Cups to Grams Conversion Chart for Baking: Flour, Sugar, Butter, and More
A cups to grams conversion chart for baking is the single most useful thing you can tape inside a kitchen cabinet. The number of grams in a cup is not fixed, because cups measure volume and grams measure weight. A cup of flour is 125 grams; a cup of butter is 227. Same cup, nearly double the weight. Here is the chart, then the two traps that make conversions go wrong.
The figures below use the standard US cup (240 ml) and the spoon-and-level method for flour, stir to aerate, spoon into the cup, sweep a knife across. Values are rounded to the nearest gram, close enough for any recipe that is not paying prize money.
Cups to grams conversion chart for baking
| Ingredient (1 cup) | 1 cup | 1/2 cup | 1/4 cup |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-purpose flour | 125 g | 63 g | 31 g |
| Granulated sugar | 200 g | 100 g | 50 g |
| Brown sugar (packed) | 220 g | 110 g | 55 g |
| Powdered sugar (sifted) | 120 g | 60 g | 30 g |
| Butter | 227 g | 113 g | 57 g |
| Cocoa powder | 118 g | 59 g | 30 g |
| Rolled oats | 90 g | 45 g | 23 g |
| Water / milk | 240 g | 120 g | 60 g |
Why the numbers refuse to be simple
The chart is a chart, not a formula, because there is no formula. Density does the work. Granulated sugar packs down at 200 grams a cup because the crystals settle into each other. Powdered sugar is the same substance with air whipped through it, so a cup is only 120 grams. Cocoa powder sits around 118 grams unsifted and closer to 85 to 100 grams sifted, which is why chocolate recipes are the number one place I tell people to just use the scale.
The second trap is the flour method. Dip-and-sweep, plunging the cup into the bag, compacts the flour and can push a "cup" to 140 grams or more. Spoon-and-level keeps it near 125. That 15-gram difference per cup is the difference between tender cookies and hockey pucks when a recipe calls for three cups.
A worked example: converting a whole recipe
Take a chocolate chip cookie recipe written in cups: 2 1/4 cups flour, 1 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup granulated sugar, 1 cup butter (2 sticks), 2 eggs.
From the chart: 2 1/4 cups of flour is 2 cups (250 g) plus a quarter (31 g), so 281 g. Brown sugar: 220 g. Granulated sugar: 100 g. Butter: 227 g. The whole conversion takes about a minute, and now the recipe is repeatable to the gram, which is the entire point. One more convenience: a half cup of butter is exactly one US stick, 113 grams, so butter recipes convert themselves.
When the chart is not enough
- British recipes: the UK cup is 250 ml, not 240. If a recipe from a British site converts oddly, that 4 percent difference is usually why.
- Brown sugar packing: 220 grams assumes firmly packed, the way the recipe intends. Loosely spooned brown sugar can read 180. Pack it like you mean it.
- Honey and syrups: a cup of honey is about 340 grams, far heavier than water, because it is denser. Liquid charts are not weight charts.
- Anything leavened: bread, cake, pastry. The more a recipe depends on ratios, the more the chart's rounding hurts. Weigh these directly.
Use the free cups to grams converter — pick the ingredient, enter the cups, get the grams. No sign-up.
Frequently asked questions
How many grams are in a cup?
It depends on the ingredient. Common baking values: 1 cup all-purpose flour is 125 g, 1 cup granulated sugar is 200 g, 1 cup butter is 227 g, and 1 cup water is 240 g.
Is a US cup the same as a UK cup?
No. A US cup is 240 ml and a UK cup is 250 ml, a 4 percent difference that matters in ratio-sensitive baking. The chart above uses the US cup.
Why do different charts give different flour weights?
Because of the measuring method. Spoon-and-level gives about 125 g per cup; dip-and-sweep can give 140 g or more. Two charts using different methods will disagree honestly.
Should I buy a kitchen scale instead?
Yes, if you bake more than a few times a year. A scale removes the method problem entirely and is the one upgrade that improves every recipe you own.