Strawberry Measures and Equivalents

It is always nice to use fresh produce in a dish, but the tricky thing is that the recipe can list the ingredient in a few different ways—whole, by weight, or in cups—so depending on how you purchase the fruit or vegetable, you may have to do a conversion. Strawberries are no exception. Perhaps your recipe calls for cups of sliced strawberries but you plan on buying whole strawberries at the market—just how much do you need?

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Converting Strawberry Measurements

There are several conversions already done for you, letting you know how many strawberries are in a typical pound or how many slices a pint will yield, as well as other equivalents.

If you cannot find strawberries or the ones at your grocer do not look fresh, you can replace strawberries with another kind of berry—just about any type of berry can be substituted measure-for-measure in recipes calling for strawberries. 

Converting Pints of Fresh Strawberries

It used to be that we would find berries in the market sold in cardboard pint- or quart-sized containers (and still do at farmers markets), but nowadays it is more likely you will see these berries packaged in plastic containers measured by weight—more specifically, ounces. A common size is 16 ounces or one pound.

If your recipe calls for a pint of fresh strawberries (or a quart, which is 2 pints), there are some simple conversions you need.

One pint equals:

• 3/4 pound (12 ounces) 
• 12 large, 24 medium, 36 small strawberries
• 1 1/4 cups puréed strawberries
• 2 1/2 cups whole small strawberries
• 1 1/2 to 2 cups sliced strawberries

Converting Pounds to Cups

Whether you plan on making a fruit tart, summer salad, or fresh dessert, recipes calling for cut strawberries will most often list the measurement in cups. If you are going to the store and strawberries are only sold in 1-pound containers of whole strawberries, you need a few simple equivalents to figure out how many containers you need to buy.

One pound of whole strawberries equals:

• 2 3/4 cups sliced strawberries
• 3 3/4 cups whole strawberries

Converting Frozen Strawberries to Cups

Maybe you are striving to eat healthier and want to add fruit smoothies to your diet, or you found a recipe for a strawberry sauce that you want to make for a panna cotta dessert. Perhaps you cannot kick that craving for your grandmother's strawberry cobbler. These are all likely scenarios in the dead of winter when strawberries are out of season, and the berries at the market do not look so great. This is when frozen strawberries really come in handy, and with a few simple conversions, you can swap out frozen strawberries for fresh ones in almost any recipe.

1 Cup of Strawberries Equivalents

It is always handy to have the equivalents of one cup of anything when cooking including strawberries. Know exactly how much you need—from whole berries to ounces to puree—when converting from cup measurements.

One cup of whole strawberries equals: 

• 8 large strawberries
• 5 ounces fresh strawberries
• 1/2 cup purée