Pounds of sunflower seeds to cups runs on one number, 3.2399455 cups per pound. It is a measured property of this ingredient rather than a defined conversion, which is why a generic volume-to-weight tool cannot give you it.
Put next to water — 1 g per mL exactly — sunflower seeds measures 0.59175 g per mL. That ratio, 59.17%, is what separates this page from every other ingredient in the same units, and it is measured rather than defined.
A cup of sunflower seeds is 140 g when it is measured the standard way, but how it gets into the cup changes the answer: between about 131.6 g and 156.8 g covers the range from lightly spooned to firmly packed. That 12% spread is larger than most of the adjustments recipes fuss over, and it disappears entirely the moment the ingredient is weighed instead.
Pounds are how sunflower seeds is bought rather than cooked, so this is the bag-size arithmetic: one pound is 3.24 cups, a 2 lb pack is 6.48 cups and a 5 lb sack is 16.2. That last figure is the one worth knowing before a large bake — it tells you whether one bag covers the recipe.
How the figure is arrived at: Hulled kernels, not the striped whole seeds sold as bird food — the whole seed is mostly hull and weighs far less per cup, which is the difference that trips up bulk-bin shopping.
The formula
pounds- The amount of sunflower seeds you are converting, in pounds
3.2399455- Cups per pound for sunflower seeds, from its density of 0.59175 g/mL
cups- The equivalent quantity in cups
How it works, step by step
- Enter the quantity in pounds.
- It is multiplied by 3.2399455, the cups-per-pound figure for sunflower seeds.
- The result appears in cups, with a second reading in tbsp beneath it.
- Use the measure table if you want a standard recipe quantity rather than a number you type in.
Worked examples
3/4 lb of sunflower seeds in cups
3/4 lb of sunflower seeds weighs out at 2.42996 cups. Divide 2.42996 by 3.2399455 and you get back to 3/4 lb, which is the quickest check that the factor is the right way up.
1 1/2 lb of sunflower seeds in cups
Take 1 1/2 lb of sunflower seeds: 1.5 × 3.2399455 gives 4.85992 cups. Doubling the batch takes it to 9.71984 cups, because the relationship is a straight proportion once the density is known.
3 lb of sunflower seeds in cups
A recipe calling for 3 lb of sunflower seeds needs 9.71984 cups on the scale. The arithmetic is 3 × 3.2399455 = 9.7198365, and halving the recipe halves the weight to 4.85992 cups.
How to read your score
Frequently asked questions
How many cups are in 1 lb of sunflower seeds?
One pound of sunflower seeds is 3.2399455 cups. Half that quantity is 1.61997 cups and double it is 6.47989 cups, so the figure scales straight up and down — there is no offset in this conversion, only the factor.
Why is a cup of sunflower seeds not 236 g like water?
Because weight per cup depends on what is in the cup. Sunflower seeds has a density of 0.59175 g per mL where water has 1.00, so a cup of it weighs 140 g rather than 236.6 g. That is a difference of 96.6 g per cup, and it is the reason a single volume-to-weight factor cannot be applied to every ingredient.
Does how I measure it change the weight?
Yes, and by more than most people expect. Handling changes the weight of a cup of sunflower seeds by roughly 12% — about 8.4 g either side of 140 g — because hulled kernels, not the striped whole seeds sold as bird food — the whole seed is mostly hull and weighs far less per cup, which is the difference that trips up bulk-bin shopping. Weighing removes the question entirely.
Is a fluid ounce of sunflower seeds the same as an ounce?
No. A fluid ounce is a volume — one eighth of a US cup, 29.57 mL — and an ounce is a weight. One fluid ounce of sunflower seeds weighs 0.6173 oz, so the two readings differ by 38.3%. They coincide only for something with the density of water, and then only roughly.
Is this a US cup or a metric cup?
US customary: 236.59 mL, which is the cup every US recipe means. A metric cup is 250 mL, so the same cup of sunflower seeds would weigh 147.94 g instead of 140 g — 7.94 g more, or 5.67%. Australian and some European recipes use the metric cup, and the difference is large enough to matter in baking.
Do I need a scale for this, or will measuring cups do?
A scale, if the result matters. Volume measuring carries a spread of about 12% for sunflower seeds — roughly 16.8 g on a 140 g cup — while a domestic scale is accurate to a gram or two. For anything where the ratio of ingredients drives the outcome, bread and pastry above all, weigh it.
How much does 2 cup of sunflower seeds weigh?
2 cup of sunflower seeds comes to 280 g, or 0.61729 pounds. This page runs that calculation in reverse — enter a weight and it returns the volume — and the cups-to-pounds page does it in the direction the question is usually asked.
Sunflower seeds in pounds and cups
| Pounds | Cups | Unrounded |
|---|---|---|
| 1/4 lb | 0.809986 cup | 0.809986375 |
| 1/2 lb | 1.61997 cup | 1.61997275 |
| 3/4 lb | 2.42996 cup | 2.429959125 |
| 1 lb | 3.23995 cup | 3.2399455 |
| 1 1/2 lb | 4.85992 cup | 4.85991825 |
| 2 lb | 6.47989 cup | 6.479891 |
| 3 lb | 9.71984 cup | 9.7198365 |
| 5 lb | 16.1997 cup | 16.1997275 |
Based on 140 g per cup of sunflower seeds. One pound of sunflower seeds is 3.2399455 cups.
| Measure | Grams | Ounces | Millilitres |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 cup | 140 g | 4.94 oz | 236.6 mL |
| 3/4 cup | 105 g | 3.7 oz | 177.4 mL |
| 2/3 cup | 93.33 g | 3.29 oz | 157.7 mL |
| 1/2 cup | 70 g | 2.47 oz | 118.3 mL |
| 1/3 cup | 46.67 g | 1.65 oz | 78.86 mL |
| 1/4 cup | 35 g | 1.23 oz | 59.15 mL |
| 1 tbsp | 8.75 g | 0.309 oz | 14.79 mL |
| 1 tsp | 2.917 g | 0.103 oz | 4.929 mL |
US customary measures: 1 cup = 236.59 mL, 1 tbsp = 14.79 mL, 1 tsp = 4.93 mL.
| Ingredient | Grams per cup | Ounces per cup | Density (g/mL) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pumpkin seeds | 130 g | 4.586 oz | 0.5495 |
| Frozen peas | 135 g | 4.762 oz | 0.5706 |
| Cashews | 140 g | 4.938 oz | 0.5917 |
| Sunflower seeds (this page) | 140 g | 4.938 oz | 0.5917 |
| Whole almonds | 142 g | 5.009 oz | 0.6002 |
| Sesame seeds | 144 g | 5.079 oz | 0.6087 |
| Raisins | 145 g | 5.115 oz | 0.6129 |
Ordered by weight. The spread across this group is why a single generic cups-to-grams factor cannot work.