Cooking Converter — Cups to Grams, mL to oz
Two tools in one: convert between cooking volume units (cups, tablespoons, teaspoons, mL, oz), and convert volume measurements to grams for common baking ingredients.
Volume Conversion
| Unit | Value |
|---|---|
| Teaspoon (tsp) | 48 |
| Tablespoon (tbsp) | 15.9999 |
| Fluid ounce (fl oz) | 8 |
| Cup | 1 |
| Pint (US) | 0.5 |
| Quart (US) | 0.25 |
| Gallon (US) | 0.0625 |
| Milliliter (mL) | 236.588 |
| Liter (L) | 0.2366 |
Ingredient Weight (cups/spoons to grams)
Why Baking Requires Grams
Volume measurements are accurate for liquids but unreliable for dry ingredients. The problem is compaction: flour scooped directly from the bag can weigh 30% more than flour spooned gently into the same cup. This difference is enough to make cookies spread flat or bread fail to rise.
Professional bakers always work in weight. A recipe specifying 250g of flour delivers the same result every time, regardless of who measures it, in what climate, with what brand of flour, or whether the bag was just opened or has been sitting open for a week.
Common Ingredient Weights
| Ingredient | 1 cup (g) | 1 tbsp (g) | 1 tsp (g) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-purpose flour | 125 | 7.8 | 2.6 |
| Bread flour | 120 | 7.5 | 2.5 |
| Cake flour | 100 | 6.3 | 2.1 |
| Sugar (white) | 200 | 12.5 | 4.2 |
| Brown sugar (packed) | 220 | 13.75 | 4.6 |
| Powdered sugar | 120 | 7.5 | 2.5 |
| Butter | 227 | 14.2 | 4.7 |
| Honey | 340 | 21.3 | 7.1 |
| Cocoa powder | 85 | 5.3 | 1.8 |
| Salt | 288 | 18 | 6 |
| Baking powder | 192 | 12 | 4 |
Volume Unit Conversion Reference
| Unit | tsp | tbsp | fl oz | cup | mL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 teaspoon | 1 | 1/3 | 1/6 | 1/48 | 4.93 |
| 1 tablespoon | 3 | 1 | 1/2 | 1/16 | 14.79 |
| 1 fluid ounce | 6 | 2 | 1 | 1/8 | 29.57 |
| 1 cup | 48 | 16 | 8 | 1 | 236.59 |
| 1 pint | 96 | 32 | 16 | 2 | 473.18 |
| 1 quart | 192 | 64 | 32 | 4 | 946.35 |
| 1 gallon | 768 | 256 | 128 | 16 | 3,785 |
Volume vs. Weight in Everyday Cooking
For savory cooking and most stovetop recipes, volume measurements are fine. Adding a teaspoon of salt or a cup of broth to a stew is not precision chemistry — variations of 10–20% are accommodated by taste adjustments at the end. Cooking is forgiving.
Baking is not forgiving. The chemistry of leavening (the interaction of baking powder, acid, and heat to produce CO2 bubbles that make baked goods rise) depends on correct ratios. Too much or too little flour relative to liquid determines whether a cookie is chewy or crispy, whether bread has an open crumb or a dense brick, whether a cake rises or collapses.
The three scenarios where switching to grams matters most:
- Bread baking: Hydration ratios (water to flour by weight) are fundamental to bread texture. A 75% hydration dough behaves completely differently from a 65% hydration dough.
- Pastry and croissants: Laminated doughs require precise butter-to-flour ratios. A few grams difference affects layer separation.
- Macarons and meringues: The ratio of almond flour to powdered sugar to egg white weight determines whether macarons have feet (the characteristic frilly base) or deflate into cookies.
How to Use a Kitchen Scale
Place your bowl on the scale and press "Tare" (or "Zero") to reset to zero with the bowl's weight excluded. Add each ingredient directly to the bowl, pressing Tare between each ingredient so you are always weighing just the new addition. This method — called sequential taring — requires only one bowl, one scale, and no measuring cups at all for most baking recipes.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many grams is 1 cup of flour?
1 cup of all-purpose flour = 125 grams. However, this varies significantly by how the flour is measured. Scooping directly from the bag compacts the flour and can give 150–160g per cup. Spooning flour into the cup and leveling gives a more consistent 120–125g. For baking accuracy, weighing in grams is always preferred. Bread flour = 120g/cup; cake flour = 100g/cup; whole wheat flour = 120g/cup.
Why do recipes use grams instead of cups?
Volume measurements are inherently imprecise for dry ingredients. A 'cup of flour' can vary by 20–30% depending on how the ingredient is packed. This doesn't matter much for simple recipes but is critical in pastry and bread baking where hydration ratios affect gluten development and rise. Professional bakers and all serious home bakers use weight. A digital kitchen scale is one of the most impactful tools a baker can own — they cost $10–$25 and eliminate guesswork.
How many tablespoons are in a cup?
16 tablespoons = 1 cup. Other conversions: 3 teaspoons = 1 tablespoon; 2 tablespoons = 1 fluid ounce; 8 fluid ounces = 1 cup; 2 cups = 1 pint; 2 pints = 1 quart; 4 quarts = 1 gallon. These are US customary measurements. UK tablespoons (15mL) differ slightly from US tablespoons (14.79mL).
What is the difference between US cups and metric cups?
A US cup = 236.59 mL. An Australian/metric cup = 250 mL. A UK cup = 284 mL (less commonly used — UK recipes typically use mL directly). This matters for recipes from different countries. A recipe calling for 2 cups of milk: US = 473mL, Australian = 500mL, a 5.7% difference. For most recipes this is negligible. For precision baking, convert to grams using this converter.
Related Calculators
- Weight Converter — grams, kilograms, ounces, pounds, stones
- Volume Converter — mL, liters, gallons, pints, quarts, cups