128 g of coconut flour is 1 cup. Coconut flour is the most absorbent flour in common use: it can soak up several times its own weight in liquid, which is why recipes use it in very small amounts. A cup of coconut flour in a recipe written for wheat flour would produce a dry, crumbly brick, so the conversion is only half the story.
All figures on this page are approximate, and they come from King Arthur Baking, measured spooned and levelled. When a recipe has to work the first time, verify with a kitchen scale.
Putting the numbers to work
Gluten-free coconut pancakes
A pancake recipe uses 32 g of coconut flour, a quarter of a cup, with four eggs and a splash of milk. That tiny amount of flour is correct: the eggs provide the structure and the coconut flour thickens the batter. If you doubled the flour without adding more liquid, the pancakes would be dry and heavy.
A keto coconut mug cake
A single-serve mug cake calls for 16 g of coconut flour, which is 2 tablespoons, or one eighth of a cup. At this scale, a tablespoon measure is more accurate than a cup measure. Mix it with an egg, a tablespoon of butter and a little sweetener, then microwave for 90 seconds.
Coconut flour in a gluten-free blend
A baker blending their own gluten-free flour mix uses 128 g of coconut flour, one cup, as part of a larger blend with rice flour and starch. Coconut flour should be no more than a quarter of any blend, because its absorbency overwhelms the other flours. Sift it well, because it clumps badly in the bag.
The numbers in a table
| Cups | Grams of coconut flour |
|---|---|
| 1/4 cup | 32 g |
| 1/3 cup | 42.7 g |
| 1/2 cup | 64 g |
| 2/3 cup | 85.3 g |
| 3/4 cup | 96 g |
| 1 cup | 128 g |
| 1 1/2 cups | 192 g |
| 2 cups | 256 g |
| 3 cups | 384 g |
| 4 cups | 512 g |
Quick reference: 100 g of coconut flour is about 0.78 cups, and 50 g is about 0.39 cups. All figures are approximate; verify with a kitchen scale when it matters.
Tips for best results
Spoon the flour into the cup and level it off with a straight edge. Scooping straight from the bag packs the flour down and can add 20 g or more per cup, which is enough to turn a tender cake dry and dense. Do not sift before measuring unless the recipe says sifted, because sifting adds air and changes the weight. If you bake often, the single best upgrade is a kitchen scale: weighing flour removes the biggest source of variation in home baking entirely. Until then, spoon and level every time, and use the same cup for the whole recipe so any small error stays consistent.
Scaling is straightforward once you know the cup weight. Doubling a recipe that calls for 128 g of coconut flour means measuring 256 g, or 2 cups, and tripling it means 384 g, or 3 cups. Halving is just as easy: half a cup is 64 g. The key is to scale every ingredient by the same factor, because changing one ingredient without changing the others throws the recipe out of balance. A cake scaled by half still needs half the flour, half the sugar, half the butter and half the coconut flour, not just half of one of them. If you are scaling a recipe by an awkward factor, like two thirds, weigh the coconut flour rather than trying to measure two thirds of a cup in a jug, because the jug markings are not precise enough for fractions of a cup.
When should you weigh coconut flour instead of measuring it? Whenever the recipe has to work the first time, and whenever the amount is large. A kitchen scale costs less than a single failed cake, and it removes the biggest source of variation in home cooking: the way ingredients pack into a cup or a spoon. Put the bowl on the scale, press tare, and add the coconut flour until the display shows the number you need. There is nothing to wash afterwards except the bowl, and the result is the same every time. For small amounts, a level spoon is accurate enough, and for liquids, a jug is fine, but for anything where precision matters, the scale is the tool to reach for.
Storage. Airtight container, cool and dry, up to 1 year.
- Sift coconut flour before measuring, because it clumps.
- Use only a quarter to a third as much as wheat flour.
- Add extra egg or liquid to balance its absorbency.
Method and source
The figure on this page comes from King Arthur Baking, measured spooned and levelled. Very absorbent flour made from dried coconut flesh; a little goes a long way. Gluten-free and keto baking, in small amounts.
All results on this page are approximate. Ingredient weights vary with brand, humidity, temperature and how firmly you pack the cup, so when a recipe has to work the first time, weigh the ingredient on a kitchen scale and use the numbers here as a guide.
Frequently asked questions
Why is coconut flour used in such small amounts?
It is extremely absorbent. Coconut flour soaks up several times its weight in liquid, so a recipe needs far less of it than wheat flour, and far more eggs or liquid to balance it. Never substitute it one-for-one with another flour.
Can I replace wheat flour with coconut flour?
Not directly. As a rough guide, use one quarter to one third as much coconut flour as wheat flour, and add an extra egg for every 30 g of coconut flour to supply the missing moisture and structure. Even then, the texture will be different.
How do I measure coconut flour?
Spoon and level, and sift it first if it has clumped. Coconut flour packs into hard lumps in storage, and a lumpy cup can be 20 g heavy. For small amounts, use tablespoons: one tablespoon is 8 g.
Does coconut flour taste strongly of coconut?
It has a mild coconut flavour that suits tropical and chocolate recipes, but it disappears behind strong flavours like cocoa or spices. In a plain vanilla cake, the coconut note will be noticeable.
How long does coconut flour keep?
About a year in an airtight container in a cool, dry place. It is high in fibre and low in fat, so it keeps longer than almond flour, but it absorbs moisture from the air, so keep the container sealed.
Why recipes disagree: if you have ever found two charts giving different weights for the same ingredient, the reason is almost always the method. One chart measured the ingredient spooned and levelled, the other scooped it from the bag, and the two can differ by twenty percent. Brand and humidity add a few more grams of variation. That is why this page states the method alongside every figure, and why a kitchen scale is the only way to be certain. When two sources disagree, trust the one that tells you how it measured.