🍳 Cooking

Cooking Converter

Cups to millilitres, ounces to grams, US to metric — kitchen maths made painless. Pick a category, enter your quantity and press Convert.

Written and reviewed by SM Arijul Islam · Last reviewed 28 October 2026 · Editorial standards · Report an error

About the cooking converter

Cooking measures two different things: volume (cups, spoons, millilitres) and weight (grams, ounces). Switch the category selector between Volume and Weight depending on what your recipe asks for.

Volume substitutions

1 US cup = 8 US fl oz = 16 tbsp = 48 tsp = 236.588 mL
1 US tablespoon = 3 teaspoons = 14.787 mL
1 metric cup = 250 mL · 1 metric tablespoon = 15 mL
1 imperial cup = 284.131 mL · 1 UK tablespoon = 17.758 mL
1 litre = 4.2268 US cups

Handy weight equivalents

1 ounce = 28.35 g · 1 pound = 453.59 g
1 stick of butter (US) = 113.4 g = 8 tablespoons

Ingredient density varies, so a cup of flour and a cup of sugar weigh different amounts. For precision baking, weigh in grams.

Butter, cups and grams

Common butter queries answered the same way as the converter above
Search-style query	US answer	Note
1 stick butter in grams	about 113 g	US stick is half a cup, 8 tablespoons
1 stick of butter to cups	0.5 cup	US stick measure
1 stick of butter to tablespoons	8 tbsp	US stick measure
1/2 cup butter in grams	about 113 g	same as one US stick
1 cup butter in grams	about 227 g	two US sticks
1/3 cup to tablespoons	about 5 tbsp + 1 tsp	a third of 16 tablespoons

How to convert cooking measurements

Cooking measures volume (cups, tablespoons, millilitres) and weight (grams, ounces), and the two are not interchangeable without knowing an ingredient's density. This converter covers the common US, UK and metric volume units, all of them defined from the millilitre, so you can move between a US recipe cup and a metric measuring jug without guessing. Remember that a cup of flour and a cup of water weigh very different amounts.

Common cooking measurements conversions

One cup (us) expressed in other units of cooking measurements, including the common search questions how many tablespoons in a cup, how many cups in a pint, how many ounces in a quart, and 1/4 cup in tbsp
Unit	1 cup (us) equals
Milliliter (mL)	236.58824
Teaspoon (US) (tsp)	48
Tablespoon (US) (tbsp)	16 — how many tablespoons in a cup
1/4 cup in tablespoons	4 tbsp — 1/4 cup in tbsp is 4 tablespoons
Fluid ounce (US) (fl oz)	8
Pint (US) (pt)	0.5 — how many cups in a pint
Quart (US) (qt)	0.25 — how many ounces in a quart
Liter (L)	0.23658824
Gallon (US) (gal)	0.0625

Ingredient density quick answers

Answers to the most common ingredient weight questions
Question	Answer
How many grams in a pound?	453.59 g — a pound is 16 ounces and one ounce is 28.35 g
How many grams in a cup of flour?	about 120 g for spooned, sifted all-purpose flour; closer to 140 g if scooped and packed
How many grams is a cup of brown sugar?	about 200 g packed; light brown and dark brown are close once packed
1 cup sugar in grams	about 200 g for granulated white sugar
1 cup flour in grams	about 120–140 g depending on how it is scooped

Everyday uses

Scaling a recipe up or down
Adapting a US recipe to metric equipment
Baking, where small differences matter
Measuring when you lack the exact cup or spoon
Cocktails and precise liquid mixes

Frequently asked questions

How many millilitres are in a US cup?

236.5882365 mL — one US cup is 8 US fluid ounces, 16 tablespoons or 48 teaspoons.

Is a US cup the same as a UK cup?

No. A US customary cup is 236.588 mL, a metric cup is 250 mL, and the old imperial cup was 284.131 mL.

How many tablespoons are in a cup?

16 in the US system, which is also 48 teaspoons, or 12 Australian tablespoons at 20 mL each.

How many cups are in a pint?

2. A US pint is 2 US cups, 16 US fluid ounces or about 473 mL, so how many cups in a pint always comes back to 2 in the US customary system.

How many ounces are in a quart?

32 US fluid ounces. One quart is 2 pints, 4 cups or about 946 mL, so how many ounces in a quart is 32 in the US customary system.

How many grams are in a pound?

453.59237 grams exactly. A pound is 16 ounces and one ounce is 28.349523125 grams, which is why the kitchen shorthand is 454 g.

Why do bakers often prefer grams?

Volume depends on how an ingredient is scooped and packed, whereas a weight in grams is repeatable every time.

More worked examples

One US cup is 16 tablespoons, 48 teaspoons, or 236.588 mL.
A third of a cup is 5 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon, since a third of 16 is 5.33 tablespoons.
250 g of plain flour is about 2 cups, using the common 125 g per cup.
One US stick of butter is half a cup, 8 tablespoons, about 113 g.

Weight of one US cup

Approximate weight of one US cup of common baking ingredients
Ingredient	Approximate weight
Plain flour	about 125 g
Granulated sugar	about 200 g
Brown sugar, packed	about 220 g
Butter	about 227 g
Water	about 237 g
Rolled oats	about 90 g
Cocoa powder	about 85 g
Bread flour	about 127 g
Cake flour, sifted	about 100 g
Honey	about 340 g
Milk	about 245 g

Common mistakes to avoid

Measuring dry ingredients by volume and assuming the weight matches. A cup of flour can vary by 20 percent depending on how it was scooped and packed.
Mixing up cups from different countries. A US cup is 236.6 mL, a metric cup is 250 mL, and an old British cup was 284 mL.
Confusing fluid ounces with weight ounces. A fluid ounce measures volume, so a recipe using both needs care.
Assuming a tablespoon is the same everywhere. In Australia it is 20 mL rather than the 15 mL used in the US and UK.

Further questions

Why do modern recipes give flour in grams?

Because weight is repeatable. Two people scooping a cup of flour can easily differ by 20 percent, while a scale gives the same result every time.

Is a US cup the same as a metric cup?

No. A US cup is 236.588 mL and a metric cup is 250 mL, so a metric cup holds about 5 percent more.

How many grams are in a cup of flour?

About 120 g for spooned, sifted all-purpose flour; closer to 140 g if you scoop and pack. That is why two people measuring a cup of flour can easily differ by 20 percent, and why the question how many grams in a cup of flour does not have a single fixed answer without stating how it was measured.

How many grams is a cup of brown sugar?

About 200 g when packed, for both light and dark brown sugar. This is the same figure behind how many grams is a cup of brown sugar in most kitchen references, with the important caveat that packing changes the result.

What is a stick of butter?

A US packaging convention equal to half a cup, 8 tablespoons or about 113 g. Elsewhere butter is sold by weight, so use the gram figure.

Sources and standards

US recipe volumes are legal measures rather than rough equivalents. The US cup is 236.588 mL, the tablespoon 14.7868 mL and the teaspoon 4.92892 mL, all derived from the 231-cubic-inch gallon; NIST OWM publishes the customary measures, and the page notes where a metric cup differs.

Cups to grams and grams to cups

A cup is a volume and a gram is a mass, so the answer depends on the ingredient — which is why cups to grams has no single conversion factor. A US cup holds 236.6 mL, so a cup of water is 237 g, a cup of plain flour is about 125 g, and a cup of granulated sugar is about 200 g.

One US cup of common ingredients in grams
Ingredient	1 cup (US)	Grams per cup
Water	236.6 mL	237 g
Plain flour	236.6 mL	125 g
Granulated sugar	236.6 mL	200 g
Butter	236.6 mL	227 g
Rice (uncooked)	236.6 mL	185 g
Rolled oats	236.6 mL	90 g

To go the other way, grams to cups is the same table read backwards: divide grams by the grams-per-cup figure, so 250 g of flour is 2 cups. The cooking measurements guide covers cup sizes by country and the flour-scooping problem.