Convert cups to grams for common baking ingredients with a live calculator and a density chart for flour, sugar, butter, and more.
American recipes measure dry ingredients in cups and spoons, while nearly every kitchen scale in the world reads grams. The problem is that a cup is a measure of volume, and different ingredients have very different densities. One cup of flour weighs about 120 grams, one cup of sugar weighs 200 grams, and one cup of butter weighs 227 grams — three cups, three very different weights. Baking is a science, and getting this wrong is the difference between a soft cookie and a dry one.
The second issue is method. Flour can be scooped straight from the bag (heavy, ~150 g per cup) or spooned into the cup and leveled (light, ~120 g per cup). Recipes from serious bakers assume the spoon-and-level method. This page uses the standard values most baking references agree on, and the chart lists the common ingredients so you do not have to guess.
Convert 2.5 cups of all-purpose flour to grams:
| Ingredient | Grams per Cup | Ingredient | Grams per Cup |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-purpose flour | 120 g | Powdered sugar | 110 g |
| Whole wheat flour | 130 g | Butter (softened) | 113 g |
| Bread flour | 130 g | Vegetable oil | 218 g |
| Cake flour | 115 g | Milk | 235 g |
| Granulated sugar | 200 g | Water | 240 g |
| Brown sugar (packed) | 220 g | Rolled oats | 90 g |
| Honey / syrup | 340 g | White rice | 125 g |
| Almond flour | 96 g | Cocoa powder | 100 g |
About 120 grams for all-purpose flour using the spoon-and-level method. Scooped flour can be 140-150 g.
200 grams for granulated white sugar. Packed brown sugar is about 220 g.
Because cups measure volume and grams measure weight. Denser ingredients (sugar, honey) weigh more per cup than light, fluffy ones (flour, oats).
Not exactly. A US cup is 240 ml (236.6 ml officially), while a metric cup is 250 ml. For dry baking ingredients the difference is usually negligible, but for liquids it can matter.