How to use the Cooking Converter
- Enter the amount your recipe specifies.
- Select the volume unit — cups, tablespoons, teaspoons, millilitres or litres.
- Choose the ingredient so the correct density is applied.
- Weigh the result in grams for accuracy, especially in baking.
- For pure liquids and unit-only conversions, use the volume converter instead.
How the calculation works
Volume measures are convenient but imprecise for solids, because the same cup holds a different mass depending on how the ingredient packs. A cup of all-purpose flour ranges from about 120 g when spooned and levelled to over 150 g when scooped straight from the bag and compacted — a variance of 25% that will visibly change a cake. This converter uses the spoon-and-level convention at 125 g per cup, the standard most published recipes assume.
Densities differ enormously between ingredients, which is why a single cups-to-grams factor cannot exist. A cup of cocoa powder is around 85 g, a cup of granulated sugar 200 g, and a cup of honey 340 g — a fourfold spread across items that all measure as 'one cup'. Selecting the ingredient is therefore not a nicety; it is the whole calculation.
The cup itself is not standardised internationally either. The US customary cup used in recipes is 236.6 ml, the US legal cup on nutrition labels is 240 ml, a metric cup is 250 ml and an old imperial cup was 284 ml. This tool uses the 236.6 ml customary cup. Weighing in grams sidesteps every one of these ambiguities at once, which is why professional and most modern published recipes give weights.
grams = volume_in_cups × density_g_per_cup; 1 cup = 16 tbsp = 48 tsp = 236.588 ml; flour ≈ 125 g/cup, sugar ≈ 200 g/cup, butter ≈ 227 g/cup, honey ≈ 340 g/cupSource: USDA FoodData Central density values; King Arthur Baking ingredient weight chart; NIST Handbook 44 Appendix C.
Worked example
A US recipe calls for 2¼ cups of all-purpose flour and ¾ cup of granulated sugar, and you bake by weight.
- Enter 2.25, select cups and all-purpose flour: 2.25 × 125 = 281 g.
- Enter 0.75, select cups and granulated sugar: 0.75 × 200 = 150 g.
- Total dry weight: 431 g.
- Weigh both directly rather than measuring by volume, and the result repeats every time.
2¼ cups of flour is 281 g and ¾ cup of sugar is 150 g — weighing removes the packing variance that makes volume measurement unreliable.
Frequently asked questions
How many grams is one cup of flour?+
About 125 g when spooned and levelled. Scooping straight from the bag can push it past 150 g, which is enough to make a cake dry.
Are US and metric cups the same?+
No. A US customary cup is 236.6 ml and a metric cup is 250 ml — roughly a 5.6% difference that compounds across a recipe.
Why does the ingredient matter?+
Because density varies enormously. A cup of cocoa is 85 g and a cup of honey is 340 g, so no universal cups-to-grams factor exists.
Should I bake by weight or volume?+
By weight, whenever possible. It is faster, uses fewer utensils, and removes the packing variability that volume measurement introduces.
Last reviewed September 1, 2026. We review this page whenever the underlying formula, tax year, published rate or standard changes.