Cups to Grams Calculator — Flour, Sugar, Oil & 18 Baking Ingredients
This calculator converts cup measurements into grams for the most common baking ingredients — all-purpose flour, bread flour, whole-wheat flour, granulated sugar, powdered sugar, packed brown sugar, vegetable oil, olive oil, butter, honey, milk, and more. Because a cup is a volume unit (240 mL in US recipes) while grams measure mass, the conversion factor depends entirely on the ingredient's density. For example, 1 cup of all-purpose flour weighs approximately 120 g, while 1 cup of honey weighs 340 g — a 183% difference for the exact same volume. Density factors are drawn from the King Arthur Baking Ingredient Weight Chart and USDA FoodData Central, the two most-cited sources in professional recipe development. Use this tool whenever a recipe lists cups but your kitchen scale (or a professional recipe) requires grams for precise, reproducible results.
1 cup of all-purpose flour = 120 g. 1 cup of granulated sugar = 200 g. 1 cup of vegetable oil = 220 g. Formula: Grams = Cups × Density Factor (g/cup). A US cup = 240 mL; density varies by ingredient, so always use ingredient-specific factors — not a single universal number.
When to use this calculator
- Scaling a bread recipe that lists 3 cups of whole-wheat flour to grams for a digital kitchen scale: 3 × 130 g = 390 g.
- Converting a US cake recipe to metric units for baking in Europe or Australia, where cup volumes differ from the 240 mL US standard.
- Precisely measuring cake flour for a sponge cake where ±10 g affects crumb texture and rise.
- Doubling or halving a cookie recipe and needing exact gram equivalents to avoid compounding measurement errors.
Example: 2¼ cups all-purpose flour for chocolate chip cookies
- Classic chocolate chip cookie recipes call for 2¼ cups of all-purpose flour.
- Select 'All-purpose flour' and enter 2.25 cups.
- Calculation: 2.25 × 120 g/cup = 270 g of flour.
- Result: 270 g. If you had scooped the cup directly into the bag (~150 g/cup), you would have used 337 g — 67 g too much, producing a dry and crumbly cookie.
How it works
2 min readHow It's Calculated
The formula is straightforward:
Grams = Cups × Density Factor (g per cup)Each ingredient has a fixed density factor derived from King Arthur Baking's weight chart and USDA food composition data. The factor accounts for how tightly particles pack inside a standard 240 mL US cup at room temperature.
Reference Table: Cups to Grams (1 US cup = 240 mL)
| Ingredient | g/cup | ½ cup | ¼ cup | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All-purpose flour (spooned & leveled) | 120 | 60 | 30 | King Arthur |
| Self-rising flour | 120 | 60 | 30 | King Arthur |
| Whole-wheat flour | 130 | 65 | 32.5 | King Arthur |
| Almond flour | 96 | 48 | 24 | King Arthur |
| Granulated white sugar | 200 | 100 | 50 | King Arthur |
| Brown sugar (packed) | 220 | 110 | 55 | King Arthur |
| Powdered / icing sugar | 120 | 60 | 30 | King Arthur |
| Unsweetened cocoa powder | 85 | 42.5 | 21.25 | King Arthur |
| Vegetable oil | 220 | 110 | 55 | USDA |
| Extra-virgin olive oil | 216 | 108 | 54 | USDA |
| Butter (solid) | 227 | 113.5 | 56.75 | USDA |
| Whole milk | 240 | 120 | 60 | USDA |
| Honey | 340 | 170 | 85 | USDA |
| Rolled oats (quick-cook) | 90 | 45 | 22.5 | King Arthur |
| Rolled oats (old-fashioned) | 80 | 40 | 20 | King Arthur |
| Chocolate chips | 170 | 85 | 42.5 | King Arthur |
| Shredded coconut (dry) | 80 | 40 | 20 | King Arthur |
| Uncooked rice | 195 | 97.5 | 48.75 | USDA |
> Note: Flour values assume the spoon-and-level method. Scooping directly from the bag packs the cup and can add 20–30 g per cup (up to +25%).
Quick Reference: Most Common Conversions
| Cups | All-purpose flour | Granulated sugar | Vegetable oil | Butter |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ¼ cup | 30 g | 50 g | 55 g | 57 g |
| ½ cup | 60 g | 100 g | 110 g | 113 g |
| 1 cup | 120 g | 200 g | 220 g | 227 g |
| 1½ cups | 180 g | 300 g | 330 g | 341 g |
| 2 cups | 240 g | 400 g | 440 g | 454 g |
| 2¼ cups | 270 g | 450 g | 495 g | 511 g |
| 3 cups | 360 g | 600 g | 660 g | 681 g |
Common Mistakes
1. Scooping flour directly from the bag. This packs the cup and adds 20–30 g per cup, resulting in dense, dry baked goods. Always spoon flour into the cup and level with a straight-edge knife.
2. Assuming all sugars weigh the same. Granulated sugar (200 g/cup), powdered sugar (120 g/cup), and packed brown sugar (220 g/cup) differ by up to 83%.
3. Treating a 250 mL cup as a US cup. Australian/Canadian/metric cup = 250 mL adds ~4% extra per cup. Accumulated across multiple ingredients in a recipe, that error compounds.
4. Not packing brown sugar. Loosely filled brown sugar weighs only ~160 g/cup vs. 220 g when firmly packed — a 37% difference that noticeably dries out cookies and cakes.
Frequently asked questions
How many grams is 1 cup of all-purpose flour?
1 cup of all-purpose flour weighs approximately 120 grams using the spoon-and-level method (spoon flour into the measuring cup, level with a straight edge), according to the King Arthur Baking Ingredient Weight Chart. If you scoop directly from the bag, the cup can pack to 150 g or more — a 25% overshot that leads to dense, dry baked goods.
How many grams is 1 cup of sugar?
1 cup of granulated white sugar = 200 g. Powdered (icing) sugar = 120 g/cup. Brown sugar (packed) = 220 g/cup. Never use the same conversion factor for different types of sugar — they differ by up to 83%.
How many grams is 1 cup of butter?
1 cup of solid butter = 227 g (equivalent to 2 standard US sticks of butter). ½ cup = 113 g; ¼ cup = 57 g. At room temperature, butter is slightly easier to measure accurately by weight.
Why do cups and grams give different results for different ingredients?
A cup measures volume (240 mL in the US), while grams measure mass. Each ingredient has a unique density — how much mass fits into that fixed volume. Honey (340 g/cup) is nearly three times as heavy as rolled oats (80 g/cup) for the same cup volume, because honey is a dense liquid while oats are airy flakes.
Is 1 cup the same in all countries?
No. A US legal cup = 240 mL, an Australian/Canadian metric cup = 250 mL, and an old imperial UK cup = 284 mL. That is a 4–18% volume difference. If you follow a US recipe using a 250 mL metric cup, each cup of flour will be ~12.5 g heavier than intended.
Does it matter if brown sugar is packed or not?
Yes — significantly. A loosely filled cup of brown sugar weighs roughly 160–170 g, while a firmly packed cup reaches 220 g — a 30% difference. Most US recipes specify 'packed' brown sugar. Press the sugar down firmly and level the top.
Do sifted and unsifted flour weigh the same per cup?
No. Sifting aerates flour, reducing density. Unsifted all-purpose flour (spoon-leveled) weighs ~120 g/cup; sifted all-purpose flour weighs ~108–110 g/cup — about 10% less. Watch the recipe's phrasing: '1 cup sifted flour' (sift, then measure) differs from '1 cup flour, sifted' (measure, then sift).
How do I convert grams back to cups?
Reverse the formula: Cups = Grams ÷ Density Factor. For example, 300 g of all-purpose flour ÷ 120 g/cup = 2.5 cups. 400 g of granulated sugar ÷ 200 g/cup = 2 cups. Useful when you have total weight but need to express it as cups.
Why are oil cup-to-gram conversions important for calorie tracking?
Oils are calorie-dense: olive oil provides approximately 884 kcal per 100 g (USDA). At 216 g per cup, a single cup of olive oil contains roughly 1,910 kcal. Even a 2-tablespoon (1/8 cup) error equals ~27 g of oil and ~239 extra kcal. For macro or calorie tracking, always weigh oils in grams.
How many tablespoons are in a cup, and how do I convert tablespoons to grams?
1 cup = 16 tablespoons = 48 teaspoons. To convert tablespoons to grams: (tablespoons ÷ 16) × g/cup factor. Example: 3 tablespoons of butter = (3/16) × 227 g ≈ 42.6 g.