How Many Grams in a Cup?
It depends on what is in the cup. One US cup (236.6 ml) holds 237 g of water, 125 g of all-purpose flour, 200 g of granulated sugar, 227 g of butter and 339 g of honey. Find your ingredient in the chart below.
45 ingredients42 from USDA FoodData Central, 3 from King Arthur BakingPer US cup, 236.588 mlChecked How we calculate
Grams in a cup: chart for 45 ingredients
Every weight is for one US customary cup. Where the way the cup is filled matters, the name says so (packed, sifted, chopped, shredded); King Arthur's figures are spooned and leveled. The fraction columns are calculated from the 1-cup weight and rounded to the nearest gram, so ¼ cup × 4 can differ from 1 cup by a gram.
| Ingredient | 1 cup | ¾ cup | ½ cup | ⅓ cup | ¼ cup | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flour | ||||||
| All-purpose flour | 125 g | 94 g | 63 g | 42 g | 31 g | USDA FDC #168894 |
| Bread flour | 137 g | 103 g | 69 g | 46 g | 34 g | USDA FDC #168896 |
| Cake flour | 120 g | 90 g | 60 g | 40 g | 30 g | King Arthur chart |
| Whole wheat flour | 120 g | 90 g | 60 g | 40 g | 30 g | USDA FDC #168893 |
| Self-rising flour | 125 g | 94 g | 63 g | 42 g | 31 g | USDA FDC #168895 |
| Almond flour | 96 g | 72 g | 48 g | 32 g | 24 g | King Arthur chart |
| Coconut flour | 128 g | 96 g | 64 g | 43 g | 32 g | King Arthur chart |
| Cornstarch | 128 g | 96 g | 64 g | 43 g | 32 g | USDA FDC #169698 |
| Grains | ||||||
| Cornmeal (yellow, degermed) | 157 g | 118 g | 79 g | 52 g | 39 g | USDA FDC #168867 |
| Semolina | 167 g | 125 g | 84 g | 56 g | 42 g | USDA FDC #169715 |
| Rolled oats | 81 g | 61 g | 41 g | 27 g | 20 g | USDA FDC #173904 |
| White rice, long-grain (uncooked) | 185 g | 139 g | 93 g | 62 g | 46 g | USDA FDC #168877 |
| Quinoa (uncooked) | 170 g | 128 g | 85 g | 57 g | 43 g | USDA FDC #168874 |
| Breadcrumbs (dry, plain) | 108 g | 81 g | 54 g | 36 g | 27 g | USDA FDC #174928 |
| Sugar | ||||||
| Granulated sugar | 200 g | 150 g | 100 g | 67 g | 50 g | USDA FDC #169655 |
| Brown sugar (packed) | 220 g | 165 g | 110 g | 73 g | 55 g | USDA FDC #168833 |
| Powdered sugar (unsifted) | 120 g | 90 g | 60 g | 40 g | 30 g | USDA FDC #169656 |
| Powdered sugar (sifted) | 100 g | 75 g | 50 g | 33 g | 25 g | USDA FDC #169656 |
| Honey | 339 g | 254 g | 170 g | 113 g | 85 g | USDA FDC #169640 |
| Maple syrup | 315 g | 236 g | 158 g | 105 g | 79 g | USDA FDC #169661 |
| Molasses | 337 g | 253 g | 169 g | 112 g | 84 g | USDA FDC #168820 |
| Light corn syrup | 341 g | 256 g | 171 g | 114 g | 85 g | USDA FDC #168837 |
| Baking | ||||||
| Cocoa powder (unsweetened) | 86 g | 65 g | 43 g | 29 g | 22 g | USDA FDC #169593 |
| Chocolate chips (semisweet) | 168 g | 126 g | 84 g | 56 g | 42 g | USDA FDC #167976 |
| Shredded coconut (sweetened) | 93 g | 70 g | 47 g | 31 g | 23 g | USDA FDC #168586 |
| Table salt | 292 g | 219 g | 146 g | 97 g | 73 g | USDA FDC #173468 |
| Fats | ||||||
| Butter | 227 g | 170 g | 114 g | 76 g | 57 g | USDA FDC #173430 |
| Vegetable oil | 218 g | 164 g | 109 g | 73 g | 55 g | USDA FDC #172370 |
| Olive oil | 216 g | 162 g | 108 g | 72 g | 54 g | USDA FDC #171413 |
| Coconut oil | 218 g | 164 g | 109 g | 73 g | 55 g | USDA FDC #171412 |
| Peanut butter (smooth) | 258 g | 194 g | 129 g | 86 g | 65 g | USDA FDC #172470 |
| Liquids | ||||||
| Water | 237 g | 178 g | 119 g | 79 g | 59 g | USDA FDC #174158 |
| Whole milk | 244 g | 183 g | 122 g | 81 g | 61 g | USDA FDC #171265 |
| Buttermilk | 245 g | 184 g | 123 g | 82 g | 61 g | USDA FDC #170874 |
| Heavy cream | 238 g | 179 g | 119 g | 79 g | 60 g | USDA FDC #170859 |
| Dairy | ||||||
| Plain yogurt (whole milk) | 245 g | 184 g | 123 g | 82 g | 61 g | USDA FDC #171284 |
| Sour cream | 230 g | 173 g | 115 g | 77 g | 58 g | USDA FDC #171257 |
| Cream cheese | 232 g | 174 g | 116 g | 77 g | 58 g | USDA FDC #173418 |
| Cheddar cheese (shredded) | 113 g | 85 g | 57 g | 38 g | 28 g | USDA FDC #173414 |
| Parmesan (grated) | 100 g | 75 g | 50 g | 33 g | 25 g | USDA FDC #171247 |
| Nuts & fruit | ||||||
| Almonds (whole) | 143 g | 107 g | 72 g | 48 g | 36 g | USDA FDC #170567 |
| Walnuts (chopped) | 117 g | 88 g | 59 g | 39 g | 29 g | USDA FDC #170187 |
| Pecans (chopped) | 109 g | 82 g | 55 g | 36 g | 27 g | USDA FDC #170182 |
| Sesame seeds | 144 g | 108 g | 72 g | 48 g | 36 g | USDA FDC #170150 |
| Raisins (not packed) | 145 g | 109 g | 73 g | 48 g | 36 g | USDA FDC #168165 |
To turn any of these into cups from a weight you already have, use the grams to cups converter. It reads the same table. How each number was chosen and rounded is set out in how we calculate.
Why a cup of flour and a cup of sugar don't weigh the same
A cup is a fixed volume, so its weight depends on how much material fits in that space. Sugar crystals are dense and settle tightly, so a cup of granulated sugar weighs 200 g. Flour is a fine powder full of trapped air; the same cup holds 125 g. The lightest item in the chart is rolled oats at 81 g a cup; the heaviest is light corn syrup at 341 g.
Liquids follow their density. Water is 237 g a cup, whole milk 244 g, honey 339 g. Oil floats on water because it is lighter, and the chart shows it: vegetable oil is 218 g a cup. So "a cup is about 240 g" only works for water-like liquids, and only roughly.
Grams in a metric cup and a US legal cup
Not every recipe uses the US cup. Here are six common ingredients in all three cup sizes. We scale the US-cup weight by the ratio of the volumes: exact for liquids, and a close estimate for dry goods, which still depend on how the cup is filled.
| Ingredient | US cup (236.588 ml) | US legal (240 ml) | Metric (250 ml) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Water | 237 g | 240 g | 250 g |
| Whole milk | 244 g | 248 g | 258 g |
| All-purpose flour | 125 g | 127 g | 132 g |
| Granulated sugar | 200 g | 203 g | 211 g |
| Butter | 227 g | 230 g | 240 g |
| Honey | 339 g | 344 g | 358 g |
Where these numbers come from
42 of the 45 weights come straight from the portion data in USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy), the US government's food composition database. Each row links to the food's record number. The other 3 (cake flour, almond flour, coconut flour) use the King Arthur Baking ingredient weight chart: USDA's portion data has no cup weight for almond or coconut flour, and its cake flour figure (137 g) is for a cup dipped into the bag, which is not how bakers measure.
When the two sources disagree, we keep one number for the whole site so the chart, the calculator and every page agree. The biggest disagreement is all-purpose flour. Cooking Measure uses 125 g per cup of all-purpose flour (USDA FoodData Central) by default; for a King Arthur Baking recipe, use 120 g, about 4% less. The page on how many grams in a cup of flour explains where that gap comes from and when to use the other figure.
FAQ
How many grams are in 1 cup of water?
A US cup of water weighs 237 g (USDA FoodData Central). A metric cup of water weighs about 250 g, and a US legal cup about 240 g.
How many grams in a cup of sugar?
Granulated sugar is 200 g per US cup. Packed brown sugar is 220 g. Powdered sugar is 120 g unsifted and 100 g sifted.
How many grams in a cup of butter?
227 g. One US stick is half a cup, which USDA lists as 113 g.
How many grams are in half a cup?
Half a US cup is 63 g of all-purpose flour, 100 g of granulated sugar, 114 g of butter and 122 g of whole milk. The ½ cup column in the chart has the rest.
Why do nutrition labels use a 240 ml cup?
US food labelling rules (21 CFR 101.9) define a cup as 240 ml for labelling. Measuring cups sold in the US hold 236.588 ml. The 1.4% gap rarely matters in cooking, but it explains why label math and recipe math don't always match.