Cups to grams converter and conversion table

How to convert cups to grams

Cups measure volume and grams measure weight: a cup is a measurement of space, not of how heavy its contents are. So a cup to gram conversion needs the weight of one cup of that ingredient. Multiply the cups by it:

• 1 cup of granulated sugar: 198 g
• 1 cup of butter: 227 g
• 1 cup of whole milk: 244 g
• 1 cup of flour (all-purpose), spooned and leveled: 120 g
• 1 cup of honey: 339 g

So 2 cups of sugar are 396 grams and 2 cups of butter are 454 grams. The weight of a cup is the ingredient's density times the cup's volume, and different ingredients have different densities: the same cup measure holds 339 grams of honey and 84 grams of cocoa powder.

Unless a line says otherwise, every weight on this page is for a US cup, and each one comes from a named source: a test kitchen that weighed it (King Arthur Baking, America's Test Kitchen), USDA food data, or NIST for water. The calculator above shows the source and, where the source gives one, the fill method under each answer.

Cup to gram conversion table for common baking ingredients

Recipes use ¼, ⅓, ½, ⅔ and ¾ cup measures more often than whole cups. Here they are in grams for the ingredients people convert most:

Read across a row and the same cup measurement weighs very different amounts: ½ cup of sugar is 99 grams, ½ cup of butter 113.5 grams and ½ cup of milk 122 grams.

If your set lacks a measure, build it from the others: ⅔ cup is two ⅓ cups, ¾ cup is ½ cup plus ¼ cup, and ⅛ cup is 2 tbsp. Fill each one the same way, or the grams above no longer apply.

Tablespoons and teaspoons in grams

The same rule works for spoons: a US tablespoon is 1/16 cup and a teaspoon 1/48 cup (NIST Handbook 44), so a spoonful weighs that share of the cup.

• 1 tbsp of granulated sugar: 12.38 g
• 1 tbsp of butter: 14.19 g
• 1 tbsp of honey: 21.19 g
• 1 tsp of table salt: 6 g

These are the cup weight divided down, not separate weighings of a spoonful. Where a recipe gives its own gram measurements for a spoonful, use those.

Liquid ingredients and the metric cup: is 1 cup 250 grams?

There is no single weight for a cup of liquid. A US cup of water at 20 °C weighs 236.2 grams (NIST Chemistry WebBook); other liquids are lighter or heavier:

• Vegetable oil: 218 g
• Heavy cream: 238 g
• Whole milk: 244 g
• Maple syrup: 315 g
• Honey: 339 g

The 250 figure belongs to the metric cup, which holds 250 mL. That is a volume measurement, not a weight, and it is a bigger cup than the US one. If your recipe uses metric cups, switch the cup standard in the converter: 1 metric cup of granulated sugar is 209.2 grams.

Converting a whole recipe from cups to grams

1. Check which cup the recipe uses. A US recipe means the US cup. If the recipe lists milliliters too, they show its cup size (see mL to cups).
2. Check the measuring method. Some recipes say "spooned", "packed" or "sifted". For flour, brown sugar and powdered sugar, pick the same fill in the converter: a scooped cup of flour weighs 142 grams, not 120 grams.
3. Convert each line separately, by ingredient. Don't apply one "grams per cup" to the whole list.
4. Or keep liquids in milliliters. A US cup is 236.6 mL of any liquid; cups to milliliters needs no ingredient at all.

Once a recipe is in grams, you no longer depend on how anyone fills a cup. America's Test Kitchen calls weighing far more accurate than measuring by volume, and King Arthur Baking calls a digital kitchen scale an essential baking tool.

Cups to grams for cocoa powder, oats and more

Dairy and spreads. Sour cream 230 g, cream cheese 232 g, plain Greek yogurt 245 g, peanut butter 270 g and shredded cheddar 113 g per cup. The yogurt figure is a USDA reference value, not exact for any brand: two brand labels work out lighter.

Dry ingredients. Rolled oats 81 g and raw long-grain white rice 185 g (USDA); King Arthur Baking lists heavier cups for both, and neither source says how the cup was filled, so the cause of the gap is not stated. Unsweetened cocoa powder 84 g, chocolate chips 170 g and cornstarch 112 g (King Arthur Baking).

The ingredient weight chart lists everything on one page with its source. The flour, sugar, brown sugar and powdered sugar pages have every fill method, and rice, milk, yogurt, sour cream, heavy cream, peanut butter, chocolate chips and cocoa powder have their own pages; for butter by the stick, see the butter converter.

Cup sizes, ingredient density and fill: why charts differ

Two cups to grams charts can give different grams for the same measurement, for reasons you can check, and an accurate conversion has to get each one right:

• Fill method. America's Test Kitchen dips and sweeps, but notes that some bakers prefer to spoon flour into the cup. A cup of all-purpose flour is 120 grams spooned and leveled, 142 grams scooped and 115 grams sifted.
• Cup sizes. Nutrition labels use a 240 mL cup (21 CFR 101.9), a little larger than the US measuring cup, so a label cup of the same sugar is 200.9 grams. Using the wrong cup size shifts every line of a recipe.
• Source. Sources weigh different products and don't always say how: for rolled oats and rice, King Arthur Baking lists heavier cups than USDA, and neither says how the cup was filled, so the cause is not stated.
• Rounding. Nutrition labels give whole grams for a small serving, such as a teaspoon or ¼ cup. A cup weight worked out from a label multiplies that rounding.

When a chart doesn't say which cup, which fill and which source, there is no way to tell which of these is behind its number. Our calculator names the cup and the source for every answer, and the fill method whenever the source states one.

Sources

• 21 CFR 101.9 (US nutrition labeling)
• America's Test Kitchen baking conversion chart
• America's Test Kitchen, Baking Basics: Measuring Ingredients
• King Arthur Baking ingredient weight chart
• King Arthur Baking, How to measure flour
• Manufacturer's label serving size, as listed in USDA FoodData Central (Branded Foods)
• NIST Chemistry WebBook (Standard Reference Database 69), water
• NIST Handbook 44, Appendix C
• NIST Special Publication 430, Household Weights and Measures
• USDA FoodData Central, FNDDS survey foods
• USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy
• USDA Nutritive Value of Foods, Home and Garden Bulletin No. 72
• Weights and Measures Act 1985 (UK), Schedule 1

• Grams to cups converterPick the ingredient, type the grams and get US cups and spoons, with the fill method the weight assumes.
• How many grams in a cup of flourA cup of all-purpose flour weighs 120 grams spooned and leveled: pick the flour and the way you fill the cup.
• How many grams in a cup of sugarA cup of granulated sugar weighs 198 grams: pick the sugar, and for brown or powdered, how the cup is filled.
• 1 cup heavy cream in gramsA US cup of heavy cream weighs 238 grams: type grams, cups or milliliters and pick heavy cream, half-and-half or whipped cream.
• How many cups in a pound2 cups of butter weigh 1 pound: pick the ingredient, type the cups, get pounds.
• How many grams in a tablespoon2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour weigh 15 grams: pick the ingredient, type the spoons, get grams.
• mL to grams converter236.6 mL of heavy cream weighs 238 grams: pick the ingredient, type milliliters, get grams.
• What is half of 3/4 cup?Half of ¾ cup is ¼ cup + 2 tbsp: type a cup or spoon measure, pick half, a third or double, get the cups and spoons to fill.
• Oven temperature conversion180 °C is 356 °F: type a temperature or a gas mark, pick the units, get the other.
• Ingredient weight chartOne US cup of every ingredient we have a sourced weight for, in grams; change the amount or unit and every row follows.