240 g of coconut milk is 1 cup. That is the whole answer: one US cup of coconut milk weighs 240 g (poured, USDA), so 240 g divided by 240 g per cup is exactly 1 cup. All the figures on this page are approximate — coconut milk is a natural product, and how it is measured moves the weight of a cup by a few grams — so when the recipe is delicate, verify with a kitchen scale. For everyday cooking, 1 cup is the number to use.

This page is the reverse of the usual conversion: most recipes list coconut milk in cups and the cook wants grams, but here the recipe, the packet or the scale gives grams and the cook has only cup measures. That happens more often than people expect — imported recipes, nutrition labels, bulk packs and meal-prep plans all speak in grams, while American cup measures are what is actually in the drawer. The conversion is one division, 240 ÷ 240 = 1, and the table below runs the same division for the amounts that come up most often.

240 grams of coconut milk in cups — conversion table

Grams Cups (approx.)
10 g 0.04 (0 cups)
25 g 0.10 (1/8 cups)
50 g 0.21 cups
75 g 0.31 (1/3 cups)
100 g 0.42 cups
125 g 0.52 (1/2 cups)
150 g 0.62 (5/8 cups)
200 g 0.83 cups
250 g 1.04 (1 cup)
300 g 1.25 (1 1/4 cups)
400 g 1.67 (1 2/3 cups)
500 g 2.08 (2 1/8 cups)

Read the table from left to right: find the grams you have, and the cups column tells you how much that is, approximately. A quarter of a cup is 60 g, half a cup is 120 g, and three quarters is 180 g. For amounts between the rows, divide the grams by 240: for example, 180 g is 0.75 (3/4 cups), and 360 g is 1.50 (1 1/2 cups). The same 240 g figure works in the other direction too — multiply cups by 240 to get grams — and the second table runs that calculation for the common cup fractions.

Cups Grams (approx.)
1/4 cup 60 g
1/3 cup 80 g
1/2 cup 120 g
2/3 cup 160 g
3/4 cup 180 g
1 cup 240 g
1 1/2 cups 360 g
2 cups 480 g

A marinade or dressing built from a bottled ingredient

The bottle lists grams per serving and the recipe works in cups. Take the 120 g figure first: 120 g of coconut milk is 0.50 (1/2 cups), because 120 divided by 240 is 0.50. In practice that means a recipe calling for 0.50 (1/2 cups) can be weighed out as 120 g and poured or spooned straight in, with no jug to wash. The habit to build is converting once, writing the cup figure on the recipe, and then cooking from the cups — the scale only comes out for the first batch, and after that the converted recipe is a cup recipe. If the amount is awkward, round to the nearest tablespoon: one tablespoon of coconut milk weighs about 15.0 g, so a couple of spoonfuls either way covers most rounding gaps without anyone noticing in the finished dish.

A soup or curry that needs stock or coconut milk by weight

A carton labelled in grams against a recipe written in cups. Take the 360 g figure first: 360 g of coconut milk is 1.50 (1 1/2 cups), because 360 divided by 240 is 1.50. In practice that means a recipe calling for 1.50 (1 1/2 cups) can be weighed out as 360 g and poured or spooned straight in, with no jug to wash. The habit to build is converting once, writing the cup figure on the recipe, and then cooking from the cups — the scale only comes out for the first batch, and after that the converted recipe is a cup recipe. If the amount is awkward, round to the nearest tablespoon: one tablespoon of coconut milk weighs about 15.0 g, so a couple of spoonfuls either way covers most rounding gaps without anyone noticing in the finished dish.

A baking recipe that lists juice or coffee in grams

A chocolate cake that uses coffee, or a lemon drizzle that starts from weighed juice. Take the 480 g figure first: 480 g of coconut milk is 2.00 (2 cups), because 480 divided by 240 is 2.00. In practice that means a recipe calling for 2.00 (2 cups) can be weighed out as 480 g and poured or spooned straight in, with no jug to wash. The habit to build is converting once, writing the cup figure on the recipe, and then cooking from the cups — the scale only comes out for the first batch, and after that the converted recipe is a cup recipe. If the amount is awkward, round to the nearest tablespoon: one tablespoon of coconut milk weighs about 15.0 g, so a couple of spoonfuls either way covers most rounding gaps without anyone noticing in the finished dish.

Measuring coconut milk the poured way

The 240 g figure only holds when coconut milk is measured the way USDA measured it: poured. For a liquid, that means pouring into a jug and reading the level at eye level, with the jug on a flat surface — never held up in the air, where the meniscus lies. The difference between the two approaches is not academic: a scooped cup of a powder can weigh 20 to 30 percent more than a spooned and levelled one, which is enough to change a recipe outright.

That is why the headline number on this page is labelled approximate. USDA publishes the figure as a standard, and it is the best single number available, but your coconut milk, your cup and your technique will all nudge it a gram or two in either direction. When the dish is forgiving — a soup, a salad, a roast — that nudge does not matter. When it is a cake, a custard or a batch of dough, weigh the coconut milk on a kitchen scale and let the grams decide. The cup figure is a convenience for the everyday cook, not a laboratory standard, and treating it that way keeps both the recipe and the cook honest.

What coconut milk is, and where it is used

Rich liquid pressed from grated coconut flesh; shake canned coconut milk before using. Curries, soups, smoothies and dairy-free baking. That versatility is exactly why the conversion keeps coming up: coconut milk appears in recipes written on both sides of the Atlantic, in both grams and cups, and a cook who can move between the two never has to stop and search mid-recipe. The storage note is worth knowing too: Refrigerate after opening; use within 3 days.

Frequently asked questions

How many cups is 240 g of coconut milk?

About 1 cup — 240 g divided by 240 g per cup. The figure is approximate, though liquids are the most reliable conversions because they settle to a level surface.

Can I just use a measuring jug instead?

Yes — for liquids a jug is the natural tool. Pour to the 1-cup mark and read the meniscus at eye level on a flat surface. Weighing is only needed when the recipe is written in grams and you have no jug handy.

Is 240 g of coconut milk the same as 240 ml?

Almost. coconut milk is close to the density of water, so 240 g is roughly 240 ml, but a US cup holds 236.6 ml. For cooking purposes the difference is negligible.

Does temperature change the conversion?

Barely. Warm liquids expand slightly and weigh a fraction less per cup, but the change is well under one percent across normal kitchen temperatures — far smaller than measuring error.

How do I measure a small amount without a scale?

Use tablespoons: one tablespoon of coconut milk weighs about 15.0 g, so divide the grams by 15.0 to get the spoon count.

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