Fresh to Dry Herb Converter

A third by volume — drying concentrates, though soft herbs lose their character entirely.

Converted amount1Fresh herbs to dried — a third, because drying concentrates the flavour

Ratio0.3333 ×

Going the other way9.001if the amount above were the FINISHED quantity

Starting amount3

Dry pasta to cooked2.25×pasta roughly doubles, a little more for short shapes

Raw white rice to cooked3×a cup of raw rice gives three cooked

Raw brown rice to cooked2.5×brown absorbs less and takes longer

Butter to oil0.75×butter is about 80 % fat, so use three quarters the volume of oil

Oil to butter1.25×and a quarter more butter to replace oil

Fresh yeast to active dry0.4×active dry is roughly 40 % of the fresh weight

Active dry to instant0.75×instant is finer and about a quarter less is needed

Garlic cloves to grams5×a medium clove is about 5 g peeled

Dry beans to cooked2.5×beans roughly two and a half times

Rolled oats to cooked2×oats double in volume

These ratios vary by shape, brand and how long you cook. Short pasta absorbs more than long, brown rice less than white, and every table disagrees at the second decimal place. Weigh once and note what your kitchen actually does.

The formula

converted amount = original amount * the ratio

Cooking changes the weight, not the food

Dry pasta more than doubles because it absorbs water; rice triples. A recipe that calls for 300 g of cooked rice needs 100 g raw, and getting that backwards produces three times the dinner you planned. The ratios differ by shape and variety more than most tables admit — short pasta absorbs more than long, brown rice less than white.

Dried herbs are stronger, not weaker

Drying removes water and concentrates what is left, so a teaspoon of dried oregano replaces a tablespoon of fresh — a third by volume. The exception is the soft herbs: parsley, coriander and basil lose most of their character on drying, and the substitution is technically correct and gastronomically pointless.

Fat for fat is not one for one

Butter is about 80 % fat and 16 % water; oil is 100 % fat. Replacing butter with oil therefore takes about three quarters the volume, and the missing water matters in baking — it is part of what makes steam and lift. In a cake the swap changes the crumb; in a fried dish it changes nothing.

Recipes are starting points

Ovens run hot or cold by 20 degrees, flour absorbs water differently by season and brand, and the same joint of meat cooks at a different rate depending on its shape rather than its weight. Everything here is a planning figure that gets you close enough to start, and the thermometer, the scales and your own notes from last time are what finish the job.