Grams | Tablespoons |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full 6 oz bag | 1.3 | 170 | 21 |
| Half 6 oz bag | 0.65 | 85 | 10 |
| Quarter 6 oz bag | 0.33 | 42.5 | 5 |
| 1 tablespoon | 0.06 | 8.12 | 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
Tagine that needs a cup
A lamb or chicken tagine for six takes about 1 cup of dried apricots — 130 g — halved and stirred into the pot with 2 onions, 2 teaspoons of cumin and a cinnamon stick. One cup is about three-quarters of the bag, leaving a third of a cup for granola. The apricots sweeten the sauce and soften into the stew over an hour of slow cooking. Add them halfway through rather than at the start: added too early they dissolve completely, while added halfway they hold their shape.
Granola that needs half a cup
A tray of granola takes about 1/2 cup of dried apricots — 65 g — chopped and tossed with 3 cups of oats, 1 cup of nuts and 1/3 cup of honey. Half a cup is just over a third of the bag, so one bag makes about two and a half trays. Add the apricots after baking, not before: dried fruit in the oven dries out further and turns hard, while apricots stirred into warm granola soften slightly and stay chewy. Chop them small so they distribute evenly.
Cake that needs three-quarters of a cup
An apricot and almond cake takes about 3/4 cup of dried apricots — 98 g — chopped and folded into a batter with 2 cups of flour, 1 cup of almonds and 3 eggs. Three-quarters of a cup is a little over half the bag, leaving about half a cup for a tagine. Soak the apricots in warm water or orange juice for twenty minutes first: soaked apricots stay moist in the cake, while dry ones steal moisture from the crumb and turn leathery.
How the figure was measured
The weight figure on this page comes from USDA: dried apricots weighs 130 g per cup, measured spooned and levelled, and that figure carries medium 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 third cups is the figure, and the moisture of the apricots is the variable: a bag of plump, sulphured apricots weighs more per cup than a bag of dry, unsulphured ones, because the dry ones hold less water. Weigh when the recipe matters — 130 g is a cup — and use the cup for scattering and topping. The bag size is the other variable: 12 oz bags hold about 2.6 cups, and the same 130 g per cup applies throughout. And chop before you measure if the recipe says 'chopped apricots': a cup of whole apricots and a cup of chopped apricots settle differently, and the chopped cup weighs more.
Frequently asked questions
How many tablespoons are in a 6 oz bag of dried apricots?
There are about 21 tablespoons in a 6 oz bag of dried apricots, because the bag holds about 1.3 cups and there are 16 tablespoons in a cup. A tablespoon of dried apricots weighs about 8.1 g. For a salad or a granola, 2 tablespoons per serving is the usual amount, so a bag covers roughly ten servings.
Are sulphured and unsulphured apricots the same weight?
Almost, but not exactly. Sulphured apricots — the bright orange ones — are plumper and hold more moisture, so they weigh about 130 g per cup. Unsulphured apricots — the dark brown ones — are drier and weigh a little less per cup, roughly 120 g, though that figure is not in CookScale's table and should be checked against the packet. For most recipes the difference is small, but in a cake where the fruit provides moisture, weigh the fruit.
Can I substitute dried apricots for dates cup-for-cup?
Roughly, but not exactly: a cup of dried apricots weighs about 130 g while a cup of dates weighs about 149 g, so a cup-for-cup swap gives about 13 percent less weight. In a tagine or a stuffing the difference does not matter, but in a cake or a bar where the fruit is the structure, weigh the substitute. Flavour-wise, apricots are tarter and dates are sweeter and more caramel-like.
How long does an opened bag of dried apricots last?
An opened bag of dried apricots lasts about six months in a cool cupboard and a year in the fridge. Seal the bag tightly or move the apricots to a jar. If they have gone hard, soak them in warm water or orange juice for twenty minutes and they plump back up. Sugar crystals on the surface are harmless and rinse off.
Why are some dried apricots orange and some brown?
Orange apricots are treated with sulphur dioxide, which preserves their colour and keeps them soft. Brown apricots are unsulphured: they dry naturally, darken, and taste more intensely of apricot. Both are the same fruit and both weigh about the same per cup, but the brown ones are chewier and tarter. People sensitive to sulphites should choose the brown ones.