1 Cup Vegetable Shortening in Grams
1 cup of vegetable shortening weighs 184 g (scooped, King Arthur Baking). Solid white fat made from hydrogenated vegetable oil. 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.
Vegetable shortening is a solid white fat made from hydrogenated vegetable oil, and it is the fat that makes the flakiest pie crusts. A cup weighs only 184 g, much lighter than butter at 227 g, because shortening is whipped with air during manufacture and contains no water at all. That absence of water is the point: when shortening is cut into flour, it stays separate and creates layers, and when the pastry bakes, those layers puff apart into flakes. It has almost no flavour of its own, so bakers often blend it half and half with butter, getting the flakiness of shortening and the flavour of butter in the same crust.
Cups lie: why vegetable shortening should be weighed
Fats are where cup measurements get genuinely confusing, because the same fat can be solid, soft or liquid depending on temperature, and its weight per cup changes with its state. A cup of butter weighs 227 g, a cup of vegetable shortening only 184 g, and a cup of olive oil 216 g, so swapping fats cup-for-cup is never a straight exchange. Fat carries flavour, creates tenderness, traps air in creamed batters and makes pastry flaky, and each of those jobs depends on how much fat is actually in the bowl. Too little fat and a cake is dry; too much and it is greasy and heavy. Weighing fat removes the guesswork of softened butter, melted butter and oil poured from a bottle, and it is the only reliable way to substitute one fat for another.
Worked examples
A flaky pie crust
A pie crust that calls for 1 cup of vegetable shortening needs 184 g, cut into flour with a pastry blender until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs. Because shortening contains no water, it does not develop gluten the way butter does, and the crust bakes up flaky rather than tough. Keep everything cold, work quickly, and add ice water a spoonful at a time until the dough just holds together. Weigh 184 g rather than scooping, because shortening is soft and airy and a scooped cup can be 20 g light.
A white frosting that stays put
A frosting that uses 1/2 cup of vegetable shortening needs 92 g, beaten with powdered sugar and a little milk until smooth. Shortening frosting is pure white, holds its shape in warm weather, and does not melt the way buttercream does, which is why it is the frosting of choice for decorated cakes that will sit out at a party. Beat it well to get the air in, and add the milk a spoonful at a time so the frosting stays thick enough to pipe.
Biscuits with a tender crumb
A batch of biscuits that calls for 3/4 cup of vegetable shortening needs 138 g, cut into self-rising flour and mixed with buttermilk. The shortening makes a biscuit that is tender and crumbly rather than chewy, and because it has no water, the dough stays workable for longer than a butter dough. Bake them hot and close together on the tray so they rise up tall instead of spreading out.
Vegetable Shortening cups to grams conversion table
| Cups | Grams | Tablespoons |
|---|---|---|
| 1/4 cup | 46 g | 4 |
| 1/3 cup | 61.3 g | 5.3 |
| 1/2 cup | 92 g | 8 |
| 2/3 cup | 122.7 g | 10.7 |
| 3/4 cup | 138 g | 12 |
| 1 cup | 184 g | 16 |
| 1 1/2 cups | 276 g | 24 |
| 2 cups | 368 g | 32 |
| 3 cups | 552 g | 48 |
| 4 cups | 736 g | 64 |
One tablespoon of vegetable shortening weighs about 11.5 g, and a cup is 16 tablespoons, so the tablespoon column is simply the cup weight divided by 16. 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. All the values in this table are approximate, and they assume the ingredient is measured scooped, exactly as the source measured it.
How the weight was measured
The figure on this page comes from King Arthur Baking, measured scooped unless the method line says otherwise. Spooning means filling the cup with a spoon rather than plunging the cup into the bag, and levelling means sweeping a knife across the rim. Scooping packs the ingredient down and can add a fifth or more to the weight, which is why two bakers following the same cup-based recipe can get visibly different results. Confidence in this value is high. That reflects how consistent the ingredient is from brand to brand: a uniform, factory-packed ingredient is more predictable than a fresh, variable one. Even a high-confidence figure is still an approximation, because moisture, grind size and settling all shift the weight a little. Treat the grams on this page as a reliable starting point and check with a scale when the recipe is fussy, expensive, or being made for the first time.
When this conversion matters most
This conversion matters most in pastry and cakes, where fat is doing structural work. In pie crust and puff pastry, cold fat in the right amount creates the layers that make pastry flaky; too much and the crust is greasy, too little and it is tough. In creamed cakes, the weight of butter determines how much air can be beaten in, and therefore how light the cake is. It matters less in frying or roasting, where the fat is a cooking medium and a little more or less makes no real difference. It matters again when you substitute fats: butter, margarine, shortening and lard all weigh differently per cup, so convert by weight first and the substitution will behave.
Common mistakes
The most common mistake is measuring melted butter in a cup and using it where the recipe expects softened butter. A cup of melted butter and a cup of softened butter weigh the same, but melted butter behaves completely differently in a batter: it cannot trap air, so cakes come out dense. The second mistake is scooping shortening or lard with air pockets left in the cup, which can under-measure by 10 percent or more; press it in firmly and level it. The third is measuring oil in a dry cup instead of a liquid jug, which makes it hard to read the level accurately. And the fourth is swapping fats cup-for-cup without adjusting for weight: a cup of shortening is 43 g lighter than a cup of butter, and that missing fat changes the texture of pastry and frosting.
What to do if you do not have a scale
If you do not have a scale, butter is the easiest fat to measure without one, because a standard US stick is 113 g, which is half a cup or 8 tablespoons, and the wrapper is marked in tablespoons. For other solid fats, pack them firmly into a dry cup with the back of a spoon, pressing out air pockets, then level the top. For oils, use a liquid measuring jug at eye level and read the bottom of the meniscus. For melted fats, let them cool slightly before measuring so the volume has settled, and remember that a cup of melted fat is the same weight as a cup of solid fat, even though it behaves differently in the recipe.
Storing vegetable shortening
Cool, dry cupboard, up to 1 year after opening. Keeping vegetable shortening properly stored matters for the conversion as well as for the flavour: an ingredient that has absorbed moisture from the air weighs more per cup than a dry one, and one that has dried out weighs less. Store it in an airtight container, away from heat and light, and measure it in the state the recipe expects, not straight from a damp or stale bag.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between shortening and butter?
Shortening is pure fat with no water, while butter is about 80 percent fat and 20 percent water and milk solids. A cup of shortening weighs 184 g, while a cup of butter weighs 227 g, so they are not interchangeable by volume. Shortening makes flakier pastry because it stays separate in the dough, but it has almost no flavour, while butter gives a rich flavour but makes a slightly less flaky crust. Many bakers use half of each.
Why is shortening lighter per cup than butter?
Shortening is whipped with air during manufacture, which makes it less dense, and it contains no water, which is heavier than fat. The combination means a cup of shortening holds less mass than a cup of butter, even though both fill the same volume. That is why recipes that swap one for the other should always convert by weight: a cup of shortening is 43 g lighter than a cup of butter, and that missing fat changes the texture of pastry and frosting.
Can I use cups instead of a scale for vegetable shortening?
Yes, but a scale is more accurate. If you measure vegetable shortening scooped, exactly as the figure on this page was measured, a cup will be close to 184 g, within a few grams. The problem is that most people scoop rather than spoon, which can add 15 to 25 percent to the weight, and that error is enough to change a bake. For everyday cooking, cups are fine. For baking, where the ratio of ingredients decides the result, weigh it and check the number on the scale.
How many tablespoons are in a cup of vegetable shortening?
There are 16 tablespoons in a US cup, so a cup of vegetable shortening is 16 tablespoons, and one tablespoon weighs about 11.5 g. A teaspoon weighs about 3.8 g. Tablespoons are useful when a recipe calls for a small amount, but they carry the same packing problem as cups: a heaped tablespoon can weigh half as much again as a level one, so level every spoon with the back of a knife, and use a scale for small amounts when accuracy matters.
Does the weight change if I pack or sift vegetable shortening?
Scooping matters for vegetable shortening because it is a solid fat measured scooped into the cup. Press it in firmly with the back of a spoon so there are no air pockets, then level the top. A cup with air pockets can under-measure by 10 percent or more, which is enough to change the texture of pastry or frosting. If the fat is melted, the weight per cup is the same, but it will behave differently in the recipe, so use the state the recipe calls for.