I think you will need just under half a pound of dry Elbow Macaroni to get one pound of cooked macaroni.
Most dried pasta doubles in volume when it is cooked. Generally it is assumed that one pound of dried (or freshly made) pasta will serve 6 as an appetiser or 4 as a main meal.
It is more accurate to measure pasta by weight than by cup so if possible, use a digital scale.
4 ounces of uncooked pasta (elbow macaroni, shells, penne etc) is equivalent to one cup of dry pasta which makes 2 1/2 (two and a half) cups of cooked pasta.
A little trivia for you: Did you know that elbow macaroni gets its curved shape from each side of the machine it comes out of operating at different speeds? thanked the writer. blurted this.
1 pound of elbow macaroni equals 3 ( ~ 3) US cups*
| Ingredient:?Notes: the results in this calculator are rounded (by default) to 2 significant figures. The conversion factors are approximate once it is intended for recipes measurements. This is not rocket science ☺. | ||
| ?Please, choose an ingredient by typing its name in this box. | ||
| From unit: | Weight quantity: | |
| ?Please, select the weight unit (gram, ounce, etc), type value for the quantity, then press / click the Calculate button. | ||
| To Unit: | ||
| ?Please, select the volume unit (cup, milliliter, liter …) to which you want to convert, then select its quantity. Ex.: 1, 1/2, … | ||
| Significant Figures: 2 3 4 5 | ||
Results1 pound of elbow macaroni equals 3 ( ~ 3) US cups. (*) (*) or precisely 3.0240107840226 US cups. Some values are approximate. |
||
Note: Fractions are rounded to the nearest 8th fraction. Values are rounded to 3 significant figures.
| pounds to US cups of Elbow macaroni | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1/16 pound | = | 0.189 ( 1/4 ) US cup |
| 1/8 pound | = | 0.378 ( 1/3 ) US cup |
| 1/4 pound | = | 0.756 ( 3/4 ) US cup |
| 1/3 pound | = | 1.01 ( 1 ) US cups |
| 1/2 pound | = | 1.51 ( 1 1/2 ) US cups |
| 2/3 pound | = | 2.02 ( 2 ) US cups |
| 3/4 pound | = | 2.27 ( 2 1/4 ) US cups |
| 1 pound | = | 3.02 ( 3 ) US cups |
| 1 1/16 pounds | = | 3.21 ( 3 1/4 ) US cups |
| 1 1/8 pounds | = | 3.4 ( 3 1/3 ) US cups |
| 1 1/4 pounds | = | 3.78 ( 3 3/4 ) US cups |
| 1 1/3 pounds | = | 4.03 ( 4 ) US cups |
| 1 1/2 pounds | = | 4.54 ( 4 1/2 ) US cups |
| 1 2/3 pounds | = | 5.04 ( 5 ) US cups |
| 1 3/4 pounds | = | 5.29 ( 5 1/3 ) US cups |
| 2 pounds | = | 6.05 ( 6 ) US cups |
| 2 1/16 pounds | = | 6.24 ( 6 1/4 ) US cups |
| 2 1/8 pounds | = | 6.43 ( 6 1/2 ) US cups |
| 2 1/4 pounds | = | 6.8 ( 6 3/4 ) US cups |
| 2 1/3 pounds | = | 7.06 ( 7 ) US cups |
| 2 1/2 pounds | = | 7.56 ( 7 1/2 ) US cups |
| 3 pounds | = | 9.07 ( 9 1/8 ) US cups |
| 4 pounds | = | 12.1 ( 12 1/8 ) US cups |
| 5 pounds | = | 15.1 ( 15 1/8 ) US cups |
| 6 pounds | = | 18.1 ( 18 1/8 ) US cups |
| 8 pounds | = | 24.2 ( 24 1/4 ) US cups |
I believe this question always gets a lot of confusing answers as no one seems to measure pasta/macaroni in the same way. Dry measurement does not always equal out the same as liquid measurements and the type/size of macaroni can make a difference in how many cups in 12 ounces. Here is an excellent site to ask any of your cooking questions.
Most containers will give the approximate number of servings, as well as the number of servings in the container. Say the size of the box is 16 oz. and the number of servings is 8,with serving size being 1/2 cup. With this you can figure the results you need. In this case, 16 oz. (total weight);8 servings per container; 1/2 cup per serving. So, if there is 8 servings in 16 oz. then 2 oz. is a serving, and 2 oz. equils 1/2 cup. This means that there are 4 cups in l6 oz. so 8 oz. would be 2 cups.Advertisement I hope I have made this clear (I have taken these number amounts from my box of elbow macaroni. so I feel it is pretty accurate.
Thank you for actually answering JUST the question I asked. My recipe called for 1/2 lb. macaroni, and since I did not still have the container it came in, I was unsure how much that was in cups. The other comments got me more confused than when I started–yours was so concise and all I needed to know! Thanks, again.
I make meals for 4 families since COVID began. When I make Baked Mac and Cheese, I use 4 pounds of elbow macaroni. And pour the drained pasta into a 7 quart large pot. Advertisement It fills it 3/4 full. So, quesstimating that it fills the pot to 5 quarts, you get 5 quarts of pasta from 4 pounds of dry pasta. That would be, 1.25 quarts per pound.
References:
1 pound of elbow macaroni is equivalent 3 ( ~ 3) US cups.
FAQ
How many cups of elbows are in a pound?
How much does 1 cup of dry macaroni make cooked?
How many cups are in a dry pound?
White All-Purpose/Bread Flour (sifted) 4 cups = 1 pound. White All-Purpose/Bread Flour (unsifted) 3 1/2 cups = 1 pound.