14.5 oz to Cups: The Conversion Every Home Cook Needs

Open most pantry cupboards and you will find at least one 14.5 oz can. Diced tomatoes, crushed tomatoes, chicken broth, beef broth — these are among the most commonly called-for canned ingredients in home cooking, and they almost all come in a 14.5 oz standard size. Yet recipe writers frequently specify ingredients in cups, not ounces, leaving cooks to do the conversion mid-prep.

14.5 fluid ounces = 1.8125 cups, which is most practically expressed as 1¾ cups plus 1 tablespoon, or just under 1⅞ cups. It does not land on a clean fraction, which is exactly why this conversion gets searched so often.

Oz to Cups Calculator

Use the calculator below for any fluid ounce value — including 14, 14.5, and 15 oz, which are all common can sizes.

Why 14.5 oz Does Not Convert Cleanly — and What to Do About It

Most standard measuring cup sets give you ¼, ⅓, ½, and 1 cup increments. The closest clean fraction to 1.8125 cups is 1¾ cups (1.75 cups), which is 0.0625 cups — or exactly 1 tablespoon — short of the actual 14.5 oz volume. For the vast majority of cooking applications, rounding to 1¾ cups introduces no meaningful error. The exception is precision baking, where that extra tablespoon of liquid can affect hydration and texture.

A more reliable approach for 14.5 oz ingredients: use a liquid measuring cup with fluid ounce markings and fill to the 14.5 oz line. This is faster and more accurate than trying to measure 1¾ cups plus a tablespoon, especially when working with thick ingredients like crushed tomatoes or coconut cream.

Where You Will Actually Encounter 14.5 oz

Canned Tomatoes: The Most Common Source

The 14.5 oz can is the industry standard for canned diced, crushed, stewed, and whole peeled tomatoes in the US market. Most tomato-based sauce recipes are written around this size. When a recipe calls for “1 can of diced tomatoes,” it almost always means 14.5 oz — approximately 1¾ cups of tomatoes plus their liquid. If you are using fresh tomatoes instead, 1¾ cups of diced fresh tomato plus 2 tablespoons of water approximates the volume of a 14.5 oz can.

Canned Broth and Stock

Chicken broth, beef broth, and vegetable stock are also commonly packaged in 14.5 oz cans (alongside the larger 32 oz format). A recipe calling for two cups of broth is slightly more than one 14.5 oz can — you would need about one full can plus 3 tablespoons to reach exactly 2 cups. Knowing this lets you plan whether to open a second can or top up with water or additional stock from a carton.

Coconut Milk

Full-fat coconut milk in the US is typically sold in 13.5 oz or 14 oz cans, which sit just below the 14.5 oz mark. These are close enough that recipes using one of these sizes can be rounded to 1¾ cups without affecting the outcome in most curry, soup, or dessert applications. Where it matters: if a recipe calls for exactly 2 cups of coconut milk and you have a 14.5 oz can, you are about 3 tablespoons short.

Green Beans, Corn, and Other Vegetables

Many canned vegetables come in 14.5 oz sizes, though here the “fluid ounce” label refers to total can contents including both solids and packing liquid. The drained volume will be less than 1¾ cups — typically around 1 to 1¼ cups of actual vegetable, depending on the product. If a recipe specifies “drained” volume, measure after draining rather than applying the 14.5 oz to cups conversion directly.

14 oz vs. 14.5 oz: Is the Difference Worth Worrying About?

Some canned goods — particularly imported brands and certain tomato products — come in 14 oz rather than 14.5 oz cans. The conversion for 14 oz is 1.75 cups exactly, which is 1¾ cups with no remainder. This also places 14 oz squarely between the 12 oz and 16 oz landmarks — 12 oz equals 1½ cups and 16 oz equals exactly 2 cups, making the 14–14.5 oz range the narrow zone between two of the cleanest conversions in cooking. The difference between a 14 oz can and a 14.5 oz can is just ½ tablespoon — negligible for soups and braises, and unlikely to affect any recipe outcome.

Where to pay attention: if a recipe was specifically developed around a 14.5 oz can and you are using a 14 oz can (or vice versa), the half-tablespoon discrepancy will not change the dish. But if you are substituting from bulk containers, knowing whether your recipe specifies 14 or 14.5 oz will help you measure more accurately.

14.5 oz as a Drink Serving: What Size Cup Do You Need?

While 14.5 oz is primarily a pantry measurement, it does come up in large drink servings — oversized smoothies, meal-replacement shakes, and large iced drinks sometimes land near this volume. At 14.5 oz, you are between the common 12 oz and 16 oz cup sizes. A 16 oz plastic cup accommodates 14.5 oz of liquid with comfortable headroom, making it the natural container choice. Filling a 16 oz cup to about 90% of capacity gives you roughly the 14.5 oz mark.

For a full overview of cup sizes and their fluid ounce capacities, the plastic cup range covers sizes from 2 oz through 32 oz.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Can I just use 1¾ cups instead of measuring 14.5 oz exactly?

For almost all cooking purposes, yes. 1¾ cups is 14 oz, which is half a tablespoon less than 14.5 oz. In soups, stews, braises, and sauces, this difference has no detectable effect on the outcome. For precision baking where liquid ratios affect rise or texture, use a liquid measure marked in ounces and fill to the 14.5 oz line.

• How many cups is 14.5 oz of drained canned tomatoes?

This depends on the brand and product, but typically a 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes yields around 1 to 1¼ cups of drained solids. The remaining liquid — which constitutes a meaningful portion of the can — is often used in the recipe as well. If a recipe specifies 14.5 oz undrained, use the full can contents (approximately 1¾ cups total). If it specifies drained, measure after draining.

• Is 14.5 oz the same as 15 oz for recipe purposes?

Close enough for most applications. 15 oz = 1.875 cups (1⅞ cups), while 14.5 oz = 1.8125 cups. The difference is about 1 tablespoon. Some tomato brands have shifted from 14.5 oz to 15 oz cans in recent years, and recipes have not been rewritten to account for the change — because it does not matter at that scale.

• How does 14.5 oz fit between other common can sizes?

The standard can progression most often encountered in US cooking: 10 oz (1¼ cups), 12 oz (1½ cups), 14 oz (1¾ cups), 14.5 oz (≈1¾ cups + 1 tbsp), 15 oz (1⅞ cups), 28 oz (3½ cups), 32 oz (4 cups). For a reference chart covering all of these and the values between them, the oz to cups guide for smaller measurements has the full 0.25–32 oz range.

• What about larger volumes — 33 oz and above?

If you are working with restaurant-size cans (28 oz, 32 oz, or larger) or bulk containers, those conversions are in the large-volume oz to cups reference covering 33 to 128 oz.