Kitchen Conversions: Cups to Grams, Spoons and Oven Temperatures
Recipes come from everywhere, and they don't all speak the same language. One says a cup of flour, another says 120 grams, and the oven dial says something else entirely. This page puts the conversions you'll need most in one place, so you can keep cooking instead of searching.
Keep it bookmarked, and if you bake a lot, a digital kitchen scale will make life even easier.
Cups to grams for common ingredients
A cup measures volume, not weight, so a cup of flour weighs far less than a cup of honey. These weights are approximate and based on spooning the ingredient into the cup and leveling it off.
Ingredient | 1 cup | ½ cup | ¼ cup |
All-purpose flour | 120 g | 60 g | 30 g |
Granulated sugar | 200 g | 100 g | 50 g |
Brown sugar (packed) | 210 g | 105 g | 53 g |
Powdered sugar | 115 g | 58 g | 29 g |
Butter | 227 g (2 sticks) | 113 g (1 stick) | 57 g |
Rolled oats | 90 g | 45 g | 23 g |
Long-grain white rice (uncooked) | 190 g | 95 g | 48 g |
Cocoa powder | 85 g | 43 g | 21 g |
Honey | 340 g | 170 g | 85 g |
Milk or water | 240 g (240 ml) | 120 g (120 ml) | 60 g (60 ml) |
Spoons, cups and milliliters
These are US measures. A metric tablespoon is the same 15 ml, so you can use either set of spoons.
US measure | Equals | Metric |
1 teaspoon | 1/3 tablespoon | 5 ml |
1 tablespoon | 3 teaspoons | 15 ml |
2 tablespoons | 1 fluid ounce | 30 ml |
¼ cup | 4 tablespoons | 60 ml |
1/3 cup | 5 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon | 80 ml |
½ cup | 8 tablespoons | 120 ml |
¾ cup | 12 tablespoons | 180 ml |
1 cup | 16 tablespoons | 240 ml |
1 pint | 2 cups | 475 ml |
1 quart | 4 cups | 950 ml |
Weight, for meat and cheese: 1 ounce is about 28 grams, and 1 pound is about 454 grams.
Good tools help here too: a set of measuring spoons for the small amounts, a glass measuring cup for liquids, and an adjustable measuring cup for sticky things like honey and peanut butter.
Oven temperatures: Fahrenheit, Celsius and gas mark
Celsius temperatures are rounded the way most recipes write them. If you have a fan or convection oven, lower the temperature by about 25°F (20°C).
Fahrenheit | Celsius | Gas mark | Good for |
250°F | 120°C | ½ | Meringues, drying |
275°F | 140°C | 1 | Slow roasting |
300°F | 150°C | 2 | Cheesecake, slow braises |
325°F | 160°C | 3 | Fruit cakes, gentle roasting |
350°F | 180°C | 4 | Most cakes and cookies |
375°F | 190°C | 5 | Muffins, pies, casseroles |
400°F | 200°C | 6 | Roast vegetables, bread |
425°F | 220°C | 7 | Crispy roast potatoes, puff pastry |
450°F | 230°C | 8 | Pizza, high-heat roasting |
475°F | 240°C | 9 | Pizza and flatbreads |
Many home ovens run hotter or cooler than the dial says. An oven thermometer tells you the real temperature, so your cakes bake the way the recipe intended.
Swapping pan sizes
Don't have the pan the recipe calls for? These swaps hold roughly the same amount of batter. Keep the depth of batter about the same and start checking for doneness early, because a shallower pan bakes faster.
8-inch square pan ≈ 9-inch round cake pan
9x13-inch pan ≈ two 8-inch square pans or two 9-inch round pans
Batter for a 9x13-inch cake makes about 24 cupcakes
9-inch pie pan ≈ a 9-inch tart pan, though a tart pan is shallower, so you may have a little filling left over
Why I weigh when I bake
For soups, stews and sauces, cups and spoons are perfectly fine, and you can taste as you go. Baking is different. A little too much flour makes a cake dry and a cookie tough. Weighing takes the guesswork out, and you'll wash fewer cups too. If you're new to the kitchen, start with 30 Small Habits for Beginners and the lessons in Chef Jon's Kitchen School.
Frequently asked questions
How many grams are in a cup of flour?
About 120 grams of all-purpose flour, if you spoon it into the cup and level it off. Scooping straight from the bag packs it down and can give you 150 grams or more, which is why weighing is more reliable.
How many tablespoons are in a cup?
There are 16 tablespoons in 1 cup. Half a cup is 8 tablespoons and a quarter cup is 4 tablespoons.
What is 350°F in Celsius?
350°F is about 180°C, or gas mark 4. In a fan (convection) oven, most recipes work at about 160°C.
How much is a stick of butter?
One US stick of butter is ½ cup, 8 tablespoons or about 113 grams.
Should I use a fan or convection setting?
You can, but lower the temperature by about 25°F (or 20°C) and start checking a little early, because the moving air cooks faster.
Comments