1 Cup in Pounds
1 cup in pounds depends on the ingredient: flour is 0.26 lb, sugar is 0.44 lb and butter is 0.5 lb per cup. Recipes from American cookbooks often switch between cups and pounds without warning: a bag of flour is sold by the pound, but the recipe calls for cups. The bridge between the two is density, and it changes with every ingredient, which is why a single number for a cup in pounds does not exist. This page gives you the per-ingredient figures for the eight ingredients cooks weigh most often, so you can go from the bag to the bowl in one step.
Why this conversion exists
Grams measure mass and cups measure volume, and the bridge between them is density, which is different for every ingredient. A cup is always 236.59 ml of space, but what that space weighs depends on what fills it: a cup of flour weighs 120 g, a cup of granulated sugar weighs 198 g and a cup of butter weighs 227 g, and across the 120 ingredients in our table the figure runs from 48 g for dried oregano to 340 g for molasses. That is why this page gives a table instead of a single number, and why every figure on it is labelled approximate. Confusing volume with weight is how a cake ends up too dry or too sweet: the recipe asked for a weight and the cook supplied a volume, or the other way round. Keep the two apart, use the table for the ingredient in your bowl, and weigh the ingredient on a scale whenever the recipe matters.
1 Cup in Pounds conversion table
| Ingredient | Grams per cup | Pounds | Method |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-Purpose Flour | 120 g per cup | 0.26 lb | spooned and levelled |
| Granulated Sugar | 198 g per cup | 0.44 lb | spooned and levelled |
| Butter | 227 g per cup | 0.5 lb | scooped |
| Brown Sugar | 213 g per cup | 0.47 lb | packed |
| Honey | 336 g per cup | 0.74 lb | poured |
| Cocoa Powder | 84 g per cup | 0.19 lb | spooned and levelled |
| Milk | 244 g per cup | 0.54 lb | poured |
| Rolled Oats | 89 g per cup | 0.2 lb | spooned and levelled |
The gram-per-cup figures in the table come from the King Arthur Baking ingredient weight chart and USDA FoodData Central, and every converted figure is computed from them, so the table is consistent: the same density gives every row. All the converted figures are approximate, because densities are measured one way in one laboratory, and your kitchen will differ by a few grams. When a bake really matters, verify with a kitchen scale.
The same conversion for flour, sugar and butter
The table above covers eight ingredients. The table below gives the same conversion for the three ingredients that appear in most recipes, at the amounts cooks actually use, so the common cases are all in one place.
| Cups | All-purpose flour | Granulated sugar | Butter |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1/2 cup | 0.13 lb | 0.22 lb | 0.25 lb |
| 1 cup | 0.26 lb | 0.44 lb | 0.5 lb |
| 2 cups | 0.53 lb | 0.87 lb | 1 lb |
| 4 cups | 1.06 lb | 1.75 lb | 2 lb |
Worked examples
Rustic bread dough calling for 1 cup of all-purpose flour
A rustic bread dough recipe that calls for 1 cup of all-purpose flour needs 120 g. Bread dough is built on flour by weight, and the gram-to-cup conversion is what lets a baker follow a metric recipe with American cups, or the other way round. Weigh the ingredient on a scale when the recipe matters, because the cup figure is approximate and the scale is exact. That is the figure to measure: 1 cup in the units the recipe uses, or 120 g on a scale or in a cup, whichever the recipe asks for. The figure is approximate, because it comes from the King Arthur Baking density of 120 g per cup, measured spooned and levelled, so when the bake really matters, verify with a kitchen scale. A recipe that calls for 1 cup of all-purpose flour and gets 120 g will behave as written, and a recipe that uses another ingredient's figure instead will not, because a cup of one ingredient weighs nothing like a cup of another.
Strawberry jam calling for 2 cups of granulated sugar
A strawberry jam recipe that calls for 2 cups of granulated sugar needs 396 g. Jam is a ratio of fruit to sugar by weight, and the sugar is the part that preserves the fruit, so the conversion is part of food safety as well as flavour. Spoon a dry ingredient into the cup and level it off, never scoop, because scooping packs it and adds grams. That is the figure to measure: 2 cups in the units the recipe uses, or 396 g on a scale or in a cup, whichever the recipe asks for. The figure is approximate, because it comes from the King Arthur Baking density of 198 g per cup, measured spooned and levelled, so when the bake really matters, verify with a kitchen scale. A recipe that calls for 2 cups of granulated sugar and gets 396 g will behave as written, and a recipe that uses another ingredient's figure instead will not, because a cup of one ingredient weighs nothing like a cup of another.
Puff pastry calling for 1/2 cup of butter
A puff pastry recipe that calls for 1/2 cup of butter needs 113.5 g. Pastry is a ratio of flour to butter, and both are usually weighed in grams, so the cup conversion is the bridge between a metric recipe and an American kitchen. Write the gram figure on the container, so the conversion is always to hand the next time the recipe is made. That is the figure to measure: 1/2 cup in the units the recipe uses, or 113.5 g on a scale or in a cup, whichever the recipe asks for. The figure is approximate, because it comes from the King Arthur Baking density of 227 g per cup, measured scooped, so when the bake really matters, verify with a kitchen scale. A recipe that calls for 1/2 cup of butter and gets 113.5 g will behave as written, and a recipe that uses another ingredient's figure instead will not, because a cup of one ingredient weighs nothing like a cup of another.
Scaling the recipe up and down
Scaling works the same way in both directions, and flour is the example here because it is the ingredient most recipes scale. Double the recipe and 1 cup of all-purpose flour becomes 240 g. Halve it and you need 60 g. The same arithmetic applies to every ingredient in the table, using that ingredient's own density: double the amount, double the converted figure, and the ratio holds. When you scale, always scale by weight if the original recipe was written in grams, and by volume if it was written in cups, because mixing the two mid-recipe is how scaling errors creep in. And remember that the figures are approximate, so a scaled recipe is only as accurate as the original conversion: weigh the scaled amount on a scale rather than trusting the scaled cup figure.
How the conversion is defined
The gram figures on this page come from the King Arthur Baking ingredient weight chart and USDA FoodData Central, the two sources used across this site. Dry ingredients are measured spooned and levelled, which means the ingredient is spooned loosely into the measuring cup and the top is swept flat with a straight knife, never scooped and never pressed down. Butter is measured scooped, because it is a solid fat pressed into the cup, and liquids are measured poured into a jug and read at eye level. Every density-based result on this page is approximate, so when a recipe really matters, verify with a kitchen scale. Two figures on this page carry a dispute worth knowing about. Flour is the most disputed conversion in baking: King Arthur lists 120 g per cup spooned and levelled, while other sources quote 125 g, 130 g and up to 142 g for a scooped cup, so this page uses the King Arthur spooned-and-levelled value. Granulated sugar is listed at 198 g per cup by King Arthur while USDA rounds it to 200 g; the 2 g difference is rounding, not a real disagreement, and this page uses 198 g.
Why grams do not convert to cups without a density
Grams measure mass and cups measure volume, and the bridge between them is density, which is different for every ingredient. A cup is always 236.59 ml of space, but what that space weighs runs from 48 g for dried oregano to 340 g for molasses across the 120 ingredients in our table. That is why this page gives a table instead of a single number: the conversion is a property of the ingredient, not of the unit. The densities used here come from the King Arthur Baking ingredient weight chart and USDA FoodData Central, measured spooned and levelled for dry ingredients and poured for liquids. Every figure is approximate, because packing, moisture and brand all move the real weight by a few grams, so when a bake really matters, verify with a kitchen scale rather than trusting the cup.
Common mistakes
- Converting grams to cups without knowing the ingredient. There is no single grams-to-cups factor: 100 g of flour is 0.83 cups and 100 g of honey is 0.30 cups. A conversion that does not name the ingredient is not a conversion at all, it is a guess.
- Using one ingredient's figure for another. A cup of sugar weighs 198 g and a cup of cocoa powder weighs 84 g, so swapping their conversions more than doubles the error. Always use the figure for the ingredient in your bowl.
- Rounding small gram amounts to whole cups. Fifty grams of flour is 0.42 cups, and rounding that to half a cup adds 10 g, which is a fifth of the amount. For small weights, use tablespoons or a scale rather than rounding to a cup fraction.
- Forgetting that the figures are approximate. Every gram figure on this page is approximate, because it comes from a density measured one way in one laboratory. When a bake really matters, verify with a kitchen scale instead of trusting the cup.
Practical guidance
The practical rule for gram-to-cup conversions is to use them as a guide and the scale as the authority. The tables on this page are built from the King Arthur Baking and USDA densities, which are measured under controlled conditions, while your kitchen has different humidity, different brands and a different measuring technique, so the real weight of your cup will differ by a few grams either way. For a soup, a sauce or a stew, that difference does not matter. For a cake, a bread or a pastry, it does, and the honest answer is to weigh the ingredient. When you must use cups, spoon dry ingredients in and level them off, never scoop, and pour liquids into a jug at eye level. Write the gram figure on the ingredient's container, so the conversion is always to hand, and keep a note of which ingredients you weigh most often, because the ones you weigh are the ones your baking depends on.
Frequently asked questions
How many pounds is 1 cup?
1 cup in pounds depends on the ingredient: flour is 0.26 lb, sugar is 0.44 lb and butter is 0.5 lb per cup. The table above lists the same conversion for eight ingredients cooks use most often, and the second table gives the figures for the three ingredients that appear in most recipes: all-purpose flour, granulated sugar and butter. Every figure is approximate, because it comes from a density, so when a bake really matters, verify with a kitchen scale.
Why does the answer depend on the ingredient?
Because this conversion crosses from volume to weight, or from weight to volume, and the bridge between them is density, which is different for every ingredient. A cup is always 236.59 ml of space, but what that space weighs runs from 48 g for dried oregano to 340 g for molasses across the 120 ingredients in our table. That is why this page gives a table instead of a single number: the conversion is a property of the ingredient, not of the unit.
Which ingredient's figure should I use?
The figure for the ingredient in your bowl, not the figure for the ingredient in the example. A cup of sugar weighs 198 g and a cup of cocoa powder weighs 84 g, so swapping their conversions more than doubles the error. Find your ingredient in the table, read its row, and use that figure. If your ingredient is not in the table of eight, use the cups-to-grams page for that ingredient, which is linked below.
How accurate are the figures on this page?
They are approximate, and they are honest about it. The densities come from the King Arthur Baking ingredient weight chart and USDA FoodData Central, measured spooned and levelled for dry ingredients, packed for brown sugar, scooped for butter and poured for liquids. Packing, moisture and brand all move the real weight by a few grams, so a kitchen scale is the only way to know the exact weight. For cooking, the table is more than accurate enough; for baking, weigh the ingredient.
Can I use the flour figure for sugar, or the sugar figure for butter?
No. Flour is 120 g per cup, granulated sugar is 198 g per cup and butter is 227 g per cup, so the three figures are far apart, and using one for another changes the recipe by tens of grams. That is the commonest error in cup-to-gram conversions, and it is the reason this page lists the ingredients separately instead of giving a single number.
Related conversions
Use the grams to cups converter, cups to grams converter, weight converter for instant answers, or browse the units hub for every conversion on this site. For the weight of the same ingredients by the cup, see all-purpose flour in grams, granulated sugar in grams and butter in grams. Nearby pages in this series: 500 ml in cups, 250 ml in cups. See also our disclaimer about approximate conversions and about CookScale for how our figures are sourced.