Volume and weight are different things
A cup is a unit of volume. Flour is light and full of air, honey is dense, and both can fill the same cup, but they weigh very different amounts. That is why there is no single answer to "how many grams are in a cup". It always depends on the ingredient.
How much a cup weighs
| Ingredient | 1 US cup |
|---|---|
| All-purpose flour | 120 g |
| Cocoa powder | 84 g |
| Powdered sugar | 113 g |
| Granulated sugar | 198 g |
| Brown sugar, packed | 213 g |
| Butter | 227 g |
| Honey | 336 g |
These figures follow the published weights of King Arthur Baking. A cup of honey weighs nearly three times as much as a cup of flour, so a recipe that swaps one for the other by volume would change completely by weight.
Why cup measurements vary
Even for one ingredient, cups are unreliable. Flour can be scooped or spooned, sugar can clump, and brown sugar can be packed loosely or tightly. Brands differ in grind and moisture. Two cooks following the same cup recipe can end up with different amounts without doing anything wrong.
When cups are fine
For soups, stews, sauces and most cooking, a few grams either way does not matter, and cups are quick and easy. They also work for forgiving bakes such as muffins and quick breads. The more a recipe depends on exact ratios, as bread, cakes, pastry and macarons do, the more it is worth weighing.
How to convert a recipe from cups to grams
- List each ingredient and its amount in cups.
- Look up the weight of one cup of each using the cooking conversions calculator.
- Multiply the number of cups by the grams per cup.
- Write the grams next to the recipe so you do not have to repeat the work.
If you need to change the number of servings as well, run the ingredients through the recipe scaler calculator first.