1/2 Cup Cornmeal in Grams

1/2 cup of cornmeal weighs 69 g (spooned and levelled, King Arthur Baking). A full cup weighs 138 g, so the half cup is exactly half of that. Coarsely ground dried corn; King Arthur lists whole cornmeal at 138 g per cup. All the figures on this page are approximate conversions based on the King Arthur Baking value, so when a recipe really matters, verify with a kitchen scale.

Why weighing cornmeal beats measuring it in cups

Half a cup of cornmeal weighs 69 g, heavier than a half cup of most flours, because cornmeal is coarsely ground dried corn and the dense granules pack tightly into the cup. The 138 g per cup figure is for whole cornmeal, and the coarseness is part of the story: fine cornmeal packs tighter and weighs slightly more per cup than coarse cornmeal, which leaves more air gaps. Most recipes that call for cornmeal mean medium-grind cornmeal, which is the versatile middle ground for cornbread, polenta and muffins.

Cornmeal is the flour of cornbread, and half a cup is the amount in a small batch of muffins, a single-serving cornbread, or a recipe where cornmeal is mixed with wheat flour for texture. Cornmeal has no gluten, so it gives bakes a crumbly, tender texture and a sweet, corny flavour, but it needs wheat flour or eggs to hold it together. Whole-grain cornmeal should be refrigerated, because it contains oils that go rancid, while degerminated cornmeal keeps longer in the cupboard. Weighing the cornmeal keeps the texture right: too much and the bake is gritty and dry, too little and the corn flavour disappears.

Cornmeal cups to grams conversion table

Cups Grams Tablespoons
1/8 cup 17.2 g 2
1/4 cup 34.5 g 4
1/3 cup 46 g 5.3
1/2 cup 69 g 8
2/3 cup 92 g 10.7
3/4 cup 103.5 g 12
1 cup 138 g 16
1 1/2 cups 207 g 24
2 cups 276 g 32
3 cups 414 g 48

The table is built around the half cup, which is the measure this page is about, with the full-cup weight of 138 g as the anchor. Every row is the full-cup weight multiplied by the fraction, so the numbers stay consistent as you scale up or down. One tablespoon of cornmeal weighs about 8.6 g, which is useful when a recipe calls for a spoonful rather than a cup.

Worked examples

Cornbread muffins, a batch of 6

A batch of 6 cornbread muffins uses about 1/2 cup of cornmeal, which is 69 g, mixed with white flour, an egg, milk, butter and baking powder. Weigh 69 g rather than measuring by cups, because cornmeal packs differently depending on the grind and a cup can be 10 g light or heavy. The muffins will be golden, tender and lightly sweet, with a pleasant grit from the cornmeal.

Polenta for two

Polenta for two people uses about 1/2 cup of cornmeal, which is 69 g, whisked into 400 ml of boiling salted water and simmered for 30 minutes. Weigh the cornmeal so the polenta is creamy rather than stiff or runny: the ratio of cornmeal to water decides the texture, and a 10 g error changes it noticeably. Stir often so the polenta does not catch on the bottom of the pan.

Cornmeal-crusted fish for two

Fish for two people uses about 1/2 cup of cornmeal, which is 69 g, seasoned with salt, pepper and paprika, to coat the fish before frying. Weigh 69 g so the coating is even: too much cornmeal and the crust is thick and gritty, too little and the fish is barely coated. Press the cornmeal onto the fish firmly and fry until golden and crisp.

How the weight was measured

How you fill the cup decides what the cup weighs. The method used here is spooned and levelled: the ingredient is spooned into the cup and levelled with a straight edge, never scooped and never tapped down. If you scoop, you compress the ingredient and the same cup can weigh noticeably more, which is the single most common reason a recipe that worked for its author fails in another kitchen.

The value is taken from King Arthur Baking with high confidence. King Arthur Baking is the reference used across this site because its chart is consistent and widely used by recipe developers. No other source was mixed in, and nothing on this page was estimated from a different ingredient. Remember that every conversion on this page is approximate: check the weight on a kitchen scale whenever accuracy matters, and use the table as a guide rather than a guarantee.

Practical guidance

Store cornmeal in an airtight container in a cool, dry place, and refrigerate whole-grain cornmeal, because it contains oils that go rancid. Degerminated cornmeal keeps longer in the cupboard. Always spoon the cornmeal into the cup and level it, never scoop, because the dense granules pack tightly and a scooped cup can be heavy. Check the grind: fine cornmeal packs tighter and weighs slightly more per cup than coarse cornmeal, so weigh the cornmeal you have. When making polenta, whisk the cornmeal into boiling water gradually to avoid lumps, and stir often. If you do not have a scale, spoon the cornmeal loosely into the half cup and level it, remembering that the 69 g figure is approximate.

Common mistakes with half-cup measures

The most common mistake is treating a half cup as a casual measure. Half a cup of flour is 60 g, and a scooped half cup can easily weigh 70 g or more, which is a 15 percent error in a recipe that may only contain two or three cups of flour in total. Small measures carry the largest relative errors, so weighing matters more, not less, at this size. The second mistake is using a liquid measuring jug for dry flour: the meniscus line is designed for liquids, and flour measured in a jug is almost always over- or under-filled. Use a dry cup, or a scale. The third is assuming every flour weighs the same per half cup: the flours on this page range from about 42 g to about 82 g per half cup, so swapping flours cup for cup without adjusting the weight changes the recipe. Finally, do not pack flour into the half cup to make it look full: spoon and level, every time.

Frequently asked questions

How many grams is 1/2 cup of cornmeal?

1/2 cup of cornmeal weighs 69 g when spooned and levelled, according to King Arthur Baking, which lists 138 g per cup for whole cornmeal. The figure is approximate, because the grind affects how tightly the granules pack, so verify with a kitchen scale when it matters.

Is cornmeal the same as polenta?

Polenta is a dish made from cornmeal, and the cornmeal sold as polenta is usually a coarser grind. The two are interchangeable in most recipes, but weigh the cornmeal rather than measuring by volume, because the grind affects the weight per cup.

Can I use cornmeal instead of wheat flour?

Partly. Cornmeal has no gluten, so a bake made with cornmeal alone will be crumbly. Mix it with wheat flour, usually half cornmeal and half wheat flour, and weigh both flours so the ratio is exact.

How should I store cornmeal?

In an airtight container in a cool, dry place, and refrigerate whole-grain cornmeal, because it contains oils that go rancid. Degerminated cornmeal keeps longer in the cupboard.

How many cups is 100 g of cornmeal?

100 g of cornmeal is about 0.72 cups, or just under 3/4 cup. At 138 g per cup, divide 100 by 138 to get the answer, and use a scale for the most accurate result.

Related conversions

If you need a different amount, the table above scales in both directions, and the converter tool will do the maths for any quantity. When a recipe really matters, weigh the ingredient on a kitchen scale rather than trusting the cup alone, because the figures on this page are approximate and natural ingredients vary by brand, variety and moisture.