How many grams are in one cup of all-purpose flour?

One US cup of all-purpose flour weighs about 120 grams when spooned and leveled. Scooping directly from the bag can give 140–150 grams, so weigh flour if accuracy matters.

Why does my cup-to-gram conversion vary between websites?

Different sources use different measuring methods (spooned vs. scooped, sifted vs. unsifted) and may use metric cups (250 ml) instead of US cups (240 ml). Always check which standard the chart uses.

Can I convert grams to cups for any ingredient using one formula?

No, because each ingredient has a different density. You need an ingredient-specific chart. For liquids like water, 1 cup is about 240 grams, but for flour it is about 120 grams.

Should I weigh ingredients even if the recipe gives cups?

Yes, for baking it is more accurate. Weighing eliminates variation from how you fill the cup. For cooking, cups are often fine, but weighing is still more consistent.

Grams to Cups Conversion Chart for Common Ingredients

Why a Simple Grams-to-Cups Chart Fails

A cup is a measure of volume, while a gram is a measure of weight. One cup of all-purpose flour weighs about 120 grams, but one cup of rolled oats weighs about 90 grams, and one cup of honey weighs about 340 grams. Because different ingredients have different densities, there is no single conversion factor that works for everything.

Many online converters use a generic 240 grams per cup, which is only accurate for water and liquids of similar density. Using that number for flour or cocoa powder can throw a recipe off by 20 percent or more. For reliable results, you need a chart that lists each ingredient separately.

The chart below gives the most commonly used baking and cooking ingredients in their standard spooned or sifted forms. For dry ingredients, the weight assumes you spoon the ingredient into the measuring cup and level it off, not scoop directly from the bag, which compacts the ingredient and adds extra grams.

Ingredient	Grams per US cup	Cups per 100 grams
All-purpose flour	120 g	0.83 cups (about ¾ cup + 1 tbsp)
Whole wheat flour	113 g	0.88 cups (about ¾ cup + 2 tbsp)
Bread flour	127 g	0.79 cups (about ¾ cup)
Granulated sugar	200 g	0.5 cups (½ cup)
Brown sugar (packed)	220 g	0.45 cups (about ½ cup minus 1 tbsp)
Powdered sugar	110 g	0.91 cups (about 1 cup minus 1 tbsp)
Butter	227 g	0.44 cups (about 7 tbsp)
Rolled oats	90 g	1.11 cups (about 1 cup + 2 tbsp)

Flour and Sugar: The Two Conversions You Will Use Most

Flour and sugar are the backbone of most baking, and they behave very differently in a measuring cup. All-purpose flour settles easily, so how you fill the cup changes the weight. Spooning and leveling gives about 120 grams per cup; scooping can push that to 150 grams or more. Sifting flour before measuring reduces the weight to around 100 grams per cup.

Granulated sugar is denser than flour, at 200 grams per cup. Because the crystals are uniform, scooping and leveling is fine for granulated sugar. Brown sugar is usually packed into the cup, which is why it weighs more at 220 grams per cup. Powdered sugar is light and airy unless sifted, so use 110 grams per cup for unsifted and about 100 grams for sifted.

When a recipe gives grams, weigh your flour and sugar instead of converting. But if you only have cups, use the chart above and match the measuring method the recipe implies. A recipe that says '1 cup flour, sifted' means sift then measure, which is lighter than '1 cup sifted flour' (measure then sift).

A hand spooning flour into a measuring cup over a bowl

Butter, Oats, and Honey: Ingredients That Do Not Follow the Rules

Butter is sold in sticks with tablespoon markings in many countries, so converting is straightforward: one US stick is 113 grams and equals half a cup. If your butter is in a block, cut it into tablespoons or use a scale. Melted butter weighs the same as solid butter, so you can convert by weight without worrying about state.

Rolled oats are surprisingly light, only 90 grams per cup. Quick oats are similar, but steel-cut oats are denser and weigh about 170 grams per cup. Always check which type your recipe calls for, because substituting by volume will change the texture and the weight.

Honey, molasses, and maple syrup are heavy liquids. Honey is about 340 grams per cup, so a small volume holds a lot of weight. For sticky ingredients, lightly oil your measuring cup or spray it with cooking spray so the syrup slides out cleanly. Weighing these directly into the mixing bowl is even easier and avoids the mess.

Butter: 1 stick = 113 g = ½ cup (US).
Rolled oats: 90 g per cup; steel-cut oats are about 170 g per cup.
Honey or maple syrup: 340 g per cup; oil the cup for easy release.
Melted butter weighs the same as solid butter, so convert by weight.

Worked Example: Scaling a Pancake Recipe from Cups to Grams

Let's walk through a real scenario. A pancake recipe calls for 2 cups all-purpose flour, 3 tablespoons granulated sugar, 1½ cups milk, 1 large egg, and 2 tablespoons melted butter. You want to double the recipe, but you only have a kitchen scale and a set of measuring spoons. Convert each ingredient to grams first.

Using the chart: 2 cups flour × 120 g = 240 g. Sugar: 3 tablespoons is ⅛ of a cup (since 16 tablespoons make a cup), so 200 g ÷ 16 × 3 = 37.5 g, round to 38 g. Milk: 1½ cups × 240 g = 360 g. Butter: 2 tablespoons is ⅛ of a cup, and 227 g ÷ 16 × 2 = 28.4 g, round to 28 g. The egg stays at about 50 g, or just use one large egg.

Now double everything: 480 g flour, 75 g sugar, 720 g milk, 56 g butter, and 2 eggs. Weigh these directly into your mixing bowl, and your doubled batch will match the original recipe's proportions exactly. This is the same method you would use for any recipe that gives volume measurements but you want to bake by weight.

Ingredient	Original volume	Grams (1×)	Grams (2×)
All-purpose flour	2 cups	240 g	480 g
Granulated sugar	3 tbsp	38 g	75 g
Milk	1½ cups	360 g	720 g
Melted butter	2 tbsp	28 g	56 g
Large egg	1	50 g (approx.)	100 g (2 eggs)

Common Conversions for Liquids and Small Quantities

Water and milk are close enough to 240 grams per cup that you can use that number for most liquids. Oil is slightly lighter at about 216 grams per cup, but for small amounts the difference rarely matters. For precision, weigh oil too, but do not stress over a gram or two in a marinade.

For small quantities, it helps to know the gram weight of common spoon measures. One tablespoon of granulated sugar is 12.5 g, one tablespoon of flour is about 7.5 g, and one teaspoon of salt is about 6 g (fine table salt) or 5 g (kosher). These are useful when a recipe gives grams but you only have spoons.

If a recipe calls for an ingredient not in the chart, search for that specific ingredient's density rather than guessing. Online databases list grams per cup for hundreds of foods. When in doubt, use a kitchen scale for dry ingredients and measure liquids in a clear glass cup with markings.