Cups to Grams Conversion: The Complete Cooking Guide
You’ve found a gorgeous European pastry recipe measured in grams, or an American cookie recipe calling for “2 cups of flour” — and now you’re stuck doing mental math instead of baking. Whether you’re a metric user tackling US recipes or an American baker trying to be more precise, the cups-to-grams conversion is something you’ll need over and over.
Why 1 cup doesn’t always weigh the same
This is the most common source of confusion. A cup is a measure of volume (about 237 ml), not weight. And since different ingredients have different densities, the same cup holds very different weights.
1 cup of flour weighs about 120 g. 1 cup of sugar weighs about 200 g. And 1 cup of butter weighs about 225 g. Same measuring cup, three completely different weights.
That’s why there’s no single “1 cup = X grams” conversion. It depends on the ingredient. It’s also why baking by weight is more accurate: 120 g of flour is always 120 g of flour, whether you scoop it or spoon it into the cup.
Cups to grams conversion chart
Here are the conversions for the most common baking and cooking ingredients:
| Ingredient | 1 cup | 3/4 cup | 1/2 cup | 1/4 cup |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All-purpose flour | 120 g | 90 g | 60 g | 30 g |
| Granulated sugar | 200 g | 150 g | 100 g | 50 g |
| Powdered sugar | 120 g | 90 g | 60 g | 30 g |
| Butter | 225 g | 170 g | 115 g | 55 g |
| Milk / water | 240 ml | 180 ml | 120 ml | 60 ml |
| Cocoa powder | 85 g | 65 g | 45 g | 20 g |
| Rice | 185 g | 140 g | 95 g | 45 g |
| Rolled oats | 90 g | 65 g | 45 g | 25 g |
Note: flour weight can vary depending on how you measure it. The values above are for flour spooned into the cup and leveled off (“spoon and level” method), which is the standard in most American baking recipes. If you scoop directly from the bag, you might pack in up to 150 g per cup.
Other US measurements you should know
Cups aren’t the only American measurement that causes confusion. Here are a few more handy conversions:
- 1 tablespoon (tbsp) = 15 ml
- 1 teaspoon (tsp) = 5 ml
- 1 stick of butter = 113 g (that’s 1/2 cup, or 8 tablespoons)
- 1 ounce (oz) = 28 g (weight) or 30 ml (volume, fluid ounce)
- 1 pound (lb) = 454 g
So when a recipe says “2 sticks of butter,” that’s 226 g. And “8 oz cream cheese” is about 225 g.
What if the conversion happened automatically?
Let’s be honest: looking up a conversion table every time you try an American recipe gets old fast. You search for the chart, do the math for each ingredient, then adjust again if you want to change the number of servings. Before you know it, you’ve spent more time calculating than cooking.
Cookfolio handles this automatically. When you adjust the number of servings on any recipe, all ingredient quantities are recalculated instantly, with unit conversions built in. You can also import any recipe — from a photo, a PDF, or even a handwritten page — and the app structures the ingredients with the right units.
No more bookmarking conversion charts. Adjust, cook, enjoy.