To convert cups to grams, multiply the volume in milliliters by the density of the ingredient. One US cup is 236.6 ml, so a cup of water weighs about 237 g, a cup of granulated sugar about 200 g, and a cup of all-purpose flour only about 125 g.
There is no single cups-to-grams number, because every ingredient packs into a cup differently. That is why a generic volume chart gets baking wrong. The free cooking converter applies a separate density to each common ingredient, so you can move between cups, spoons, milliliters, grams, ounces and pounds in one step.
This guide covers the formula, a reference chart for everyday baking ingredients, and the measuring mistakes that make converted recipes fail.
Why cups and grams don't convert directly
Cups, tablespoons and milliliters measure volume: how much space an ingredient takes up. Grams, ounces and pounds measure weight. To get from one to the other you need density, which is the weight of a fixed volume of that ingredient.
Water has a density of about 1 g/ml, so 1 ml of water weighs 1 g. Flour is light and full of air, roughly 0.53 g/ml when spooned into a cup. Honey is heavy, about 1.42 g/ml. The same cup can hold 125 g of one ingredient and 336 g of another.
The cups to grams formula
grams = cups × 236.588 × density (g/ml)
cups = grams ÷ density ÷ 236.588For spoons, swap in the size of the spoon. A US tablespoon holds 14.79 ml and a US teaspoon holds 4.93 ml.
Worked example: 2 cups of flour to grams
- Convert cups to milliliters: 2 × 236.588 = 473.2 ml.
- Multiply by the density of all-purpose flour: 473.2 × 0.53 = 250.8 g.
- Round for the kitchen: about 251 g, or 8.85 oz.
Going the other way, 100 g of flour ÷ 0.53 ÷ 236.588 = 0.8 cups, a little more than 3/4 cup.
Cups to grams chart for common baking ingredients
These weights use the same densities as the cooking converter. Real values shift by a few percent with brand, humidity and how you fill the cup, so treat them as reliable kitchen figures, not lab measurements.
| Ingredient | 1 US cup | 1 tablespoon | 1 teaspoon |
|---|---|---|---|
| Water | 237 g (8.35 oz) | 14.8 g | 4.9 g |
| Milk | 244 g (8.6 oz) | 15.2 g | 5.1 g |
| All-purpose flour | 125 g (4.4 oz) | 7.8 g | 2.6 g |
| Bread flour | 128 g (4.5 oz) | 8.0 g | 2.7 g |
| Granulated white sugar | 201 g (7.1 oz) | 12.6 g | 4.2 g |
| Brown sugar | 220 g (7.8 oz) | 13.8 g | 4.6 g |
| Butter | 227 g (8 oz) | 14.2 g | 4.7 g |
| Vegetable oil | 218 g (7.7 oz) | 13.6 g | 4.5 g |
| Honey | 336 g (11.9 oz) | 21.0 g | 7.0 g |
| Table salt | 272 g (9.6 oz) | 17.0 g | 5.7 g |
Two figures worth memorizing: one US stick of butter is 1/2 cup, 8 tablespoons or 113 g, and 1 cup of granulated sugar is close enough to 200 g for any recipe.
Why weighing ingredients gives better results
How you fill a cup changes what ends up in it. A cup of all-purpose flour scooped straight from the bag compacts and often weighs 140 g or more, while the same cup spooned in and leveled lands near 120 to 125 g. That difference is enough to turn a tender cake dry or a cookie dough stiff.
A scale removes the guesswork. 250 g of flour is 250 g whether it was sifted, scooped or packed. Weights also make it easy to scale a recipe up or down, since multiplying 225 g by 1.5 is simpler than multiplying 1 3/4 cups.
Cup and spoon sizes vary by country
The cooking converter uses US customary cups and spoons. Recipes from other countries may not:
- US cup: 236.6 ml. US tablespoon: 14.8 ml.
- Metric cup (Australia, New Zealand, Canada and others): 250 ml.
- Australian tablespoon: 20 ml, while most other countries use 15 ml.
- UK recipes mostly list grams and milliliters, so no conversion is needed for dry goods.
If a recipe uses a 250 ml metric cup, enter 250 and choose milliliters as the starting unit instead of cups. For pure volume changes such as cups to milliliters, the volume converter covers more units.
How to use the Cooking Converter
- Open the Cooking Converter and pick your ingredient from the searchable Ingredient list: water, milk, all-purpose flour, bread flour, white sugar, brown sugar, butter, oil, honey or table salt.
- Type the amount in the Value field. Decimals such as 0.75 work.
- Choose the From unit. Volume options are milliliters, liters, teaspoons, tablespoons, fluid ounces and US cups, pints, quarts and gallons. Weight options are grams, kilograms, ounces and pounds.
- Choose the To unit, for example Grams (g) or Ounces (oz).
- Read the Result, shown to three decimal places. Press the swap button between the two unit fields to reverse the conversion, for example to turn grams back into cups.
Because density only matters between volume and weight, the tool also handles straight swaps like cups to milliliters or grams to ounces. For other weight work, such as body weight or shipping, use the weight converter and our guide to weight conversions.
Common conversion mistakes to avoid
- Mixing up ounces and fluid ounces. Ounces measure weight; fluid ounces measure volume. A fluid ounce of water weighs about 29.6 g, but a fluid ounce of honey weighs about 42 g.
- Using the wrong ingredient. Brown sugar is heavier per cup than white sugar, and bread flour is slightly heavier than all-purpose. Pick the closest match in the list.
- Treating kosher salt like table salt. Kosher salt flakes are much lighter by volume, and brands differ, so the table salt figure will overshoot.
- Packing when the recipe didn't say to. Only brown sugar is normally packed. Spoon and level flour and white sugar.
- Rounding tiny amounts. For yeast, baking soda and salt, a few tenths of a gram matter. Use a scale that reads 0.1 g, or keep using measuring spoons.
- Forgetting the oven. A converted recipe often comes with Celsius or gas mark settings. Check them with the oven temperature converter.
Frequently asked questions
How many grams is 1 cup of flour?
One US cup of all-purpose flour weighs about 125 g when spooned into the cup and leveled. Many bakers round to 120 g, while flour scooped straight from the bag can weigh 140 g or more.
How many grams is 1 cup of sugar?
One US cup of granulated white sugar weighs about 200 g. Packed brown sugar is heavier, about 220 g per cup.
How many grams is 1 cup of butter?
One US cup of butter weighs about 227 g, which is two US sticks. A single stick is 1/2 cup, 8 tablespoons or 113 g.
Is a cup of water 250 grams?
A US cup of water weighs about 237 g. A 250 ml metric cup, used in Australia, New Zealand and Canada, holds 250 g of water.
How many tablespoons are in a cup?
A US cup holds 16 tablespoons, and each tablespoon holds 3 teaspoons. That makes 48 teaspoons per cup.
Why do bakers measure by weight instead of cups?
Weight doesn't change with how tightly an ingredient is packed, so the same recipe comes out the same every time. It also makes scaling and baker's percentages simple arithmetic.