Cups to Grams Converter for Flour, Sugar, Butter and More

This converter turns cups, tablespoons and teaspoons of 16 ingredients into grams by multiplying the volume by each ingredient’s density, taken from USDA FoodData Central’s weight for 1 US cup. You pick the cup standard, and the result names it.

Convert cups, tablespoons and teaspoons to grams, or back, for 16 baking and cooking ingredients, using the US, metric or Japan cup or the Taiwan rice cup.

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Result

125 g

1 US cup · All-purpose flour

Standard used: US cup = 236.5882 mL

Based on 125 g per US cup. Density used: 0.528 g per mL

Assumes: Spooned (fluffed) into the cup and levelled. Flour scooped or packed straight from the bag can weigh up to about 160 g per cup.

50100150200250300mLTaiwan rice cup180 mL · 95.1 gJapan cup200 mL · 106 gUK cup227.3 mL · 120 gUS cup236.6 mL · 125 gMetric cup250 mL · 132 g
  • Taiwan rice cup: 180 mL · 95.1 g
  • Japan cup: 200 mL · 106 g
  • UK cup: 227.3 mL · 120 g
  • US cup: 236.6 mL · 125 g
  • Metric cup: 250 mL · 132 g

Grams in one cup, tablespoon and teaspoon

The same numbers the converter uses, for every ingredient. Spoon columns use the metric 15 mL tablespoon and 5 mL teaspoon unless marked US.

IngredientUS cupMetric cupJapan cupTaiwan rice cupUS tbspMetric tbspMetric tsp
All-purpose flour125 g132 g106 g95.1 g7.81 g7.92 g2.64 g
Butter227 g240 g192 g173 g14.2 g14.4 g4.8 g
Granulated sugar200 g211 g169 g152 g12.5 g12.7 g4.23 g
Rice (uncooked white)185 g196 g156 g141 g11.6 g11.7 g3.91 g
Bread flour137 g145 g116 g104 g8.56 g8.69 g2.9 g
Brown sugar220 g232 g186 g167 g13.8 g13.9 g4.65 g
Cake flour137 g145 g116 g104 g8.56 g8.69 g2.9 g
Cocoa powder86 g90.9 g72.7 g65.4 g5.37 g5.45 g1.82 g
Cornstarch128 g135 g108 g97.4 g8 g8.12 g2.71 g
Honey339 g358 g287 g258 g21.2 g21.5 g7.16 g
Milk244 g258 g206 g186 g15.2 g15.5 g5.16 g
Powdered sugar120 g127 g101 g91.3 g7.5 g7.61 g2.54 g
Rolled oats81 g85.6 g68.5 g61.6 g5.06 g5.14 g1.71 g
Table salt292 g309 g247 g222 g18.2 g18.5 g6.17 g
Vegetable oil218 g230 g184 g166 g13.6 g13.8 g4.61 g
Water237 g250 g200 g180 g14.8 g15 g5.01 g

How to use it

Pick an ingredient, type an amount and choose the units to convert from and to. Amounts can be written as decimals or kitchen fractions such as 1.5, 1 1/2 or ¾. The result updates as you type, and when a cup or spoon answer lands close to a common fraction, that fraction is shown as well. Under the result, the “Standard used” box lists the size of each cup or spoon involved in millilitres, the grams per US cup the calculation is based on, and the measuring method that figure assumes.

How the conversion works

Every conversion passes through millilitres. The converter first turns your amount into millilitres using the definition of the unit: a US cup is exactly 236.5882365 mL (NIST), a metric cup 250 mL, a Japan cup 200 mL and a Taiwan rice cup about 180 mL. It then multiplies by the ingredient’s density in grams per millilitre to get the weight. The density is simply the grams in one US cup divided by 236.588 mL. For all-purpose flour that is 125 ÷ 236.588, about 0.528 g per mL, so a metric cup of flour works out to about 132 g and a Japan cup to about 106 g.

The grams per cup come from USDA FoodData Central, checked against the King Arthur Baking ingredient weight chart. When the two disagree, each ingredient page shows the range. Converting between two volume units, such as cups to tablespoons, never uses the density at all, so those results are as exact as the unit definitions themselves.

When to double-check

A volume-to-weight answer can only be as good as the way the cup was filled. The same cup of flour can weigh 120 g spooned in gently or about 160 g scooped straight from the bag. Brown sugar is listed firmly packed at 220 g; filled loosely it is only about 145 g. If a recipe was written by weight, weigh it too. The converter is most useful the other way round, when you have a cup-based recipe and a kitchen scale.

Also confirm which cup the recipe means. A cup in a Japanese cookbook is 200 mL, in an Australian one 250 mL, and next to a rice cooker it is about 180 mL. The smallest and largest of these differ by 70 mL, which is enough to make a cake dry or a dough sticky, even though a soup or stir-fry would hardly notice.

Frequently asked questions

How many grams are in a cup of all-purpose flour?

This converter uses 125 g per US cup, the USDA figure. King Arthur Baking gives 120 g for flour that is fluffed, spooned in and levelled, so expect about 120 to 125 g if you fill the cup gently.

Why does a cup of sugar weigh more than a cup of flour?

A cup measures space, not weight. Sugar crystals are denser and leave fewer air gaps, so 1 US cup holds about 200 g of granulated sugar but only about 125 g of all-purpose flour.

Can I use this converter with a Japanese recipe?

Yes. Choose Japan cup (200 mL) as the unit. A Japanese recipe that says 1 cup of flour means about 106 g, not the 125 g of a US cup.

Is the Taiwan rice cup the same as a baking cup?

No. The cup that comes with a rice cooker holds about 180 mL, while a US cup holds about 236.6 mL and a metric cup 250 mL. Pick the one your recipe actually refers to.

Sources

  1. Wheat flour, white, all-purpose, enriched, bleached (FDC ID 168894). USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy)
  2. Ingredient Weight Chart. King Arthur Baking
  3. How to measure flour the right way. King Arthur Baking
  4. Sugars, granulated (FDC ID 169655). USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy)
  5. Butter, salted (FDC ID 173410). USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy)
  6. Butter, without salt (FDC ID 173430). USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy)
  7. Rice, white, long-grain, regular, raw, enriched (FDC ID 168877). USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy)
  8. Rice, white, medium-grain, raw, enriched (FDC ID 168879). USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy)
  9. Rice, white, short-grain, raw, unenriched (FDC ID 168931). USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy)
  10. Wheat flour, white, bread, enriched (FDC ID 168896). USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy)
  11. Wheat flour, white, cake, enriched (FDC ID 169723). USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy)
  12. Sugars, brown (FDC ID 168833). USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy)
  13. Sugars, powdered (FDC ID 169656). USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy)
  14. Milk, whole, 3.25% milkfat, with added vitamin D (FDC ID 171265). USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy)
  15. Beverages, water, tap, drinking (FDC ID 173647). USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy)
  16. Honey (FDC ID 169640). USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy)
  17. Cocoa, dry powder, unsweetened (FDC ID 169593). USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy)
  18. Cornstarch (FDC ID 169698). USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy)
  19. Cereals, oats, regular and quick, not fortified, dry (FDC ID 173904). USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy)
  20. Salt, table (FDC ID 173468). USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy)
  21. Oil, canola (FDC ID 172336). USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy)
  22. Oil, soybean, salad or cooking (FDC ID 171411). USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy)
  23. NIST Special Publication 1038, The International System of Units (SI) – Conversion Factors for General Use. NIST
  24. NIST Guide to the SI (SP 811), Appendix B.9: Factors for units listed by kind of quantity or field of science. NIST
  25. Weights & measurement charts (Metric cup & spoon sizes). taste.com.au
  26. 味のものさし「計量カップと計量スプーン」. Kagawa Nutrition University (女子栄養大学 / 香川栄養学園)
  27. Original goods – measuring cup 200 ml, measuring spoons 15 ml / 5 ml / 1 ml. Kagawa Nutrition University (女子栄養大学 代理部)
  28. 炊飯器の使い方 基本編 正しいお米の量り方・お水の量り方. Tiger Corporation (rice cooker manufacturer)
  29. TAC-06-S-MO 多功能電鍋 使用說明書. Tatung (大同)
  30. 21 CFR 101.9 – Nutrition labeling of food, paragraph (b)(5)(viii). US FDA (Code of Federal Regulations)