Convert baking ingredients between US or metric cups, tablespoons, teaspoons, millilitres, grams, ounces, pounds.
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Baking ingredient reference Convert baking staples between cups, tablespoons, teaspoons, millilitres, grams, ounces, pounds, and kilograms using ingredient-specific density assumptions. Use it as a cups to grams check, a grams to cups reverse lookup, or a quick baking ingredient weight chart for flour, sugar, butter, cocoa, honey, and other staples.
Quick baking checks
Common baking staples
Why the ingredient matters
A cup of cocoa, flour, and honey all weigh differently. The converter keeps the ingredient-specific density assumption explicit so you can bridge between volume-based recipes and weight-based baking without guessing.
That is especially useful when you are comparing a recipe card, a bake-by-weight formula, and an ingredient chart all at once. The same ingredient can be measured accurately in volume or weight, but the conversion has to stay ingredient-specific and use the cup standard the recipe expects.
Best use
Use the converter to sense-check kitchen substitutions and recipe rewrites, but standardize on grams when you want repeatable baking results across flours, sugars, syrups, and mix-ins.
If a recipe author gives a weight directly, follow that over a cup conversion. Baking is sensitive to packing, moisture, and spooning technique, so the written weight usually wins when both are available.
Result
125 g
1 cup of all-purpose flour equals 4.41 oz, 0.28 lb, and 236.59 ml.
Ingredient equation
1 cup x 125 g per us cup = 125 g
The same ingredient is also shown as 236.59 ml on the us cup basis, so you can keep volume and weight aligned when a recipe mixes both systems.
Cups
1 cup
Grams
125 g
Tablespoons
16 tbsp
Ounces
4.41 oz
Selected ingredient quick facts
1 cup
125 g
1 tbsp
7.81 g
1 tsp
2.6 g
Density
0.53 g/ml
Measuring note: Spoon and level; avoid scooping directly from the bag. Very sensitive to packing, humidity, and sifting.
All equivalents
Unit
Equivalent
Cups (cup)
1 cup
Tablespoons (tbsp)
16 tbsp
Teaspoons (tsp)
48 tsp
Millilitres (ml)
236.59 ml
Grams (g)
125 g
Ounces (oz)
4.41 oz
Pounds (lb)
0.28 lb
Kilograms (kg)
0.13 kg
Why density matters
A cup of flour weighs far less than a cup of honey because their densities are different. Always convert by ingredient, not by a single fixed ratio, for accurate baking and cooking results.
The result uses the selected cup standard. Metric cups are slightly larger than US cups, so recipes written for that system can produce a different cup count even when the gram weight stays the same.
Common baking reference
Ingredient
1 cup
1 tbsp
1 tsp
Measuring note
All-purpose flour
125 g
7.81 g
2.6 g
Spoon and level; avoid scooping directly from the bag.
Bread flour
130 g
8.13 g
2.71 g
Spoon and level for the closest cup reference.
Cake flour
114 g
7.13 g
2.38 g
Aerate, spoon, and level; follow sifted wording carefully.
Whole wheat flour
128 g
8 g
2.67 g
Spoon and level; bran settles in storage.
Granulated sugar
200 g
12.5 g
4.17 g
Scoop or pour, then level the cup.
Brown sugar (packed)
220 g
13.75 g
4.58 g
Use a packed cup unless the recipe says otherwise.
Powdered sugar
120 g
7.5 g
2.5 g
Spoon and level; sift first if the recipe calls for sifted sugar.
Butter
227 g
14.19 g
4.73 g
Use solid butter reference unless the recipe says melted.
Milk
245 g
15.31 g
5.1 g
Use a liquid measuring cup on a level surface.
Water
237 g
14.81 g
4.94 g
Use a liquid measuring cup on a level surface.
Vegetable oil
218 g
13.63 g
4.54 g
Use a liquid measuring cup or level spoon.
Honey
340 g
21.25 g
7.08 g
Use a liquid measure and scrape the vessel well.
Maple syrup
315 g
19.69 g
6.56 g
Use a liquid measuring cup or spoon.
Rice (uncooked)
185 g
11.56 g
3.85 g
Use the recipe author's measuring method when it is stated.
Rolled oats
90 g
5.63 g
1.88 g
Lightly fill and level; do not crush.
Cocoa powder
86 g
5.38 g
1.79 g
Break up lumps, then spoon and level.
Cornstarch
128 g
8 g
2.67 g
Spoon and level gently.
Salt (table)
288 g
18 g
6 g
Level carefully and do not swap salt types blindly.
Baking soda
230 g
14.38 g
4.79 g
Level the spoon carefully.
Cream cheese
232 g
14.5 g
4.83 g
Use the recipe author's measuring method when it is stated.
Sour cream
230 g
14.38 g
4.79 g
Use the recipe author's measuring method when it is stated.
Yoghurt
245 g
15.31 g
5.1 g
Use the recipe author's measuring method when it is stated.
Peanut butter
258 g
16.13 g
5.38 g
Pack/scrape the measure; stir natural peanut butter first.
A baking ingredient conversion chart works because it keeps the ingredient itself explicit. This page also explains the main assumptions behind the baking ingredient conversions result, highlights the supporting figures shown by the calculator, and helps the reader use the estimate without overstating what a quick online tool can prove.
Why baking conversions need an ingredient chart
Volume units such as cups, tablespoons, and teaspoons describe how much space an ingredient takes up. Weight units such as grams, ounces, pounds, and kilograms describe mass. To move between those systems, the converter needs a representative density or grams-per-cup reference for the ingredient you picked.
That matters most in baking because flour, sugars, cocoa, syrups, and fats behave differently when packed, sifted, scooped, or melted. Using one fixed multiplier for every ingredient produces the wrong result quickly.
The page therefore keeps the ingredient visible at every step. A cup of all-purpose flour, bread flour, cocoa powder, or honey can only be converted correctly if the density assumption stays tied to the ingredient itself.
The calculator also keeps the cup standard visible. A US cup is smaller than a metric cup, so 1 metric cup of the same flour weighs slightly more than 1 US cup even though the ingredient density is unchanged.
Grams = Cups x Ingredient grams per cup
Uses the selected ingredient's reference weight instead of one generic kitchen multiplier.
Tablespoons = Cups x 16; Teaspoons = Cups x 48
Converts the same ingredient volume into smaller spoon measures on the selected cup basis.
Millilitres = Cups x selected cup ml
Uses 236.588 ml for a US cup or 250 ml for a metric cup so weight and volume outputs stay aligned.
When grams are more reliable than cups
Weight is usually the safer standard for baking. A cup of flour can change materially depending on whether it was spooned in gently, scooped directly from the bag, sifted first, or packed. Grams remove that variation and make it easier to repeat the same dough or batter later.
Cups and spoons are still useful when you are adapting a family recipe, comparing a US recipe with metric notes, or sense-checking a substitution in the kitchen. The practical workflow is often to convert once, then bake by weight going forward.
Sally's Baking Addiction recommends the same general approach in its measuring guide: use the correct spooning or measuring method for each ingredient, but switch to grams whenever you want the same result batch after batch.
How to use the reference table well
Treat the reference table as a baking-standard estimate, not as a laboratory specification. Brand differences, grind, moisture content, crystal size, and packing technique can all shift the real conversion.
For delicate bakes, compare the headline result with the full table of cups, grams, spoon measures, and ounces. That makes it easier to sanity-check whether your adapted ingredient amount still looks reasonable before you scale the whole recipe.
If the ingredient is one of the staples listed in the calculator, the table provides a quick ingredient weight chart for common amounts such as 1 cup, 1 tablespoon, and 1 teaspoon so you can cross-check the result against recipe notes or packaging.
The most searched baking questions usually start with a single ingredient and a single cup measure. That is why the page keeps staples like flour, sugar, butter, cocoa powder, honey, maple syrup, milk, rice, oats, and nuts visible in the ingredient list.
If you only need a quick answer, start with the headline result and then scan the full table for a consistency check. The same chart also helps when you are comparing powdered sugar, brown sugar, or other ingredients that pack differently and can skew a recipe if you assume one universal cup weight.
1 cup all-purpose flour ~ 125 g
A common baking reference weight for everyday cakes, cookies, and muffins.
1 cup granulated sugar ~ 200 g
Useful when you are converting sweeteners or comparing recipe cards.
1 cup butter ~ 227 g
The same chart helps when butter is listed by stick, cup, or gram weight.
US cup, metric cup, and recipe-fraction checks
Many baking conversion pages publish a fixed chart, which is useful, but it can hide the cup convention behind the result. This calculator lets you choose the cup basis before the conversion so a US recipe card and a metric-cup recipe do not get treated as the same volume.
Recipe cards also use practical amounts such as 1/2 cup, 1 1/2 cups, or 2 1/3 cups. The amount field accepts those recipe-style fractions, then converts the parsed quantity into grams, ounces, tablespoons, teaspoons, millilitres, pounds, and kilograms from the same ingredient-specific assumption.
That combination is useful when you are translating a cookbook, scaling a batter, or checking whether a 250 ml metric cup of flour should be treated the same as a 236.588 ml US cup. The answer is no: the recipe's cup standard changes the volume before the ingredient density is applied.
Metric-cup grams = US-cup grams x 250 / 236.588
Adjusts a US-cup ingredient reference when the recipe explicitly uses 250 ml metric cups.
1 1/2 cups = 1.5 cups before conversion
Recipe-style fractions are parsed first, then converted using the selected ingredient and cup standard.
How to read ingredient-specific density
Density is what makes this calculator different from a plain volume converter. Flour is airy, sugar is compact, butter has structure, cocoa powder is lighter than sugar, and honey is much denser than any of them.
When the ingredient density is explicit, the same volume can be translated back into grams, ounces, pounds, or millilitres without falling back to one rough kitchen average. That is the part that makes the result dependable enough for recipe rewrites.
The result table now includes measuring notes because density alone is not the whole story. Flour and cocoa powder should usually be spooned and leveled, brown sugar is often packed, and liquids should be checked in a liquid measuring cup.
Frequently asked questions
Why does one cup of flour weigh less than one cup of honey?
Because the ingredients have different densities. Flour is light and airy, while honey is dense and compact, so the same cup volume contains very different mass.
Is this using US cups or metric cups?
The calculator defaults to a US cup basis of 236.588 millilitres, but you can switch to a metric cup basis of 250 millilitres before converting. That makes the page useful for both US recipe cards and metric-cup baking references.
Should I still use a scale if the converter gives grams?
Yes. The converter gives a strong reference estimate, but weighing the actual ingredient is still the most repeatable way to bake consistently.
Why does the result include tablespoons and teaspoons too?
Because many kitchen rewrites happen in smaller increments. Seeing the spoon equivalents helps you adapt a recipe without needing a second converter.
How many grams is 1 cup of flour?
For the all-purpose flour reference used here, 1 cup is about 125 g. Other flours such as bread flour, cake flour, and whole wheat flour use different reference weights.
How many grams is 1 cup of sugar?
Granulated sugar is about 200 g per cup in this chart. Brown sugar, powdered sugar, and other sweeteners can be noticeably different because they pack and settle differently.
How many grams is 1 cup of butter?
Butter is about 227 g per cup in this chart. That is why recipe weights and stick measurements line up cleanly when the recipe author uses the same standard.
Is this the same as a cups to grams converter?
Yes, but it is ingredient-specific. A generic cups to grams converter can be too broad for baking, where the ingredient itself changes the density assumption.
Can I use this for metric and US recipes?
Yes. Choose the cup standard first, then the calculator shows cups, tablespoons, teaspoons, millilitres, grams, ounces, pounds, and kilograms together so metric and US recipe notes stay aligned.
Why are packed brown sugar and cocoa powder different from flour?
Packing, particle size, and moisture change how much mass fits into the same cup. That is why the ingredient chart keeps brown sugar, cocoa powder, flour, and other staples separate.
Can I enter fractions like 1/2 cup or 1 1/2 cups?
Yes. You can enter decimals, simple fractions, mixed numbers, and common recipe-style amounts such as 1 1/2 before converting the ingredient to grams, ounces, cups, tablespoons, teaspoons, millilitres, pounds, and kilograms.
Why does a metric cup change the grams result?
A metric cup is 250 ml, while a US cup is 236.588 ml. Because the metric cup holds more volume, the same ingredient weighs slightly more when the recipe is based on metric cups.
