Cups to Grams Cheat Sheet
This cups to grams cheat sheet gives one US cup of 30+ everyday ingredients in grams, so a recipe written in cups can be weighed in seconds. Flour is about 120 g, granulated sugar about 200 g, butter 227 g and honey about 340 g — and the differences between them are exactly why a cup is a poor unit for baking.
Flours, sugars and dry baking ingredients
| Ingredient (1 US cup) | Typical grams | Note |
|---|
| All-purpose / plain flour | 120 g | Spooned & levelled; up to 150 g scooped |
| Bread / strong flour | 127 g | Slightly denser than all-purpose |
| Whole wheat flour | 120–130 g | Varies more by brand than white flour |
| Cake flour | 100 g | Lighter, finer grind |
| Granulated / caster sugar | 200 g | Caster a touch lighter, ≈ 200 g |
| Brown sugar, packed | 220 g | Unpacked drops to ≈ 200 g |
| Powdered / icing sugar | 120 g | Unsifted; sifted ≈ 100 g |
| Cocoa powder | 100 g | Unsifted; sifted ≈ 85 g |
| Rolled oats | 90 g | Quick oats ≈ 95 g, steel-cut ≈ 150 g |
| Chocolate chips | 170 g | Mini chips pack tighter, ≈ 180 g |
Fats, liquids and sticky ingredients
| Ingredient (1 US cup) | Typical grams | Note |
|---|
| Butter | 227 g | Exactly 2 US sticks; 16 tablespoons |
| Water | 236 g | 1 ml = 1 g, the reference point |
| Milk | 245 g | Whole milk; skim ≈ 240 g |
| Vegetable oil | 218 g | Density ≈ 0.92 g/ml |
| Honey | 340 g | Density ≈ 1.42 g/ml — the heavyweight |
| Maple syrup | 315 g | Density ≈ 1.32 g/ml |
| Heavy / double cream | 238 g | Single cream ≈ 245 g |
| Yogurt, plain | 245 g | Greek yogurt ≈ 250 g |
| Peanut butter | 258 g | Smooth; crunchy ≈ 250 g |
| Sour cream | 230 g | Lightly packed |
Grains, rice and everything else
| Ingredient (1 US cup) | Typical grams | Note |
|---|
| White rice, uncooked | 185 g | Basmati ≈ 190 g, jasmine ≈ 180 g |
| Brown rice, uncooked | 190 g | Short-grain slightly heavier |
| Quinoa, uncooked | 170 g | Rinsed and drained weight differs |
| Chopped nuts | 110–150 g | Almonds ≈ 145 g, walnuts ≈ 115 g |
| Desiccated coconut | 85 g | Sweetened shredded ≈ 95 g |
| Cornmeal / polenta | 140 g | Fine grind packs denser |
| Breadcrumbs, dried | 110 g | Fresh crumbs ≈ 60 g — very different |
| Grated cheese | 110 g | Parmesan finely grated ≈ 100 g |
| Salt, table | 288 g | Kosher ≈ 150–180 g — never swap 1:1 |
| Coffee, ground | 85 g | Grind size shifts this widely |
How to use this sheet without getting burned
Three words on every line matter: typical, packed and sifted. Brown sugar and powdered sugar change weight dramatically with packing, flour changes with scooping, and cocoa changes with sifting. When a recipe gives both cups and grams, the grams always win. When it gives only cups, weigh with this sheet, then note what worked — your flour, your scoop, your kitchen — and use that figure next time. For the reverse direction, the grams to cups converter handles single ingredients, and the gelatin conversion guide covers the one ingredient whose unit is neither a cup nor a gram.
Browse all our tools from the homepage, or see the full list of guides for more kitchen references.
Frequently asked questions
How many grams are in a cup of flour?
About 120 g for all-purpose flour, spooned and levelled. Scooping from the bag packs in up to 150 g, so the same "cup" can vary by 25% — which is why weighing beats cup measures for baking.
Is a cup of sugar the same weight as a cup of flour?
No — a cup is a volume, not a weight. Granulated sugar is about 200 g per cup, brown sugar about 220 g packed, and powdered sugar only about 120 g. The ingredient's density decides the grams.
Are these weights for US cups or metric cups?
US cups (236.588 ml). A metric cup is 250 ml, about 6% larger, so multiply these figures by 1.06 for metric cups. UK imperial cups (284 ml) are a different measure altogether and are rarely used in modern recipes.
Why does my recipe's cup weight differ from this cheat sheet?
Because cup weights are typical values, not standards: brands, grind, humidity and measuring technique all shift them. Cocoa ranges roughly 85–105 g per cup depending on sifting; oats vary by cut. Treat the sheet as a starting point and trust the recipe author's stated weight when given.
How do I convert cups to grams for an ingredient not listed here?
Use its density: grams = cups × 236.588 × density in g/ml. Water is 1.00 g/ml (236 g per cup), milk about 1.03, oil about 0.92 and honey about 1.42. Our grams to cups converter does this arithmetic with ingredient presets.