Cups to Grams Converter - Convert Cups to Grams (2024)

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1. Cups versus grams in recipes
2. How much is a cup in grams?
3. Converting between cups and grams
4. Cups to grams conversion tables

• Cups of water to grams conversion table
• Cups of flour to grams conversion table
• Cups of butter to grams conversion table

Cups versus grams in recipes

The cup is a defined measurement unit of volume with several possible definitions. The most commonly used definition is that of the US legal cup which is defined as containing 240 ml of volume. However, older recipes might contain measurements in Imperial cups which are slightly larger at 284 ml which is also supported in our converter.

Many recipes specify ingredients in cups instead of using the universal metric system or a non-metric unit of weight. This can pose an issue when following the recipe, especially if it is not specified what kind of cup is being used. Getting the right amount of the ingredient gets even more difficult if one wants to use a kitchen scale to measure the weight equivalent of the cup measure. In such a case a third factor - density - plays a role and introduces additional error as typically one only knows average densities instead of the density of the ingredient at hand.

It is much more straightforward if a recipe specifies the weight of the ingredient in grams or kilograms, or the Imperial pounds (lb) or ounces (oz) since then and any good scale will allow us to follow the recipe with minimal error.

How much is a cup in grams?

There is no answering this question without first specifying the substance contained within the cup since the weight in grams or kilograms depends on the density of the substance. Any two substances can have different densities so knowing the density of what is being measured is vital. That is why a cup of water weighs about 240 grams, while a cup of butter weighs 228 grams and a cup of flour is even lighter at just 161 grams on average.

Some cooking ingredients can vary significantly in their density, even if they bear the same name, and this is especially true for anything that can be fine-grained or be composed of larger particles, for example sugar. In our cups to grams converter we've provided a list of commonly used recipe ingredients that you might need to convert so you do not need to know their specific density to convert them with reasonable accuracy.

Converting between cups and grams

The conversion from cups to grams is straightforward once you know the density of the substance you need to convert. For example, a recipe might specify 2 cups of water, or 4 cups of flour, and you may want to convert it to grams. To do so, follow these instructions:

A cup of water to grams

Sample task: convert one cup of water to grams, knowing that the density of water is 1 gram per milliliter and a US cup holds 240 ml. Solution:

Formula:
cups * 240 = g
Calculation:
2 cups * 240 = 480 g
End result:
2 cups is equal to 480 g

Two cups of flour to grams

Sample task: convert 2 cups of flour to grams, knowing that the density of flour is 0.67 grams per milliliter and a cup holds 240 ml. Solution:

Formula:
cups * 161 = g
Calculation:
2 cups * 161 = 322 g
End result:
2 cups is equal to 322 g

Cups to grams conversion tables

For your convenience, we present conversion charts for some of the most used cooking ingredients, namely water, flour, and butter.

Cups of water to grams conversion table

Here is a convenient table with often used quantities of water in US cups and their corresponding values in grams.

Cups of flour to grams conversion table

Below is a kitchen conversion chart in US legal cups of flour and their corresponding values in grams.

Cups of butter to grams conversion table

Here is a conversion chart between cups of butter and grams.