Cooked to Raw Food Calculator
Convert food weights between cooked and raw for accurate calorie and macro tracking.
Quick reference
Select a food and enter a weight
Common Cooking Ratios at a Glance
| Food | Ratio (raw → cooked) | 100g raw = | 100g cooked = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken breast | ×0.75 | 75g cooked | 133g raw |
| Chicken thigh | ×0.74 | 74g cooked | 135g raw |
| Beef (lean, <10% fat) | ×0.74 | 74g cooked | 135g raw |
| Beef (regular, 20% fat) | ×0.7 | 70g cooked | 143g raw |
| Pork loin | ×0.75 | 75g cooked | 133g raw |
| Salmon | ×0.8 | 80g cooked | 125g raw |
| White fish (cod, tilapia) | ×0.77 | 77g cooked | 130g raw |
| Shrimp / prawns | ×0.78 | 78g cooked | 128g raw |
| Turkey breast | ×0.75 | 75g cooked | 133g raw |
| White rice | ×3 | 300g cooked | 33g raw |
| Brown rice | ×2.7 | 270g cooked | 37g raw |
| Pasta (white) | ×2.5 | 250g cooked | 40g raw |
| Pasta (wholegrain) | ×2.3 | 230g cooked | 43g raw |
| Oats (rolled) | ×2 | 200g cooked | 50g raw |
| Quinoa | ×2.8 | 280g cooked | 36g raw |
| Couscous | ×2.5 | 250g cooked | 40g raw |
| Lentils | ×2.5 | 250g cooked | 40g raw |
| Chickpeas | ×2.4 | 240g cooked | 42g raw |
| Black beans | ×2.3 | 230g cooked | 43g raw |
| Kidney beans | ×2.3 | 230g cooked | 43g raw |
| Potato (boiled) | ×0.92 | 92g cooked | 109g raw |
| Potato (baked) | ×0.75 | 75g cooked | 133g raw |
| Sweet potato (baked) | ×0.8 | 80g cooked | 125g raw |
| Broccoli | ×0.85 | 85g cooked | 118g raw |
| Spinach | ×0.35 | 35g cooked | 286g raw |
Why Food Weight Changes When Cooked
The calories in food do not change during cooking — but the water content does, which changes the weight. This matters for macro tracking because most food databases list calories per 100g, and whether that refers to raw or cooked weight makes a significant difference.
Meat loses weight because heat causes muscle fibres to contract and squeeze out moisture. A 200g raw chicken breast typically becomes around 150g after cooking — but still contains the same calories. If you weigh it cooked and look up "cooked chicken breast" in your app, you get the right number. If you weigh it cooked but log "raw chicken breast", you'll undercount by about 25%.
Grains and legumes gain weight because they absorb water during cooking. 100g of dry rice becomes roughly 300g of cooked rice — same calories, three times the weight. This is why the calorie count per 100g is much lower for cooked rice than dry rice in nutrition databases.
The simplest rule: weigh raw, log raw. Before anything goes in the pan, put it on the scale. This removes all cooking-method variability and makes your logs reproducible day to day.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does food weight change when cooked?
Most foods lose water during cooking, which reduces their weight. Meat loses water and fat as it heats. Vegetables lose water through evaporation. Conversely, grains and legumes (rice, pasta, oats, lentils) absorb water during cooking and become heavier than their raw weight. The key point for calorie tracking is that the calorie content does not change — only the water content does.
Should I track food cooked or raw?
Either works — but you must be consistent and always check whether the nutrition label on your food refers to raw or cooked weight. Most packaged meat labels show raw values. Most restaurant nutrition information is based on cooked weight. The safest approach is to weigh and log raw, before cooking, since cooking time and method can vary.
Why is raw tracking more accurate?
When you cook a batch of chicken, different pieces may cook to different internal temperatures or times, affecting moisture loss variably. If you weigh raw, each piece has a known weight before any variable moisture loss. Weighing cooked introduces variation depending on how long and how hot it cooked.
Do the ratios vary between cooking methods?
Yes, significantly. Chicken breast grilled at high heat loses more moisture than poached chicken. Beef cooked well-done loses more than medium-rare. The ratios in this calculator are averages — your actual results may vary by ±5–10% depending on cooking method, temperature, and duration. For precision tracking, weigh raw whenever possible.
What about eggs?
Whole eggs lose very little weight during cooking (roughly 5–10%). A 60g raw egg becomes approximately 55g when hard-boiled or scrambled. The difference is small enough that many trackers simply log eggs by number rather than weight, using standard per-egg calorie values.
Why do grains multiply in weight?
Dry rice, pasta, and oats have almost no water. During cooking they absorb a significant amount of water — rice roughly triples, pasta roughly doubles. The calories remain the same: 100g dry rice and 300g cooked rice contain the same calories. The ratio matters because database entries may refer to either state.