The short answer
It depends on the ingredient. A cup measures volume, not weight: a cup of water weighs about 237 g, but the same cup of flour weighs about 125 g, and of honey about 340 g.
A US cup is 236.6 ml. Recipes from the UK, Australia and Canada sometimes use a 250 ml «metric cup»; the 6% difference hardly matters in a stew but shows in baking.
Grams per cup chart
Values for a US cup, spooned in without packing and leveled with a knife.
| Ingredient | 1 cup | ½ cup | ⅓ cup | ¼ cup |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All-purpose flour | 125 g | 62 g | 42 g | 31 g |
| Whole wheat flour | 120 g | 60 g | 40 g | 30 g |
| Almond flour | 96 g | 48 g | 32 g | 24 g |
| Cornstarch | 128 g | 64 g | 43 g | 32 g |
| Granulated sugar | 200 g | 100 g | 67 g | 50 g |
| Brown sugar (packed) | 220 g | 110 g | 73 g | 55 g |
| Powdered sugar | 120 g | 60 g | 40 g | 30 g |
| Butter | 227 g | 114 g | 76 g | 57 g |
| Vegetable oil | 218 g | 109 g | 73 g | 54 g |
| Water | 237 g | 118 g | 79 g | 59 g |
| Milk | 245 g | 122 g | 82 g | 61 g |
| Heavy cream | 240 g | 120 g | 80 g | 60 g |
| Yogurt | 245 g | 122 g | 82 g | 61 g |
| Honey | 340 g | 170 g | 113 g | 85 g |
| Cocoa powder | 85 g | 42 g | 28 g | 21 g |
| Chocolate chips | 170 g | 85 g | 57 g | 42 g |
| Rolled oats | 90 g | 45 g | 30 g | 22 g |
| Rice (uncooked) | 185 g | 92 g | 62 g | 46 g |
| Chopped walnuts | 120 g | 60 g | 40 g | 30 g |
| Shredded coconut | 85 g | 42 g | 28 g | 21 g |
| Raisins | 150 g | 75 g | 50 g | 38 g |
| Table salt | 288 g | 144 g | 96 g | 72 g |
| Grated cheese | 100 g | 50 g | 33 g | 25 g |
Why your cup may weigh more
- How you fill it. Scooping the cup straight into the flour bag packs it down and can give you 150 g instead of 125 g. Spoon the flour in and level it off.
- Brown sugar is measured packed, which is why it weighs more than white sugar.
- Butter comes in sticks of ½ cup (113 g), so «1 cup» is 2 sticks.
- Brand and humidity change the weight a little. The chart gives reliable averages for home baking.
Tip
If you bake often, a kitchen scale is the best upgrade you can make: weighing is faster and more precise than cups, and your results come out the same every time.