2 Cups Butter in Grams
2 cups of butter weighs 454 g (scooped, King Arthur Baking). That single number is the whole point of this page, but the reason it matters is that cups measure volume and recipes live or die by weight. Butter is one of those ingredients where a cup can hide a surprisingly wide range of weights, so converting to grams takes the guesswork out. Every figure on this page is approximate and comes from the King Arthur Baking value for butter, so when a recipe really matters, verify with a kitchen scale.
Why weighing butter beats scooping it
Butter is the kind of ingredient where the cup method quietly fails. A cup is a volume measure, and the weight of a volume depends on how tightly the ingredient is packed, how fine it is, and even how humid the kitchen is. Two people filling the same cup of butter can easily end up with weights several grams apart, and in a recipe that calls for 2 cups, that difference doubles. Grams remove the variable entirely: 454 g of butter is 454 g of butter in any kitchen, on any day, in any hands. That is why professional recipes are written in grams, and why converting your cup measurements is the single cheapest upgrade you can make to your cooking. You do not need expensive equipment — a basic digital scale that reads to the gram costs less than a bag of good flour and pays for itself the first time a cake comes out right.
Butter cups to grams conversion table
| Cups | Grams | Tablespoons (approx.) |
|---|---|---|
| 1/4 cup | 56.8 g | 3.5 g |
| 1/3 cup | 75.7 g | 4.7 g |
| 1/2 cup | 113.5 g | 7.1 g |
| 2/3 cup | 151.3 g | 9.5 g |
| 3/4 cup | 170.2 g | 10.6 g |
| 1 cup | 227 g | 14.2 g |
| 1 1/2 cups | 340.5 g | 21.3 g |
| 2 cups | 454 g | 28.4 g |
| 3 cups | 681 g | 42.6 g |
| 4 cups | 908 g | 56.8 g |
The tablespoon column is a bonus for recipes that call for a spoonful or two: one tablespoon of butter weighs about 14.2 g. Remember that a cup is 16 tablespoons, so the numbers in the table are just the cup weight divided by 16, rounded sensibly. For small amounts a scale that reads to the gram is far more reliable than a spoon, because a heaped tablespoon can weigh half as much again as a level one.
How the weight was measured
Scooped means the ingredient was measured the way King Arthur Baking measures it: scooped with the measuring cup, which is the standard method for this ingredient because it is sold and used in solid form. Level the top with a knife for consistency. The source for the 227 g per cup figure is King Arthur Baking, and the confidence in the value is high. King Arthur Baking publishes a standard ingredient weight chart that recipe developers use as a reference, and this page follows it exactly rather than averaging across sources, because an average of two different measuring methods is a number that matches nobody's cup.
Worked examples
A double batch of cookies
Cookies are sensitive to the fat ratio: it controls spread, chew, and crispness. Doubling a recipe that uses 1 cup of butter means 2 cups, or 454 g. Melted fat spreads more than softened fat, so weigh it in the state the recipe specifies — softened, melted, or cold and cubed — and the doubled batch will match the original.
Roasting vegetables for a dinner party
Roasting a large tray of vegetables with 2 cups of butter needs 454 g drizzled over the top. Weighing the oil stops you from drowning the vegetables (soggy) or starving them (dry and burnt at the edges). Toss, spread in a single layer, and roast hot.
A cake that swaps butter for oil
Some cakes use oil instead of butter for a moist crumb. If the recipe calls for 2 cups of butter, weigh 454 g and pour it in. Oil cakes mix fast — no creaming step — so the weighing is the only precision step in the whole recipe, and it is worth doing properly.
Common mistakes with butter
The most common mistake is scooping the cup through the container instead of spooning and levelling. Scooping packs the ingredient and can add 10 to 20 percent extra weight — enough to ruin a bake. The second mistake is using a liquid measuring jug for a dry ingredient, or a dry cup for a liquid: the two are calibrated differently and the meniscus on a jug is hard to read at 2 cups. The third mistake is forgetting to tare the scale, so the weight of the bowl gets counted as ingredient. Put the bowl on the scale, press tare so the display reads zero, and then add the ingredient. Finally, do not trust a cup that has been sitting in a humid kitchen: butter absorbs moisture from the air, and a cup weighed on a damp day is heavier than the same cup on a dry day. The scale does not care about humidity — it tells you what is actually there.
Butter temperature matters as much as butter weight
Two cups of butter can behave like three different ingredients depending on its temperature, and the recipe usually depends on which one you use. Cold butter cut into cubes makes flaky pastry, because the pieces stay solid until the oven heat turns their water to steam. Softened butter creams with sugar to trap air, which is what lifts cakes and cookies. Melted butter gives a dense, moist crumb but no lift at all. Weighing 454 g is only half the job — weigh it in the state the recipe asks for, and if you soften butter in a hurry, cut it into small cubes and leave it for ten minutes rather than microwaving it, which melts the edges while the centre stays hard.
Frequently asked questions
How many grams is 2 cups of butter?
2 cups of butter weighs approximately 454 g, measured scooped. The figure comes from the King Arthur Baking value of 227 g per cup. All weights on this page are approximate — verify with a kitchen scale when precision matters.
Does the brand of butter change the weight?
It can, by a few grams per cup. Different brands mill, grind or process butter slightly differently, and moisture content varies with storage. The King Arthur Baking value of 227 g per cup is a standard reference, not a measurement of your specific packet — another reason to verify with a scale for important recipes.
What is the easiest way to weigh 2 cups of butter?
Put your mixing bowl on a digital scale, press tare to zero it, and pour or spoon in butter until the display reads 454 g. Add other dry ingredients on top, taring between each one, and you can measure a whole recipe in one bowl with no extra washing up.
Can I halve or double this amount?
Yes. Half of 2 cups of butter is 227 g, and double is 908 g. Weighing makes scaling exact, whereas halving or doubling cups compounds measuring error. Scale the butter by weight and adjust leavening and seasoning by taste rather than by a straight multiple.
How should I store butter?
Refrigerate up to 3 months; freeze up to 6 months. Keeping it sealed and dry also keeps the cup weight close to the 227 g per cup value used on this page.
How many sticks of butter is 2 cups?
Four sticks. One US stick of butter weighs about 113 g, which is half a cup, so 2 cups is four sticks, approximately 454 g in total. The 113 g and 454 g figures are approximate — verify with a kitchen scale when precision matters — and if your butter is sold in blocks rather than sticks, weigh out 454 g and cut what you need from the block.