1/4 Cup Rice Flour in Grams
1/4 cup of rice flour weighs 35.5 g (spooned and levelled, King Arthur Baking). Finely ground white rice; a staple of gluten-free baking. All the figures on this page are approximate conversions based on the King Arthur Baking value of 142 g per cup, so when a recipe really matters, verify with a kitchen scale.
Why a quarter cup is worth weighing
A quarter cup is a small measure, and small measures are where cup errors hurt most. A 5 g mistake in a full cup of rice flour is a rounding error; the same 5 g on a quarter cup is a 17 percent swing on 35.5 g, and in a small batch that swing can change the result. Recipes that call for a quarter cup are usually small, precise or both — a mug cake, a glaze, a roux, a single-serve bake — and there is no large batch to absorb the error. Weighing 35.5 g takes five seconds and removes the problem entirely.
Spooned and levelled is the method behind the number, and it matters. Rice Flour is used for gluten-free blends, shortbread and tempura batter. That range of uses is part of why the conversion comes up so often: the same ingredient appears in everyday cooking and in precise baking, and the two situations demand different levels of accuracy. Grams cut through all of that: 35.5 g of rice flour is 35.5 g whatever the brand, the humidity or the size of your measuring cup.
Rice Flour cups to grams conversion table
| Cups | Grams | Tablespoons |
|---|---|---|
| 1/4 cup | 35.5 g | 4 |
| 1/3 cup | 47.3 g | 5.3 |
| 1/2 cup | 71 g | 8 |
| 2/3 cup | 94.7 g | 10.7 |
| 3/4 cup | 106.5 g | 12 |
| 1 cup | 142 g | 16 |
| 1 1/2 cups | 213 g | 24 |
| 2 cups | 284 g | 32 |
The tablespoon column shows how many tablespoons each amount equals: a quarter cup is 4 tablespoons, and one tablespoon of rice flour weighs about 8.9 g. A cup is 16 tablespoons, so the numbers in the table are just the cup weight divided by 16, rounded to one decimal place. 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. Read the table from the 1/4-cup row outwards: every other row is a multiple of 35.5 g, so scaling a recipe up or down is simple multiplication.
How the weight was measured
Spooned and levelled means the ingredient is measured the way King Arthur Baking measures it: spooned and levelled. For rice flour, that gives 142 g per cup, and a quarter of that is 35.5 g. The source for the 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.
There is no serious dispute about this figure: King Arthur Baking lists 142 g per cup, and other reputable charts agree within a gram or two. The variation that remains comes from how the ingredient is measured, not from disagreement about the number itself.
Worked examples
Thickening a pan gravy
A roux for gravy is one of the few places where flour is measured in small amounts on purpose. Melt a knob of butter, whisk in 1/4 cup of rice flour — 35.5 g — and cook it for a minute before adding the stock. The ratio matters: too much flour and the gravy turns to paste, too little and it never thickens. Because rice flour is spooned and levelled, the same spoon-and-level technique applies even here, and weighing 35.5 g is faster than levelling a small cup over a hot pan.
A single-serve mug cake
Mug cakes are where quarter-cup measures live. A typical chocolate mug cake calls for 1/4 cup of rice flour, and because the whole cake is one serving, there is nowhere for a measuring error to hide. Spoon and level 35.5 g into the mug, stir in the cocoa, sugar and egg, and microwave. If you scoop straight from the bag instead, you can easily add 8 to 10 g extra, and in a mug cake that is enough to turn a soft sponge dry and rubbery. Weighing 35.5 g takes ten seconds and removes the guesswork entirely.
Coating chicken for frying
Coating four chicken thighs takes roughly 1/4 cup of rice flour, or 35.5 g, shaken in a bag with the seasoning. The coating should be thin and even, and weighing the flour keeps the seasoning ratio honest: if you guess the flour, you guess the salt too. Shake off the excess, rest the chicken for ten minutes so the coating hydrates, and fry. Any flour left in the bag is waste you can measure and learn from next time.
Spoon, level, never scoop
The single biggest error in flour measurement is scooping the cup straight from the bag. A scooped cup of rice flour can weigh 20 g more than a spooned and levelled one, and at quarter-cup scale that error is 5 g on 35.5 g — a 17 percent swing. Spoon the flour into the cup, level it with the back of a knife, and the number on this page matches what is in your bowl. If you own a scale, skip the cup entirely and weigh 35.5 g directly.
Scaling a quarter cup up and down
Once you know that 1/4 cup of rice flour is 35.5 g, the rest is arithmetic. Half a cup is 71 g, three quarters is 106.5 g, and a full cup is 142 g. Doubling a recipe that calls for 1/4 cup means weighing 71 g; halving it means 17.8 g, which is 2 tablespoons. Writing the recipe in grams at this point is worth doing: the next time you make it, you weigh 35.5 g straight into the bowl and skip the measuring cup altogether. If you are scaling a recipe for a different tin size, convert every ingredient to grams first and then multiply — scaling by volume compounds the error on every ingredient at once, while scaling by weight keeps each one exact.
Common mistakes with rice flour
- Scooping the cup from the bag. Scooping packs the flour down and can add 20 g per cup — 5 g on a quarter cup. Always spoon and level, or weigh 35.5 g.
- Measuring over the mixing bowl. Levelling over the bowl drops the excess straight into the batter, so you have added flour you did not intend. Level over the bag or the sink.
- Using a liquid jug for flour. A jug measures volume at eye level and has no straight edge to level against, so flour measured in a jug is a guess. Use a dry cup or a scale.
- Sifting after measuring. Sifting changes the volume, not the weight. If a recipe says sifted flour, measure 35.5 g first, then sift it — never the other way round.
Storage and handling
Airtight container, cool and dry, up to 1 year. Keeping rice flour stored properly also keeps its weight per cup stable: an ingredient that has absorbed moisture from the air weighs more per cup than a dry one, so a sealed container is not just about freshness, it is about measurement accuracy too. If a bag has been open for months in a humid kitchen, the first thing to do before a precise bake is to weigh the ingredient rather than trusting the cup. Label the container with the conversion — 1/4 cup is 35.5 g — and the next person to bake with it will thank you.
Frequently asked questions
How many grams is 1/4 cup of rice flour?
1/4 cup of rice flour weighs 35.5 g, measured spooned and levelled according to King Arthur Baking. That is one quarter of the full-cup weight of 142 g, and it is the figure to use when converting a recipe from cups to grams. All the figures on this page are approximate, so when a recipe really matters, verify with a kitchen scale.
Can I use the same conversion for a different brand of rice flour?
Yes, as a starting point. The 35.5 g figure is a standard average for rice flour, and most brands sit within a few grams of it. If you bake with one brand all the time, weigh a quarter cup of it once and note the number on the bag, and you will have a conversion tuned to your own kitchen.
How many tablespoons is 1/4 cup of rice flour?
There are 4 tablespoons in a quarter cup, whatever the ingredient. One tablespoon of rice flour weighs about 8.9 g, so 4 tablespoons come to about 35.5 g. For small amounts like this, a scale that reads to the gram is more reliable than spoons, because a heaped tablespoon can weigh half as much again as a level one.
What is rice flour used for?
Gluten-free blends, shortbread and tempura batter. Finely ground white rice; a staple of gluten-free baking. A quarter cup — 35.5 g — is a common amount in small batches, glazes, sauces and test bakes, which is why this conversion comes up so often.
How should I store rice flour?
Airtight container, cool and dry, up to 1 year. Good storage keeps the ingredient fresh and keeps its weight per cup consistent, because moisture absorbed from the air adds grams that the recipe did not ask for.
Related conversions
Use the cups to grams converter flour substitute converter recipe scaler for instant answers, or browse the cups to grams hub for the full ingredient list. Related pages: 1 cup of rice flour in grams, 1/2 cup of rice flour in grams, 142 g of rice flour in cups, tablespoons of rice flour in grams, 1/4 cup of cornstarch in grams, 1/4 cup of tapioca flour in grams. See also our disclaimer about approximate conversions.