A 7 oz bag of shredded coconut holds about 2.3 cups. Shredded coconut is one of the lightest ingredients in the kitchen — 85 g per cup — so a small bag stretches to more than two cups. The 7 oz bag is the standard supermarket size, and two cups plus a little is enough for macaroons, a curry and a granola. The figure assumes unsweetened shredded coconut: sweetened coconut is heavier per cup because of the added sugar.
How many cups in a 7 oz bag?
A 7 oz bag of shredded coconut holds about 2.3 cups (198 g ÷ 85 g per cup).
| Amount | Cups | Grams | Tablespoons |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full 7 oz bag | 2.3 | 198 | 37 |
| Half 7 oz bag | 1.15 | 99 | 18 |
| Quarter 7 oz bag | 0.57 | 49.5 | 9 |
| 1 tablespoon | 0.06 | 5.31 | 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
Macaroons that need two cups
A batch of coconut macaroons takes about 2 cups of shredded coconut — 170 g — mixed with 2 egg whites, 1/2 cup of sugar and a teaspoon of vanilla. Two cups is nearly the whole bag, leaving about a third of a cup for a curry or a granola. The coconut is the structure of the macaroon, so measure it carefully: too little and the macaroons spread flat, too much and they crumble. Sweetened coconut makes a sweeter macaroon and holds together better; unsweetened gives a cleaner coconut flavour.
Curry that needs half a cup
A curry for four takes about 1/2 cup of shredded coconut — 43 g — stirred into the sauce with 1 can of coconut milk and 2 tablespoons of curry paste. Half a cup is about a fifth of the bag, so one bag covers about five curries. Toast the coconut lightly first for a deeper flavour, but watch it closely: shredded coconut goes from toasted to burnt in under a minute. The coconut thickens the sauce slightly and adds texture.
Granola that needs three-quarters of a cup
A tray of granola takes about 3/4 cup of shredded coconut — 64 g — tossed with 3 cups of oats, 1 cup of nuts and 1/3 cup of honey. Three-quarters of a cup is about a third of the bag. Add the coconut halfway through baking: added at the start it burns before the oats toast, while added halfway it turns golden at the same time as the oats. Stir the granola once during baking so the coconut toasts evenly.
How the figure was measured
The weight figure on this page comes from King Arthur Baking: shredded coconut weighs 85 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.
Two cups plus a little is the figure, and the sweetened-versus-unsweetened distinction is the one that changes it: a cup of sweetened coconut weighs about 15 g more than a cup of unsweetened, and the extra sugar changes the recipe as well as the measure. Check the label before you start. The bag size is the other variable — 14 oz bags hold about 4.7 cups — and the same 85 g per cup applies to unsweetened coconut throughout. And measure loosely: shredded coconut compresses easily, and a packed cup can weigh half as much again as a loose one. Spoon it in, level it, and do not press it down.
Frequently asked questions
How many tablespoons are in a 7 oz bag of shredded coconut?
There are about 37 tablespoons in a 7 oz bag of shredded coconut, because the bag holds about 2.3 cups and there are 16 tablespoons in a cup. A tablespoon of shredded coconut weighs about 5.3 g. For a curry or a granola, 2 to 3 tablespoons per serving is the usual amount, so a bag covers roughly a dozen servings.
Is sweetened coconut the same weight as unsweetened?
No. Unsweetened shredded coconut weighs about 85 g per cup, while sweetened coconut is heavier — about 100 g per cup — because of the added sugar. The figure on this page is for unsweetened coconut. If your bag is sweetened, a cup weighs more, and the recipe will be sweeter too. For macaroons, sweetened coconut is the traditional choice; for curries and granola, unsweetened is better.
Can I substitute desiccated coconut for shredded coconut?
By weight, yes, but not by volume. Desiccated coconut is finer and denser than shredded, so a cup of desiccated coconut weighs more — about 110 g against 85 g for shredded. If a recipe gives cups, use the same volume of desiccated and accept a slightly denser result; if it gives grams, weigh the same weight. In a macaroon, the finer texture of desiccated coconut makes a denser, smoother cookie.
How long does an opened bag of shredded coconut last?
An opened bag of shredded coconut lasts about six months in a cool cupboard and a year in the fridge, and longer in the freezer. Seal the bag tightly: coconut absorbs moisture and smells from the pantry. Taste a pinch before baking with an old bag — fresh coconut tastes sweet and clean, while stale coconut tastes soapy and flat. Toasting revives coconut that is merely flat.
Why does shredded coconut burn so easily?
Shredded coconut is thin, dry and high in fat, so it goes from golden to burnt in seconds once it passes the toasting point. Toast it in a dry pan over a medium heat, shaking constantly, and take it off the heat just before it looks done — it keeps browning from residual heat. In the oven, add coconut halfway through baking rather than at the start.