How Many Asparagus Spears in a Pound? Trimmed and Cooked Yield
A pound is about 15 medium asparagus spears (5 1/4 to 7 inches long), 12 large or 20 small, going by USDA’s nutrient-database weights and its 47% for butt ends. That matches the USDA Food Buying Guide: a pound of whole asparagus gives about 0.53 lb trimmed and ready to cook, and 0.50 lb cooked.
USDA yields for asparagus
From the USDA Food Buying Guide: how much ready-to-use or cooked product one pound as purchased gives. The figures work the same in metric: 0.53 lb per pound is 0.53 kg per kilogram.
How much is waste
USDA’s nutrient database (SR28, NDB 11011) lists 47% of “Asparagus, raw” as refuse: butt ends.
How much to buy
At 53% (trimmed, ready-to-cook asparagus):
| Ready to use | Buy as purchased |
|---|---|
| 1.00 lb (0.45 kg) | 1.89 lb (0.86 kg) |
| 5.00 lb (2.27 kg) | 9.43 lb (4.28 kg) |
| 10.0 lb (4.54 kg) | 18.9 lb (8.56 kg) |
| 25.0 lb (11.3 kg) | 47.2 lb (21.4 kg) |
Cost per usable pound
At 53%, the price as purchased becomes, per pound and per kilogram:
| Price as purchased | Cost per usable pound |
|---|---|
| $2.50/lb ($5.51/kg) | $4.72/lb ($10.40/kg) |
| $3.50/lb ($7.72/kg) | $6.60/lb ($14.56/kg) |
| $4.50/lb ($9.92/kg) | $8.49/lb ($18.72/kg) |
Example prices. Put yours in the food yield calculator.
The MiseKit app
USDA says 53% for asparagus. What does your last case say?
Book yields are averages. Your supplier, your cutter and your spec decide the real one. Run a yield test in MiseKit and it keeps every result, flags the cases that come in under your standard and costs each cut from what you actually got.
- Every test kept, by supplier and date
- Short cases flagged in dollars, not just percent
- Cut costs flow straight into recipe costs
Free for one location and one person. No card needed. Works on the phones your cooks already carry.
Run your own numbers
Good to know
- Nearly half the weight is the woody base, so the price per usable pound is almost twice the price on the invoice (1 ÷ 0.53 = 1.9).
FAQ
How many asparagus spears are in a pound?
About 15 medium spears (5 1/4 to 7 inches long), 12 large, 20 small or 10 extra large. USDA’s nutrient database weighs a trimmed medium spear at 16 g and counts 47% of the weight as butt ends.
How much asparagus do I need for 5 lb trimmed?
About 9.4 lb of whole asparagus (5 ÷ 0.53).
How much does asparagus lose when cooked?
Very little after trimming: a pound of whole spears gives 0.53 lb trimmed and 0.50 lb cooked (USDA Food Buying Guide).
Sources
- USDA Food and Nutrition Service, Food Buying Guide for Child Nutrition Programs (yield tables; public domain)
- USDA Agricultural Research Service, National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, Release 28 (refuse)
USDA figures are averages; size, grade, trim, ripeness and cooking change them. Weigh your own main items before you cost a menu on them.
Last reviewed October 11, 2026.
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