How many cups in a pound
2 cups of butter weigh 1 pound: pick the ingredient, type the cups, get pounds.
2 cups butter
1 lb
US cup of 236.6 mL
How this is measured
1 US cup of butter weighs 227 g. Based on USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy).
How to convert cups to pounds
Multiply the cups by what one cup of the ingredient weighs, then divide by the weight of a pound. A cup is a unit of volume (a US cup is 8 fluid ounces) and a pound is a unit of weight, so there is no single answer: it depends on the density of the ingredient. A cup of butter weighs 8.01 ounces by USDA data, a cup of all-purpose flour 4.23 ounces by King Arthur Baking's chart. A pound is exactly 16 ounces, 453.6 grams (NIST Handbook 44).
So 2 cups of butter are 1 pound, while 2 cups of all-purpose flour are only 0.529 pounds. Pick the ingredient in the converter and it does the arithmetic with that ingredient's sourced cup weight.
Cups to pounds conversion chart
Common cup amounts in pounds for the ingredients people buy by the pound:
US cups. Flour spooned and leveled, brown sugar packed, powdered sugar unsifted, rice raw long-grain white.
| Cups | All-purpose flour | Granulated sugar | Brown sugar | Powdered sugar | Butter | Rice |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ½ cup | 0.132 lb | 0.218 lb | 0.235 lb | 0.125 lb | 0.25 lb | 0.204 lb |
| 1 cup | 0.265 lb | 0.437 lb | 0.47 lb | 0.249 lb | 0.5 lb | 0.408 lb |
| 2 cups | 0.529 lb | 0.873 lb | 0.939 lb | 0.498 lb | 1 lb | 0.816 lb |
| 3 cups | 0.794 lb | 1.31 lb | 1.41 lb | 0.747 lb | 1.5 lb | 1.22 lb |
| 4 cups | 1.06 lb | 1.75 lb | 1.88 lb | 0.996 lb | 2 lb | 1.63 lb |
| 5 cups | 1.32 lb | 2.18 lb | 2.35 lb | 1.25 lb | 2.5 lb | 2.04 lb |
| 6 cups | 1.59 lb | 2.62 lb | 2.82 lb | 1.49 lb | 3 lb | 2.45 lb |
| 8 cups | 2.12 lb | 3.49 lb | 3.76 lb | 1.99 lb | 4 lb | 3.26 lb |
| 10 cups | 2.65 lb | 4.37 lb | 4.7 lb | 2.49 lb | 5 lb | 4.08 lb |
Convert pounds to cups: how many cups in a pound
To convert pounds to cups, turn the arithmetic around: divide the weight by what one cup weighs. 1 pound equals 16 ounces, or 0.454 kilograms. The number of cups in 1 pound of each ingredient: ≈ 3¾ cups of all-purpose flour, ≈ 2¼ cups of granulated sugar, ≈ 2 cups of butter. Switch the "from" unit to lb in the converter to convert pounds of any ingredient; the number of pounds can be a fraction, such as 1/2 or 2.5.
Cups to fill (≈ when rounded), the decimal, and the weight of one cup; the primary value of each product.
| Ingredient | Cups in 1 lb | Decimal | 1 cup weighs | How the cup is filled | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flours and starches | |||||
| All-purpose flour | ≈ 3¾ cups | 3.78 cups | 4.23 oz | Spooned and leveled | A |
| Bread flour | ≈ 3¾ cups | 3.78 cups | 4.23 oz | Not stated | A |
| Cake flour | ≈ 4 cups | 4.01 cups | 3.99 oz | Not stated | B |
| Whole wheat flour | ≈ 4 cups | 4.01 cups | 3.99 oz | Not stated | A |
| Almond flour | ≈ 4⅔ cups | 4.72 cups | 3.39 oz | Not stated | A |
| Cornstarch | ≈ 4 cups | 4.05 cups | 3.95 oz | Not stated | A |
| Sugars and syrups | |||||
| Granulated sugar | ≈ 2¼ cups | 2.29 cups | 6.98 oz | Scooped | B |
| Brown sugar | ≈ 2 cups + 2 tbsp | 2.13 cups | 7.51 oz | Packed | A |
| Powdered sugar | ≈ 4 cups | 4.01 cups | 3.99 oz | Unsifted | A |
| Caster (superfine) sugar | ≈ 2⅓ cups + 1 tbsp | 2.39 cups | 6.7 oz | Not stated | A |
| Honey | ≈ 1⅓ cups | 1.34 cups | 11.96 oz | Not stated | C |
| Maple syrup | ≈ 1⅓ cups + 2 tbsp | 1.44 cups | 11.11 oz | Not stated | C |
| Dairy and fats | |||||
| Butter | ≈ 2 cups | 2 cups | 8.01 oz | Not stated | C |
| Milk | ≈ 1¾ cups + 2 tbsp | 1.86 cups | 8.61 oz | Not stated | C |
| Buttermilk | ≈ 1¾ cups + 2 tbsp | 1.85 cups | 8.64 oz | Not stated | C |
| Soy milk | ≈ 1¾ cups + 2 tbsp | 1.86 cups | 8.61 oz | Not stated | D |
| Almond milk | ≈ 1¾ cups + 2 tbsp | 1.86 cups | 8.61 oz | Not stated | D |
| Oat milk | ≈ 1¾ cups + 2 tbsp | 1.86 cups | 8.61 oz | Not stated | D |
| Heavy cream | ≈ 1¾ cups + 2 tbsp | 1.91 cups | 8.4 oz | Not stated | C |
| Half-and-half | ≈ 1¾ cups + 2 tbsp | 1.87 cups | 8.54 oz | Not stated | C |
| Whipped cream | ≈ 3¾ cups | 3.78 cups | 4.23 oz | Not stated | C |
| Sour cream | ≈ 2 cups | 1.97 cups | 8.11 oz | Not stated | C |
| Greek yogurt | ≈ 1¾ cups + 2 tbsp | 1.85 cups | 8.64 oz | Not stated | D |
| Plain yogurt | ≈ 1¾ cups + 2 tbsp | 1.85 cups | 8.64 oz | Not stated | C |
| Cream cheese | ≈ 1¾ cups + 3 tbsp | 1.96 cups | 8.18 oz | Not stated | C |
| Shredded cheddar | ≈ 4 cups | 4.01 cups | 3.99 oz | Shredded | C |
| Vegetable oil | ≈ 2 cups + 1 tbsp | 2.08 cups | 7.69 oz | Not stated | C |
| Pantry | |||||
| Water | ≈ 1¾ cups + 3 tbsp | 1.92 cups | 8.33 oz | Not stated | E |
| Rolled oats, dry | ≈ 5½ cups | 5.6 cups | 2.86 oz | Not stated | C |
| White rice, long-grain, raw | ≈ 2½ cups | 2.45 cups | 6.53 oz | Not stated | C |
| White rice, long-grain, cooked | ≈ 2¾ cups + 2 tbsp | 2.87 cups | 5.57 oz | Not stated | C |
| Brown rice, long-grain, raw | ≈ 2½ cups | 2.45 cups | 6.53 oz | Not stated | C |
| Brown rice, cooked | ≈ 2⅔ cups | 2.67 cups | 6 oz | Not stated | A |
| Cocoa powder | ≈ 5⅓ cups | 5.4 cups | 2.96 oz | Not stated | A |
| Chocolate chips | ≈ 2⅔ cups | 2.67 cups | 6 oz | Not stated | A |
| Mini chocolate chips | ≈ 2½ cups + 1 tbsp | 2.56 cups | 6.24 oz | Not stated | A |
| White chocolate chips | ≈ 2⅔ cups | 2.67 cups | 6 oz | Not stated | A |
| Peanut butter | ≈ 1⅔ cups | 1.68 cups | 9.52 oz | Not stated | A |
| Table salt | ≈ 1½ cups + 1 tbsp | 1.57 cups | 10.16 oz | Not stated | A |
Sources: A — King Arthur Baking ingredient weight chart; B — America's Test Kitchen baking conversion chart; C — USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy; D — USDA FoodData Central, FNDDS survey foods; E — NIST Chemistry WebBook (Standard Reference Database 69), water.
Cups in a bag of flour or sugar
US cups; ≈ marks the nearest measure. Above 16 cups the converter says to weigh instead: every scoop adds its own error.
| Pack | Cups | Decimal |
|---|---|---|
| 1 lb all-purpose flour | ≈ 3¾ cups | 3.78 cups |
| 5 lb all-purpose flour | over 16 cups: weigh it | 18.9 cups |
| 1 lb granulated sugar | ≈ 2¼ cups | 2.29 cups |
| 4 lb granulated sugar | ≈ 9 cups | 9.16 cups |
| 2 lb brown sugar | ≈ 4¼ cups | 4.26 cups |
| 2 lb powdered sugar | ≈ 8 cups | 8.03 cups |
| 1 lb butter | ≈ 2 cups | 2 cups |
| 2 lb white rice, long-grain, raw | ≈ 5 cups | 4.9 cups |
Past about a gallon, counting cups adds up the small error of every scoop, so the converter gives the number but says to weigh. A 5-pound bag of all-purpose flour is about 18.9 cups spooned and leveled; scooped straight from the bag, each cup holds more and the count drops.
The fill method and the type of flour change the weight
For flour and sugars, how the cup is filled matters as much as the cup itself. King Arthur Baking's cup of all-purpose flour, 120 grams, is spooned in and leveled; America's Test Kitchen's cup, dipped into the flour and swept level, is 142 grams. A pound of flour is ≈ 3¾ cups one way and ≈ 3¼ cups the other. Brown sugar depends on packing: a pound is ≈ 2 cups + 2 tbsp packed, ≈ 3 cups + 2 tbsp unpacked. The converter names the fill for every answer.
Different types of flour weigh differently as well. By King Arthur Baking's chart a cup of bread flour weighs 120 grams and a cup of whole wheat flour 113 grams, so 1 pound of flour is ≈ 3¾ cups of bread flour and ≈ 4 cups of whole wheat. A kitchen scale skips all of this: weigh the pound and no measuring cups are needed. If you don't have a scale, spoon the flour into the cup and level it, the method the cup weight assumes.
Liquids by the pound
A pint of water is often said to weigh a pound. By the NIST Chemistry WebBook density of water at 20 °C, a US pint of water weighs 1.04 pounds, and 2 cups of milk 1.08 pounds. Honey is much heavier: 1 cup is 0.747 pounds.
Questions
Is 1 lb equal to 1 cup?
Not for most ingredients. A pound of granulated sugar is ≈ 2¼ cups and a pound of butter ≈ 2 cups. Only an ingredient that weighs 16 ounces a cup would make 1 pound = 1 cup; honey comes closest of the common ones, at 11.96 ounces a cup.
How many pounds of flour is 4 cups?
4 cups of all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled, are 1.06 pounds, or 480 grams.
How many cups of sugar are in a pound?
≈ 2¼ cups of granulated sugar, ≈ 4 cups of powdered sugar (unsifted).
How many cups of brown sugar are in a pound?
≈ 2 cups + 2 tbsp of packed brown sugar, the way King Arthur Baking measures it; unpacked, by USDA data, ≈ 3 cups + 2 tbsp.
How many cups is a pound of butter?
≈ 2 cups, which is 4 sticks; 1 cup of butter is half a pound. See the butter converter for sticks and tablespoons.
How many cups of rice are in a pound?
≈ 2½ cups of raw long-grain white rice, by USDA data.
How many cups of shredded cheese are in a pound?
≈ 4 cups of shredded cheddar, by USDA data.
How many cups are in a pound of water?
1 pound of water is ≈ 1¾ cups + 3 tbsp: a cup of water weighs 8.33 ounces.
Can I convert cups to pounds without knowing the ingredient?
No. Even liquids differ: a cup of water weighs 0.521 pounds, a cup of vegetable oil 0.481 pounds. The weight of a cup decides the answer; the ingredient weight chart lists every cup weight the converter uses.
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
- Cups to grams converter and conversion tableOne US cup weighs 198 grams of granulated sugar but 227 grams of butter: pick the ingredient and type the cups.
- Ounces to grams converterOne ounce is 28.35 grams, for any ingredient: type ounces or pounds, get grams.
- 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.
- 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 cups in one stick of butterOne stick of butter is 8 tbsp, ½ cup and 4 ounces: type any butter amount and get all the others.
- Grams to cups converterPick the ingredient, type the grams and get US cups and spoons, with the fill method the weight assumes.