1 Cup Walnuts in Grams
1 cup of walnuts weighs 113 g (spooned and levelled, King Arthur Baking). Chopped walnut pieces with a rich, slightly bitter flavour. 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.
Walnuts are chopped walnut pieces with a rich, slightly bitter flavour, and a cup of them weighs 113 g. They are used in brownies, salads, pesto and banana bread, where their bitterness balances sweetness and their texture gives a bake something to bite into. Walnuts are one of the most perishable nuts, because their oils are high in polyunsaturated fat and turn rancid quickly at room temperature, so they should be refrigerated or frozen, not left in the cupboard. Toasting walnuts before using them deepens their flavour and removes some of their bitterness, and it is worth doing whenever the recipe allows.
Cups lie: why walnuts should be weighed
Dry pantry ingredients are the ones where a scale earns its keep fastest, because the amounts are small and the consequences are large. A teaspoon of baking soda is only about 6 g, but the difference between the right amount and double the amount is the difference between a cake that rises and one that tastes of soap and collapses. Spices are even more concentrated: a tablespoon of ground ginger weighs about 5 g, and that is enough to flavour a whole batch of biscuits. Nuts and dried fruit sit at the other end of the scale, where a cup is a substantial amount and the weight depends on how whole, chopped or packed the pieces are. Weighing dry ingredients is the only way to be consistent with small amounts, because a heaped spoon and a level spoon can differ by half.
Worked examples
Brownies with walnuts
A batch of brownies that calls for 1 cup of chopped walnuts needs 113 g, folded into the batter just before it goes into the pan. The walnuts give the brownies their texture and their bitter edge, which balances the sweetness of the chocolate. Toast the walnuts first in a dry pan for a few minutes, because toasting deepens their flavour and removes some of their bitterness, and let them cool before folding them in, so they do not melt the chocolate in the batter.
A salad with walnuts
A salad that uses 1/2 cup of walnuts needs 56.5 g, toasted and scattered over the greens with a vinaigrette. The walnuts give the salad its crunch and its richness, and they are a good match for bitter leaves, blue cheese and pear. Toast them in a dry pan until they smell fragrant, which takes only a couple of minutes, and watch them closely, because walnuts go from toasted to burnt in under a minute.
Banana bread with walnuts
A banana bread that calls for 1 1/2 cups of walnuts needs 169.5 g, folded into the batter with the mashed bananas. The walnuts give the bread its texture and its nutty flavour, and they hold up well in the moist crumb. Weigh the walnuts before chopping them, because a cup of chopped walnuts weighs more than a cup of whole walnut halves, and the bread will be too nutty if you measure after chopping.
Walnuts cups to grams conversion table
| Cups | Grams | Tablespoons |
|---|---|---|
| 1/4 cup | 28.2 g | 4 |
| 1/3 cup | 37.7 g | 5.3 |
| 1/2 cup | 56.5 g | 8 |
| 2/3 cup | 75.3 g | 10.7 |
| 3/4 cup | 84.8 g | 12 |
| 1 cup | 113 g | 16 |
| 1 1/2 cups | 169.5 g | 24 |
| 2 cups | 226 g | 32 |
| 3 cups | 339 g | 48 |
| 4 cups | 452 g | 64 |
One tablespoon of walnuts weighs about 7.1 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 spooned and levelled, exactly as the source measured it.
How the weight was measured
The figure on this page comes from King Arthur Baking, measured spooned and levelled 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 with leavening, salt and spices, where the amounts are small and the effect is large. Baking soda, baking powder and yeast all work within narrow ranges, and too much or too little changes the rise, the flavour and the texture. It matters less with nuts and dried fruit in a trail mix or a salad, where a few grams either way is invisible. It matters again in bulk baking and preserving, where a spice blend or a leavening mix is made in quantity and a cup-based error is multiplied across dozens of batches. When the ingredient is the difference between rising and not rising, weigh it.
Common mistakes
The most common mistake is using a heaped spoon when the recipe means a level one. A heaped tablespoon of a ground spice can weigh half as much again as a level tablespoon, which is enough to make a curry bitter or a cake taste of baking soda. The second is scooping a dry ingredient straight from the jar with the measuring spoon, which packs it; spoon it in and level it with a knife instead. The third is measuring over the mixing bowl, so an overshoot falls in and cannot be taken out; measure over a plate or a piece of paper. And the fourth is confusing ingredients that look alike: baking soda and baking powder, ground ginger and ground cinnamon, salt and sugar. They weigh differently and behave differently, and a mix-up cannot be fixed after mixing.
What to do if you do not have a scale
If you do not have a scale, use proper measuring spoons for small amounts and level every spoon with the back of a knife. For cups of nuts, seeds or dried fruit, spoon the ingredient into a dry cup and level it, without pressing it down, because pressing packs the pieces and adds weight. For ground spices, spoon them in lightly and level them; do not tap the spoon, which settles the powder. For leavening and yeast, which are used in tiny amounts, a scale that reads to the gram is genuinely worth owning, because a single gram too much baking soda is noticeable in the finished cake.
Storing walnuts
Refrigerate or freeze; walnut oils turn rancid quickly. Keeping walnuts 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
Why do walnuts need to be refrigerated?
Walnuts are high in polyunsaturated fat, and that fat oxidises quickly at room temperature, turning rancid and bitter within weeks. Refrigerating them slows the process dramatically, and freezing them stops it almost entirely. A bag of walnuts left in a warm cupboard for a few months will taste stale and bitter, and no amount of toasting will fix it. Taste one before baking with walnuts that have been stored for a while, and throw them away if they taste off.
Should I toast walnuts before using them?
Yes, whenever the recipe allows. Toasting deepens the flavour of walnuts, removes some of their bitterness, and makes them crisper. Toast them in a dry pan over a medium heat for two or three minutes, shaking the pan, or in a moderate oven for five minutes, and pull them off the heat as soon as they smell fragrant, because they burn quickly. Let them cool before chopping or folding them into a batter, so they do not melt the chocolate or soften the dough.
Can I use cups instead of a scale for walnuts?
Yes, but a scale is more accurate. If you measure walnuts spooned and levelled, exactly as the figure on this page was measured, a cup will be close to 113 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 walnuts?
There are 16 tablespoons in a US cup, so a cup of walnuts is 16 tablespoons, and one tablespoon weighs about 7.1 g. A teaspoon weighs about 2.4 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 walnuts?
Yes, and this is the single biggest source of error in cup measurements. walnuts is measured spooned and levelled, and a scooped cup can weigh 15 to 25 percent more than a spooned cup, because scooping packs the ingredient down. Sifting has the opposite effect: it adds air and makes the cup lighter. Always measure the way the figure on this page was measured, spooned and levelled, and the weight will match the table.