Yeast Conversion Chart — Grams to Teaspoons & Yeast Swaps

Swap any yeast for any other — by weight, at every amount.

Three yeasts, three different weights for the same rise: instant is the most concentrated, active dry needs a quarter more, and fresh yeast needs three times as much because most of it is water. This chart reads across — every row is the same leavening power expressed three ways — at the amounts recipes and packets actually use, including the 7 g sachet. It is the same arithmetic our yeast converter does, printed so you can check it with floury hands. Weigh where you can; yeast is the one ingredient where a gram genuinely matters.

The chart

Yeast Conversion Chart — Grams to Teaspoons & Yeast Swaps
Instant / rapid-rise	Instant in teaspoons	Active dry	Fresh / cake yeast
1 g	0.32 tsp	1.3 g	3 g
2 g	0.65 tsp	2.5 g	6 g
3 g	0.97 tsp	3.8 g	9 g
4 g	1.29 tsp	5 g	12 g
5 g	1.61 tsp	6.3 g	15 g
6 g	1.94 tsp	7.5 g	18 g
7 g (1 sachet)	2.26 tsp	8.8 g	21 g
10 g	3.23 tsp	12.5 g	30 g
14 g	4.52 tsp	17.5 g	42 g
21 g	6.77 tsp	26.3 g	63 g
25 g	8.06 tsp	31.3 g	75 g

Read across: every row is the same amount of leavening power in three different yeasts. Active dry weighs 25% more than instant for the same rise; fresh yeast weighs three times as much, because it is about 70% water.
A standard 7 g sachet of instant yeast is about 2¼ teaspoons — the row labelled “1 sachet”.
Instant yeast can go straight into the flour. Active dry is best bloomed in warm water first, though King Arthur Baking now says modern active dry can be added dry as well.
These are weight-for-weight equivalents, not time equivalents. Rise times still depend on dough temperature far more than on which yeast you used.
Teaspoons are given for instant only. Spoon measures vary with how the granules pack, so weigh the yeast if you can — especially fresh, which cannot be spooned meaningfully at all.

🧮 Need a number that isn’t on the chart? Yeast Converter does this arithmetic for your exact figures →

Why fresh yeast weighs three times as much

Fresh or cake yeast is roughly 70% water, while dried yeasts have had nearly all of it removed. So a gram of fresh yeast contains far fewer living cells than a gram of instant, and you need about three times the weight to get the same rise. That is also why fresh yeast lives for two weeks in a fridge while a sealed sachet of instant keeps for two years.

Instant versus active dry: 1.25, not 1.5

Active dry yeast has larger granules and a layer of dead cells around each one, which protects it in storage but means less live yeast per gram — hence the 1.25 multiplier. You will see 1.5 quoted in older books, from an era when active dry was less reliably processed. King Arthur Baking now puts the difference at about a quarter, which is the figure this chart and the calculator both use.

Do you still need to bloom active dry?

Traditionally yes: active dry was dissolved in warm water first to wake it and dissolve the dead-cell coating. King Arthur Baking now says modern active dry can go straight into the flour like instant, taking slightly longer to get going. Blooming still does no harm, and it has one real advantage — if the yeast is dead, you find out in the cup rather than in the dough.

Teaspoons are a compromise

The chart gives teaspoons for instant yeast only, at 3.1 g per teaspoon. Spoon measures depend on how the granules pack, which differs between yeasts and between the front and back of an opened sachet; fresh yeast cannot be spooned meaningfully at all. If you are converting a recipe that specifies spoons, weigh the result once and note it — your spoon and your yeast are more consistent with each other than with anyone else’s.

Use this chart

Print it, pin it up, or post it wherever it’s useful — all we ask is a link back so people can find the calculator behind it. Copy either line:

Plain text

Yeast Grams to Teaspoons Chart (7 g = 2¼ tsp) — CookToolbox, https://cooktoolbox.com/reference/yeast-conversion-chart

HTML

<a href="https://cooktoolbox.com/reference/yeast-conversion-chart">Yeast Grams to Teaspoons Chart (7 g = 2¼ tsp)</a> by CookToolbox

Frequently asked questions

How much instant yeast is in a 7 g sachet? +

A standard sachet holds 7 g of instant yeast, which is about 2¼ teaspoons — the row labelled “1 sachet” in the chart. That is the amount most bread recipes for a single loaf are written around, which is why sachets are sold in that size.

Does swapping yeast change the rising time? +

Slightly, but far less than the temperature of your dough does. These are weight-for-weight equivalents of leavening power, not of speed: active dry added dry takes a little longer to get going than instant, and a dough proving in a warm kitchen will outpace both. Judge the dough by how much it has grown, not by the clock.

Can I print this chart or put it on my site? +

Yes — printing is what it is for. Use your browser’s print command (or Save as PDF) and the page strips the navigation, ads and colours automatically, leaving just the chart with its source line. You are welcome to print it, stick it on the fridge, or post it anywhere you like as long as you credit it with a link back.

How accurate is this chart? +

Every figure is generated from the same tested references our calculators use (USDA FoodData Central and King Arthur Baking), so the chart and the tool can never disagree. Ovens, ingredients and appliances vary, so treat the numbers as a reliable starting point and adjust to your own kit.

Sources

📖 Yeast Conversion: Active Dry, Instant & Fresh Why these numbers are what they are →