I was baking cookies last month and the recipe said “2 cups of flour.” I grabbed my measuring cup and filled it twice. But then I thought – what’s that actually weigh? Like, do I need to care?
Looked it up and found different answers. Some websites said 240 grams. Some said 250. Some said 260. I’m standing there confused as hell wondering which one’s actually right.
That bugged me for like a week. So I started testing it myself. Grabbed my measuring cup, filled it with flour, threw it on my kitchen scale. Got 125 grams. Filled it again. Got 128 grams. Wait, different amounts? Why?
That’s when I realized the whole thing depends on how much you pack it down. Started googling and found The Kitchn’s Measurement Conversion Guide which explained the mess.
One Cup of What, Exactly?
Here’s the thing nobody explains properly – one cup is one cup by volume. But the weight? Completely different depending on what you’re measuring.
One cup of water weighs 240 grams. One cup of flour weighs like 125 grams. One cup of honey weighs 340 grams. Same cup. Totally different weights.
This is literally why I had to figure this out. Every recipe gave me different numbers and I was losing my mind.
How Many Grams in a Cup of Flour
All-purpose flour is about 125 grams per cup. But here’s the catch – it depends on how packed it is.
I measured mine three times to be sure. Loose? 120 grams. Normal? 125 grams. Packed down? 130 grams.
This is exactly why professional bakers hate cups. They use scales. Same recipe, same weight every time. No guessing.
According to Serious Eats Cooking Measurements, this packing difference is literally the biggest reason people’s baking fails.
If you’re actually baking seriously, measure your flour by weight. 125 grams is the standard. Use a scale. Trust me.
How Many Grams in a Cup of Water?
Water’s easy because it’s basically the only thing that’s consistent. 240 grams. That’s your baseline for everything else.
Metric was literally invented around this. One ml of water equals one gram. One cup is 240ml. So 240 grams. Simple.
When people talk about cup conversions, water’s what they’re comparing everything to.
How Many Grams in a Cup of Sugar?
Granulated white sugar? About 200 grams per cup. Not 240 like water. Why? Sugar crystals have air between them.
Brown sugar weighs more. Around 210 grams. Because you pack it down when you scoop it. Recipes literally say “packed brown sugar” for this reason.
Tested both. White sugar was about 195-205 grams depending on how full I filled it. Brown sugar was definitely heavier at around 210.
Butter Is About 225
Butter weighs about 225 grams per cup. Not 240. Butter’s denser than water even though it floats (weird, I know).
This matters because a lot of old recipes just say “1 cup of butter” and if you mess up the conversion your baking goes bad.
Made brownies once and used 240 grams thinking it was one cup. They were way too dense and rich. Looked it up later – should’ve been 225. That ten-gram difference actually mattered.
How Many Grams in a Cup of Oil?
Olive oil, coconut oil, vegetable oil – all about 215 grams per cup.
Less than water because it’s less dense. Not by much, but enough to matter if you’re precision baking.
Tested mine. Got 214, then 216. So around 215 is right.
The difference between butter (225g) and oil (215g) might sound small but it changes how your cookies turn out. Butter makes them fluffier. Oil makes them more moist. The weight ratio matters.
How Many Grams in a Cup of Honey?
Honey is 340 grams per cup. Way more than water.
This is because honey is thick and fills all the space with basically no air gaps. Same cup, way heavier.
My friend made a honey cake and converted cups to grams herself. Used 240 grams thinking one cup was like water. The cake barely tasted like honey. Should’ve been 340.
King Arthur Baking Ingredient Weight Chart has all this stuff broken down if you want exact numbers.
Milk Is Close to Water
About 245 grams per cup. Just slightly heavier than water.
Basically the same for most cooking purposes. If a recipe says 1 cup of milk, 240 grams is close enough.
Cocoa Powder Is Light
One cup of cocoa powder is about 85 grams. Way less than flour because it’s powder with tons of air between the particles.
Made hot chocolate from scratch once and thought the recipe’s “1 cup cocoa powder” was insane. Measured it – 85 grams. Turns out it made like twenty cups of hot chocolate. Not that much after all.
Oats and Other Fluff
Rolled oats are about 95 grams per cup. Same deal as cocoa powder – lots of air, way lighter than flour.
Measured my oats before making granola. 95 grams per cup. Recipe called for two cups so 190 grams total. Worked perfectly.
Brown Rice
Uncooked brown rice is about 185 grams per cup. Pretty dense but not as dense as water.
White rice is basically the same weight. 185 grams per cup.
I measure my rice by weight now instead of cups. Easier to remember – one cup is 185 grams. Don’t have to guess if I filled it right.
Pasta
Dry pasta is about 100-110 grams per cup depending on the shape.
Spaghetti’s lighter. Penne’s heavier. Elbow pasta’s in between.
My friend asked me to convert a pasta recipe from cups to grams once. Looked it up. About 105 grams for normal pasta shapes. Used that and it worked.
According to Serious Eats, this is where people mess up because not all pasta shapes weigh the same.
Other Stuff
Salt is 290 grams per cup. Dense crystals, no air.
Nuts (chopped) are about 130 grams per cup.
Cheese (shredded) is about 115 grams per cup. Lots of air between the strands.
Peanut butter is about 245 grams per cup. Same as water basically.
Sour cream is 240 grams. Same as water.
I never really thought about most of these until I started measuring stuff on a scale. Now I just remember – flour is light, honey is heavy, everything else is somewhere in between.
Your Measuring Cup Probably Doesn’t Match Anyone Else’s
Tested my three different measuring cups with water. Got 236 grams, 242 grams, and 238 grams. All saying “1 cup” but slightly different amounts.
For cooking this doesn’t matter at all. For baking it might.
Kitchen Measurement Science explains this – measuring cups just aren’t that precise.
Teaspoon and Tablespoon Stuff
There’s also 1 teaspoon = 5ml, 1 tablespoon = 15ml. But for cups, we’re talking about 240ml.
16 tablespoons = 1 cup. 8 tablespoons = 1/2 cup. 4 tablespoons = 1/4 cup.
Comes up all the time in recipes.
Baking vs Cooking (Why I Even Care About This)
When I’m making soup or stir frying, I just throw stuff in a measuring cup and go. If it’s close, it’s fine. I taste it and adjust.
Baking is different. You can’t taste a raw cake and adjust. The recipe’s already mixed. If you got the flour amount wrong, tough luck, your cake’s already wrong.
My friend Jessica bakes constantly. She weighs everything now. Her cakes always come out the same. Perfect texture, perfect rise. I still use cups sometimes and mine are inconsistent as hell.
I tried weighing things once. Took slightly longer but honestly the results were way better. If you’re baking seriously, just get a scale.
Bon Appétit Test Kitchen Guide – they always use weight for consistency.
Loose vs Packed (Why Your Cup Might Be Wrong)
This is the annoying part. If you pack flour down tight into a cup, it weighs more than if you just let it settle.
So when a recipe says “1 cup of flour” they probably mean loosely packed or scooped normally. Not packed down.
But every person measures differently. Some people pack tight. Some people don’t. This is literally why cups suck.
AllRecipes Conversion Calculator has versions of ingredients for packed and unpacked so you can pick.
Different Countries Have Different Cups
American cup = 240ml
Metric cup = 250ml
UK cup = 284ml
Australian cup = 250ml
Made an Australian recipe once and used American cups. Everything was off. Their cup is bigger. Metric Cooking Basics has the differences explained.
Quick Reference Chart
| What | 1 Cup | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Water | 240g | Your baseline |
| Flour | 125g | All-purpose, loose |
| Sugar (white) | 200g | Granulated |
| Sugar (brown) | 210g | Packed down |
| Butter | 225g | Soft |
| Oil | 215g | Any type |
| Honey | 340g | Heavy stuff |
| Milk | 245g | Close to water |
| Cocoa powder | 85g | Super light |
| Oats | 95g | Rolled |
| Rice | 185g | Uncooked |
| Pasta | 105g | Dry |
| Nuts | 130g | Chopped |
| Cheese | 115g | Shredded |
Real Examples
Making pancakes? “2 cups of flour” is roughly 250 grams. Don’t overthink it. Just scoop and go.
Baking a cake? “3 cups of flour” – use a scale and measure 375 grams exactly. Your cake’s texture depends on it.
Making rice? “1 cup of rice” – could use cups or weigh it at 185 grams. Both work.
Making cookies? Get a scale. Seriously. Cookie dough is finicky.
The Simple Math
If you know how many grams per cup, you can figure out anything.
1 cup flour = 125g
Half cup flour = 62.5g
1.5 cups flour = 187.5g
3 cups flour = 375g
Just multiply or divide depending on what you need.
USDA Food Data Central has official weights for basically everything if you need exact numbers.
Why Dense Stuff Weighs More
Water has no air in it. Just liquid. Fills the whole cup. 240 grams.
Flour has tiny air spaces between particles. Same cup but less mass. 125 grams.
Honey is thick with no air gaps. Fills the whole cup tight. 340 grams.
Less air = heavier. More air = lighter. That’s the whole thing.
Stuff People Get Wrong
Using the same cup for flour and sugar and expecting them to weigh the same. Nope. Flour’s 125g, sugar’s 200g.
Not leveling the cup. Overfilled? Weighs more. Underfilled? Weighs less.
Measuring dry ingredients like liquids. Dry stuff gets scooped. Liquids get poured to the line.
Thinking cups are exact. They’re not. Weight is exact.
Baking with cups when they should use a scale.
Get a Scale, Seriously
A kitchen scale costs like fifteen bucks. Changed my baking forever.
Now I just weigh everything. Same recipe, same weight, same results every time.
I’m not exaggerating – this one purchase made more difference than anything else I’ve done in the kitchen.
Summary
How many grams in a cup? Depends on what you’re putting in it.
Water is 240. Flour is 125. Sugar is 200. Honey is 340. Butter is 225. Oil is 215.
For cooking, cups work fine. For baking, get a scale and measure by weight.
That’s it. Those are the rules.
Now when someone asks me how many grams in a cup of flour, I remember the time I measured it three times and got three different answers, or when I used 240 grams of butter thinking it was one cup and ruined my brownies, or when I made that Australian cake and everything was weird because their cup is bigger.
One cup isn’t always one weight. But once you know the weight of what you’re measuring, it stays the same forever.