how many ears of corn in a can

A standard 15–15.25 oz can of whole-kernel corn usually contains the kernels from about 1½ to 2 ears of corn.

Quick Scoop

If you’re just cooking and need a fast swap between fresh and canned, here’s the rule of thumb :

• Average ear of corn = about ¾ cup of kernels.

• 15–15.25 oz can of corn = about 1½ cups of kernels when drained.

• So: 1½ cups ÷ ¾ cup per ear ≈ 2 ears of corn per can.

Most practical guides and food writers round this to between 1½ and 2 ears of corn in one standard can.

Why You’ll See Different Answers

People quote slightly different numbers because:

• Ear size varies – big summer sweet corn vs smaller ears.

• Drained vs. undrained weight – the can weight includes liquid; the usable kernels are less.

• Some informal experiments (like refilling cobs with canned kernels) came out around 1½ ears per can , while volume-based kitchen math lands closer to 2 ears.

So if a recipe says “2 ears of corn” and you only have canned, using one 15 oz can of drained corn is a very reasonable swap.

Handy Conversion Table (HTML)

Here’s a simple HTML table you can use or embed:

html

<table>
  <thead>
    <tr>
      <th>Product</th>
      <th>Approx. kernels volume</th>
      <th>Approx. ears of corn</th>
    </tr>
  </thead>
  <tbody>
    <tr>
      <td>1 ear of corn</td>
      <td>~3/4 cup kernels [web:5][web:7]</td>
      <td>1 ear</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>1 can corn (15–15.25 oz)</td>
      <td>~1 1/2 cups drained kernels [web:5][web:7]</td>
      <td>~2 ears [web:1][web:5][web:9]</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>1 cup corn kernels</td>
      <td>1 cup</td>
      <td>~1 1/3 ears [web:5][web:7]</td>
    </tr>
  </tbody>
</table>

Bottom note: Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.