How do you convert cups to grams?
Multiply the number of cups by 236.6 to get milliliters, then by the ingredient's density. The cup measures volume: without a density, no conversion to grams is possible.
Example: 2 cups of flour (density 0.55) → 2 × 236.6 × 0.55 ≈ 260 g.
Cup fractions used in recipes
| Cups | Water | Flour | Sugar | Oil |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1/4 cup | 59 g | 33 g | 50 g | 54 g |
| 1/3 cup | 79 g | 43 g | 67 g | 73 g |
| 1/2 cup | 118 g | 65 g | 101 g | 109 g |
| 2/3 cup | 158 g | 87 g | 134 g | 145 g |
| 3/4 cup | 177 g | 98 g | 151 g | 163 g |
| 1 cup | 237 g | 130 g | 201 g | 218 g |
| 2 cups | 473 g | 260 g | 402 g | 435 g |
| 4 cups | 946 g | 520 g | 804 g | 871 g |
The US legal cup is 240 ml, but recipes use the customary cup of 236.5882365 ml, which is 8 fluid ounces. The modern British cup is 250 ml and the Japanese cup 200 ml: check where the recipe comes from. Methodology & sources.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a cup of flour weigh?
About 130 g at a density of 0.55. Real values range from 120 to 145 g depending on whether the flour is sifted or packed, which remains the main source of imprecision in cup-based recipes.
Why do American recipes measure by volume?
Domestic habit: kitchen scales spread late in the United States, while sets of cups and spoons are cheap and stack neatly. American professional baking, by contrast, works by weight.
Is every cup 236.6 ml?
No. The customary recipe cup is 236.6 ml, the legal nutrition-labelling cup 240 ml, the British cup 250 ml and the Japanese cup 200 ml. The gap between the Japanese and the British reaches 25 %.
Why does my cup of flour never weigh the same?
Because how you fill it counts as much as what you fill. Dipping the cup into the bag packs the flour and yields 140 to 150 g; spooning it in and levelling with a knife yields 120 to 125 g. Twenty-five percent apart for the same recipe line, and it is the leading cause of a dry cake. Careful American recipes state the method; the rest assume the second.
Should brown sugar be packed?
Yes, and American recipes say so: packed brown sugar. A packed cup weighs about 215 g, the same sugar poured loose about 145 g. The gap exceeds half because molasses makes the sugar sticky and traps air. White sugar does not pack: it weighs 200 g per cup either way.