Cups to grams, ingredient by ingredient

There is no single number that converts cups to grams. A cup of flour is 125 g and a cup of honey is 340 g, because you are measuring space and weighing mass. Here is the figure for each ingredient.

Why one conversion number can't work

A cup is a measure of volume, roughly 237 millilitres. Grams measure weight. Getting from one to the other needs to account for how densely the ingredient packs into the cup, which is different for every ingredient and sometimes different for the same ingredient depending on how you scoop it.

Cocoa powder is light and full of air at 85 g per cup. Honey is dense and heavy at 340 g. That's a fourfold difference between two things that fill the same cup.

Scooping flour straight from the bag compacts it and can add 20 percent or more to the weight, which is enough to make a cake dry. The 125 g figure below assumes the spoon and level method: stir the flour, spoon it into the cup, then level the top with a knife.

Conversion tables

All figures are for one US cup, with the common fractions worked out so you don't have to. Tablespoon amounts are rounded to the nearest gram.

Flours and dry baking staples

Ingredient	1 cup	1/2 cup	1/3 cup	1/4 cup	1 tbsp
All purpose flour	125 g	62 g	42 g	31 g	8 g
Bread flour	127 g	64 g	42 g	32 g	8 g
Cake flour	114 g	57 g	38 g	28 g	7 g
Whole wheat flour	120 g	60 g	40 g	30 g	8 g
Almond flour	96 g	48 g	32 g	24 g	6 g
Cornstarch	120 g	60 g	40 g	30 g	8 g
Cocoa powder	85 g	42 g	28 g	21 g	5 g
Rolled oats	90 g	45 g	30 g	22 g	6 g
Breadcrumbs	108 g	54 g	36 g	27 g	7 g
Panko	60 g	30 g	20 g	15 g	4 g

Sugars

Ingredient	1 cup	1/2 cup	1/3 cup	1/4 cup	1 tbsp
Granulated sugar	200 g	100 g	67 g	50 g	12 g
Brown sugar, packed	213 g	106 g	71 g	53 g	13 g
Powdered sugar	120 g	60 g	40 g	30 g	8 g

Fats and dairy

Ingredient	1 cup	1/2 cup	1/3 cup	1/4 cup	1 tbsp
Butter	227 g	114 g	76 g	57 g	14 g
Shortening	205 g	102 g	68 g	51 g	13 g
Cream cheese	232 g	116 g	77 g	58 g	14 g
Vegetable oil	218 g	109 g	73 g	54 g	14 g
Olive oil	216 g	108 g	72 g	54 g	14 g
Milk	244 g	122 g	81 g	61 g	15 g
Buttermilk	245 g	122 g	82 g	61 g	15 g
Heavy cream	238 g	119 g	79 g	60 g	15 g
Yogurt	245 g	122 g	82 g	61 g	15 g
Sour cream	230 g	115 g	77 g	58 g	14 g
Water	237 g	118 g	79 g	59 g	15 g

Syrups and spreads

Ingredient	1 cup	1/2 cup	1/3 cup	1/4 cup	1 tbsp
Honey	340 g	170 g	113 g	85 g	21 g
Maple syrup	322 g	161 g	107 g	80 g	20 g
Molasses	337 g	168 g	112 g	84 g	21 g
Corn syrup	328 g	164 g	109 g	82 g	20 g
Peanut butter	258 g	129 g	86 g	64 g	16 g
Tahini	240 g	120 g	80 g	60 g	15 g
Mayonnaise	220 g	110 g	73 g	55 g	14 g
Ketchup	240 g	120 g	80 g	60 g	15 g

Grains and legumes, uncooked

Ingredient	1 cup	1/2 cup	1/3 cup	1/4 cup	1 tbsp
White rice	195 g	98 g	65 g	49 g	12 g
Brown rice	190 g	95 g	63 g	48 g	12 g
Quinoa	170 g	85 g	57 g	42 g	11 g
Lentils	192 g	96 g	64 g	48 g	12 g
Couscous	173 g	86 g	58 g	43 g	11 g

Cheese

Ingredient	1 cup	1/2 cup	1/3 cup	1/4 cup	1 tbsp
Shredded cheddar	113 g	56 g	38 g	28 g	7 g
Shredded mozzarella	112 g	56 g	37 g	28 g	7 g
Grated parmesan	100 g	50 g	33 g	25 g	6 g
Crumbled feta	150 g	75 g	50 g	38 g	9 g
Ricotta	246 g	123 g	82 g	62 g	15 g

Nuts, seeds, chocolate, dried fruit

Ingredient	1 cup	1/2 cup	1/3 cup	1/4 cup	1 tbsp
Chocolate chips	170 g	85 g	57 g	42 g	11 g
Chopped walnuts	117 g	58 g	39 g	29 g	7 g
Chopped pecans	109 g	54 g	36 g	27 g	7 g
Whole almonds	143 g	72 g	48 g	36 g	9 g
Peanuts	146 g	73 g	49 g	36 g	9 g
Raisins	145 g	72 g	48 g	36 g	9 g
Shredded coconut	93 g	46 g	31 g	23 g	6 g

Salt

Ingredient	1 cup	1/2 cup	1/3 cup	1/4 cup	1 tbsp
Table salt	288 g	144 g	96 g	72 g	18 g
Kosher salt	216 g	108 g	72 g	54 g	14 g

Vegetables

Ingredient	1 cup	1/2 cup	1/3 cup	1/4 cup	1 tbsp
Chopped onion	160 g	80 g	53 g	40 g	10 g
Frozen peas	134 g	67 g	45 g	34 g	8 g
Corn kernels	154 g	77 g	51 g	38 g	10 g
Fresh spinach	30 g	15 g	10 g	8 g	2 g
Chopped kale	21 g	10 g	7 g	5 g	1 g

How to use a scale instead

Once you have a scale, the conversions stop mattering. Put the bowl on the scale, press tare to zero it, and add ingredients until you hit the number. No measuring cups to wash, and no variation from how you scooped.

Two habits that make it faster than cups rather than slower:

Tare between each addition. Add flour, tare back to zero, add sugar, tare again. One bowl, no arithmetic.
Weigh liquids too. Water and milk are close enough to 1 g per millilitre that you can weigh them in the same bowl instead of dirtying a measuring jug.

Where these numbers come from

These are the commonly published values used across professional recipe development, and they agree with each other to within a few grams. You'll occasionally see a source list flour at 120 g or 130 g rather than 125 g. That spread is smaller than the error introduced by scooping technique, so it isn't worth worrying about.

Weights that genuinely vary and deserve a note:

Brown sugar is listed packed, which is what most recipes assume. Unpacked runs closer to 145 g.
Kosher salt differs by brand because the crystal size differs. Diamond Crystal is noticeably lighter per cup than Morton, so a recipe developed with one is saltier when made with the other.
Chopped nuts and vegetables depend on how finely you chopped them. Treat those rows as close estimates.
Leafy greens vary enormously with packing. A cup of loosely piled spinach and a cup of pressed spinach are not the same thing.

Every recipe you save in AIORecipes has a metric toggle that applies these same figures, so a recipe written in cups shows the gram weight for each ingredient. Scaling servings up or down recalculates both.

Open the app to try it on a recipe.

Last updated August 2026.