A 20 oz bottle of ketchup holds about 2.4 cups. Ketchup weighs about 240 g per cup, so 567 g divides to 2.4 cups — enough for a barbecue sauce, a meatloaf glaze and a cocktail sauce, with ketchup left for fries. The 20 oz bottle is the standard supermarket size, and two and a half cups is the figure most recipes assume when they say 'a bottle of ketchup'.
How many cups in a 20 oz bottle?
A 20 oz bottle of ketchup holds about 2.4 cups (567 g ÷ 240 g per cup).
| Amount | Cups | Grams | Tablespoons |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full 20 oz bottle | 2.4 | 567 | 38 |
| Half 20 oz bottle | 1.2 | 283.5 | 19 |
| Quarter 20 oz bottle | 0.6 | 141.75 | 10 |
| 1 tablespoon | 0.06 | 15 | 1 |
The table gives the full package, half a package and a quarter of a package, plus a single tablespoon, so you can scale the answer to whatever your recipe asks for. If your packet is a different size from the one on this page, the same per-cup figure still applies — divide your packet's weight by the grams per cup, or its volume by 236.6 ml per cup, and you have your answer.
Worked examples
Barbecue sauce that needs a cup
A jug of barbecue sauce takes about 1 cup of ketchup — 240 g — simmered with 1/2 cup of brown sugar, 1/4 cup of vinegar and a tablespoon of mustard. One cup is just over 40 percent of the bottle, so a single bottle makes about two and a half jugs of sauce. Simmer the sauce for fifteen minutes to meld the flavours: raw ketchup tastes sharp and thin, while a simmered sauce tastes round and rich. The sauce keeps in the fridge for two weeks and improves after a day.
Meatloaf glaze that needs half a cup
A meatloaf glaze takes about 1/2 cup of ketchup — 120 g — spread over the top of the loaf with 2 tablespoons of brown sugar and a teaspoon of mustard. Half a cup is about a fifth of the bottle, so one bottle glazes about five meatloaves. Spread the glaze on for the last fifteen minutes of baking, not at the start: glaze added early burns before the meatloaf is cooked, while glaze added late caramelises without burning. A second thin layer halfway through the last fifteen minutes gives a better shine.
Cocktail sauce that needs half a cup
A bowl of cocktail sauce for prawns takes about 1/2 cup of ketchup — 120 g — mixed with 2 tablespoons of horseradish, a tablespoon of lemon juice and a dash of hot sauce. Half a cup is about a fifth of the bottle. Mix it an hour ahead and chill it: the flavours meld and the horseradish mellows slightly. Taste before serving and adjust the horseradish — the heat varies by brand, and a sauce that is too hot cannot be fixed once it is on the prawns.
How the figure was measured
The weight figure on this page comes from USDA: ketchup weighs 240 g per cup, measured spooned and levelled, and that figure carries medium confidence in CookScale's 120-ingredient table. Every cup-based result on this page is approximate, because a cup measures volume and the weight depends on how the ingredient settles, how it was measured, and how fresh it is. When the amount matters — a cake, a cheesecake, a sauce that must set — weigh the ingredient on a kitchen scale instead of trusting the cup. Package sizes vary by brand and region, so check the weight printed on your own packet before planning a recipe around this page.
How to measure it
Condiments are measured by volume, and the numbers on this page are the honest ones: a cup is 236.6 ml whether it holds soy sauce, ketchup or jam. Use a liquid jug for soy sauce and ketchup — read it at eye level on a flat surface — and a dry cup for jam and tomato paste, pressed in and levelled, since they hold their shape. Tomato paste from a tube is the easiest of all to measure by weight: squeeze it straight onto a scale and stop at the gram target, with no cup to scrape. Jam is the trickiest: warm the jar briefly and the jam loosens enough to pour, or use a spoon and accept that a little stays behind — that residue is why weighing beats cup-measuring for jam.
Practical guidance
Condiments live in the fridge door long after opening, which is fine, but their flavours fade with time — an opened bottle of soy sauce is at its best within a few months, and old ketchup turns darker and sharper. Keep the neck of a ketchup or jam jar clean so the lid seals properly; dried jam around the rim is the reason jars refuse to open. Never double-dip a knife into a jam jar — crumbs and butter ferment in the jar and shorten its life. Tomato paste in a tube keeps far longer than paste in a tin, which should be moved to a container and used within days. And when a bottle is nearly empty, measure what is left before starting a recipe that needs a full cup — a "nearly full" bottle is often a third short.
Two and a half cups is the working figure, and the weight-versus-volume label is the detail to notice: ketchup is sold by weight, so the 20 oz is 567 g, and the cup figure comes from dividing by 240 g per cup. The bottle size is the other variable — 14 oz bottles hold about 1.7 cups and 32 oz bottles about 3.8 cups — and the same 240 g per cup applies throughout. And measure what is left before a recipe that needs a full cup: a squeeze bottle that feels half full often holds less than a cup, because the bottle's shape hides the true level. For a barbecue sauce, buy a fresh bottle — an old bottle's sharper flavour throws the sauce off.
Frequently asked questions
How many tablespoons are in a 20 oz bottle of ketchup?
There are about 38 tablespoons in a 20 oz bottle of ketchup, because the bottle holds about 2.4 cups and there are 16 tablespoons in a cup. A tablespoon of ketchup weighs about 15 g. For a serving with fries, 2 tablespoons is the usual amount, so a bottle covers roughly eighteen servings.
Is a 20 oz bottle of ketchup the same as 20 fl oz?
Almost, but not exactly. Ketchup is sold by weight — 20 oz on the label means 567 g — while a fluid ounce is a volume. Because ketchup is slightly denser than water, 20 oz by weight is about 19 fl oz by volume. The figure on this page uses the weight: 567 g divided by 240 g per cup gives 2.4 cups. The difference is small, but it is why the label says oz and not fl oz.
Can I substitute tomato sauce for ketchup?
In a cooked sauce, yes, with adjustments: tomato sauce is thinner and less sweet than ketchup, so add a tablespoon of sugar and a teaspoon of vinegar per cup to match ketchup's flavour. In a glaze or a dipping sauce, the swap is less successful — ketchup's thickness and sweetness are doing real work there. By volume the swap is exact: a cup is a cup.
How long does an opened bottle of ketchup last?
An opened bottle of ketchup lasts about six months in the fridge, and it is best kept refrigerated after opening even though it is shelf-stable before opening. Keep the cap clean so it seals. Ketchup darkens and tastes sharper as it ages, and a bottle that has been open for a year is past its best even if it is technically safe. Squeeze bottles keep longer than glass bottles because less air gets in.
Why does ketchup sometimes separate in the bottle?
Ketchup separates when the tomato solids settle and the liquid rises — it is normal and harmless, especially in a bottle that has been sitting for weeks. Shake the bottle well before using it, or store it upside down so the solids and liquid stay mixed. If the liquid on top smells sour or the ketchup has darkened significantly, it is past its best.