What is the drained weight of chickpeas?

Question

We don’t have 15oz cans in Canada... I’m trying to figure out the amount of drained chickpeas I’d need

DRS · Answer

Having lived in 5 countries in addition to US & addicted to hummus, I disagree with SillyBee. In my experience no country has 15oz cans. Since this has been a problem for me in the past, I have researched it: US Code regulations: "Net Weight" or "Net Wt." refers to contents in terms of weight. Includes everything in the can/jar, expressed in ounces (grams elsewhere in the world) —- this includes the water in the can. This not the drained weight!

425g/15 ounces which yields 250g / 8.8 oz (~1.5 cups) of beans once drained. ——> So ~2/3 are beans. If you’re starting from dried chickpeas, they roughly double their weight once cooked. All this is according to the UK chef Nigella Lawson —- https://www.nigella.com/ask/using-dried-chickpeas—- corroborated by my many uses of different brands in US & elsewhere. However, come countries do it better, I now live in Spain where 75% of bottles (no cans here just glass jars, healthier) are beans. Bottles are usually 18 ounces, probably because chicpeas are more of a staple here.

JV · Answer

@SillyBee thanks so much, that is SUPER helpful! I can easily weigh out the correct amount, now knowing that 15oz is the net weight. I really appreciate it, and I’m looking forward to making this recipe soon.

SillyBee · Answer

Probably too late but I was at the store today and remembered to look at a can. One had a net weight of 15oz and the other was 15.5. Hope that helps.

JV · Answer

Thanks SillyBee, I’m very familiar with measurement conversions. But at least at my local stores we don’t have 425g cans...my cans are 540ml which translates to 18.2 fl oz, but since this includes the liquid volume, one can’t convert that directly to this recipe’s 15oz cans (since as you mentioned the amount of liquid varies by manufacturer, and this recipe uses drained chickpeas). If they had listed the drained weight of chickpeas needed for the recipe, it would’ve been much more useful for an international audience! (Unfortunately your knowledge of international standards is not quite accurate globally... at least in my city.)

If anyone knows the net weight (ie. drained weight) of an American 15oz can of chickpeas, that would be helpful. In the meantime I’ll keep digging!

Nancy that is helpful... I think I’ll just use a different recipe for now though.... using up a full jar of tahini on a recipe that might not pan out feels like an expensive experiment hahah

Nancy · Answer

Or 19 oz. So use 1.5 cans of those.

Nancy · Answer

Also, a common size of canned beans in Canada is 28 oz. That's probably close enough to replace the two 15-oz cans.

SillyBee · Answer

I used to work in food imports. The size of the can is an international standard so you should easily find a similar size in Canada. You just have to do a bit of conversion. A 15oz can is equal to a 425 gram can.  The drained weight depends on the manufacturer. It will be listed on the can as Net Weight (Net. Wt.) Hope that helps.

What is the drained weight of chickpeas?

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