Converting cups to millilitres should be the easiest job in the kitchen — and for the volume, it is. One US cup is 236.6 ml, full stop, for every ingredient from flour to fruit. The trouble starts when a recipe also needs grams, because a cup of dried cranberries does not weigh the same as a cup of anything else. It weighs about 114 g, measured spooned and levelled according to King Arthur Baking, and that weight is what this page is really about. Below you will find the answer up front, a complete conversion table for every fraction of a cup, three worked examples, the method and source behind the numbers, and practical advice for measuring dried cranberries properly. All the figures are labelled approximate, and where it matters we will keep telling you the same thing: verify with a kitchen scale.

How much is 1 cup of dried cranberries in millilitres?

1 cup of dried cranberries is 236.6 ml and weighs about 114 g. The millilitre figure is exact, because a US cup is defined as 236.6 ml: fill any cup measure to the brim with any ingredient and you have 236.6 ml of it. The gram figure is approximate, because it depends on the density of dried cranberries and on how the cup was filled. The value we use, 114 g, comes from King Arthur Baking, measured spooned and levelled, and we use it with high confidence. If you are baking, scaling a recipe, or cooking for someone with a dietary restriction, weigh the dried cranberries on a kitchen scale and use the gram figure — it is the only measurement that does not depend on how fluffy, damp or tightly packed the ingredient happens to be today.

That distinction between exact volume and approximate weight is the single most useful thing to understand about cup conversions. Recipes written in cups assume a standard cup and a standard technique, and when either of those assumptions breaks, the recipe breaks with it. A cup of dried cranberries scooped straight from the bag can weigh noticeably more than a cup spooned in gently, and the difference is invisible until the finished dish tells you about it. The table below gives you both figures for every amount you are likely to need, so you can convert in either direction without doing the arithmetic yourself.

Cups to millilitres table for dried cranberries

Cups Millilitres Grams (approx.)
¼ cup 59.2 ml 29 g
⅓ cup 78.9 ml 38 g
½ cup 118.3 ml 57 g
⅔ cup 157.7 ml 76 g
¾ cup 177.5 ml 86 g
1 cup 236.6 ml 114 g
2 cups 473.2 ml 228 g
3 cups 709.8 ml 342 g
4 cups 946.4 ml 456 g

Every row in this table follows the same two rules. The millilitre column is the cup fraction multiplied by 236.6 ml, so a quarter cup is 59.2 ml, a third of a cup is 78.9 ml, half a cup is 118.3 ml, two-thirds is 157.7 ml, and three-quarters is 177.5 ml. Those numbers are exact to one decimal place and they are the same for every ingredient on this site. The gram column is the same fraction multiplied by 114 g, the weight of a full cup of dried cranberries, and those numbers are approximate: a quarter cup is about 29 g, half a cup about 57 g, and four cups about 456 g. Use the millilitres when you are measuring volume, and the grams when you are measuring weight — and remember that only the grams need a scale to check.

There is one more conversion worth knowing. One US cup is 8 US fluid ounces, so 1 cup of dried cranberries is also 8 fl oz by volume — but fluid ounces are a volume measure, not a weight measure, and dried cranberries does not weigh 8 ounces. Do not confuse the two: 8 fl oz of dried cranberries is a volume of 236.6 ml, while the weight is about 114 g. If a recipe gives ounces and you are not sure which kind it means, check whether it is talking about a measuring jug (fluid ounces, volume) or a scale (ounces, weight). When a recipe is ambiguous, the gram figure on this page is the safer one to follow.

Worked examples

A smoothie that needs half a cup

A smoothie that uses ½ cup of dried cranberries needs 118.3 ml, about 57 g. For smoothies the exact weight barely matters, so the cup is fine — but if you track what you eat, the gram figure is the one to log, because a heaped half-cup of fruit can be noticeably heavier than a level one.

Scaling up a crumble for a crowd

A crumble for eight that uses 3 cups of dried cranberries needs 709.8 ml, about 342 g. Prepare the fruit exactly as the recipe says before measuring — sliced, diced or mashed — because the preparation changes the cup weight. Mix the weighed fruit with the sugar and a squeeze of lemon, then cover with the crumble topping and bake until the juices bubble at the edges.

A loaf cake with two cups

A fruit loaf that calls for 2 cups of dried cranberries needs 473.2 ml, about 228 g. Toss the fruit in a spoonful of flour before folding it in — the flour coating stops it sinking to the bottom of the tin while the cake bakes. If the fruit is very juicy, hold back a spoonful and add it only if the batter looks dry.

How to measure 1 cup of dried cranberries

Dried Cranberries is measured by the cup in most recipes, but the weight of a cup depends on things a volume measure cannot see: how ripe the fruit is, how big the pieces are, and how much air sits between them. A cup of large, firm berries weighs less than a cup of small, soft ones packed tightly, and a cup of mashed fruit weighs far more than a cup of the same fruit left whole. The figure on this page, 114 g per cup, is the published value for dried cranberries measured as described below, and it is the best single number to use — but treat it as approximate and let the recipe tell you whether the amount looks right. If a batter looks too wet or too dry after adding the fruit, trust your eyes: fruit moisture varies by season and by batch, and no conversion table can correct for a particularly juicy punnet.

The method behind our figure is spooned and levelled, and the source is King Arthur Baking. In practice that means: take a dry measuring cup, spoon the dried cranberries in until it heaps above the rim, then sweep a straight edge — the back of a knife is ideal — across the top to level it. Do not scoop the cup through the ingredient, do not tap the cup on the bench to settle the contents, and do not press the ingredient down. Each of those shortcuts packs more into the cup and makes the weight higher than the 114 g in the table, sometimes by a surprising amount. For a liquid or a pourable ingredient the method is simpler: pour into a liquid measuring jug, set it on a flat surface, and read the level at eye height.

If you do not have a scale, the spooned-and-levelled cup is the best you can do, and for most everyday cooking it is good enough. But if the recipe is a bake, a preserve, or anything where the ratio of ingredients does the structural work, borrow or buy a scale: even a basic digital scale is more accurate than the best cup technique, and it is faster once you are used to it. Put the bowl on the scale, press tare, and add dried cranberries until the display reads the grams you need. That is the whole technique, and it removes the single biggest source of variation in cup-based recipes.

Working with dried cranberries in real recipes

Dried Cranberries is used for salads, stuffing, baking and trail mix. Sweetened dried cranberries, tart and chewy.

Freshness changes the weight

Airtight container, cool and dry, up to 6 months. Fruit is a living ingredient, and its weight per cup shifts with ripeness, variety and season. A cup of under-ripe fruit weighs more than a cup of very ripe fruit of the same kind, because ripe fruit is softer and packs more tightly. Use the table as your starting point, then adjust by feel: if the mixture looks too wet, hold back a spoonful of fruit next time; if it looks too dry, add a little more.

Prepare it the way the recipe expects

Whether the fruit is sliced, diced, mashed or left whole changes the cup weight dramatically, so prepare it exactly as the recipe describes before you measure. Mashed fruit in particular should be measured after mashing, never before — a cup of whole fruit and a cup of the same fruit mashed are two very different quantities.

Common mistakes with cups and millilitres

The most common mistake is treating the millilitre figure and the gram figure as interchangeable. They are not: 236.6 ml is a volume and 114 g is a weight, and the only ingredient for which they are equal is water, where 1 ml weighs 1 g. For dried cranberries, 236.6 ml weighs about 114 g, and if you weigh out 236.6 g of dried cranberries instead of measuring 236.6 ml, you will have the wrong amount — too much if 114 is greater than 236.6, too little if it is less. Always check whether the recipe wants a volume or a weight, and use the matching column of the table.

The second most common mistake is using the wrong cup. A US cup is 236.6 ml, a metric cup is 250 ml, and a UK cup in older recipes can mean something else again. If your measuring cup came with a set that does not say which standard it follows, check it against a measuring jug: fill the cup with water and pour it into the jug. If it reads 236.6 ml, it is a US cup; if it reads 250 ml, it is a metric cup. Once you know, write it on the cup with a permanent marker so you never have to guess again.

The third mistake is measuring over the mixing bowl. It feels efficient, but a spill goes straight into the batter and cannot be taken back, and a cup read from above always looks fuller than it is. Measure over the sink or a plate, level the cup, and then tip it into the bowl. It takes five seconds longer and it prevents the kind of error that ruins a bake.

Frequently asked questions

How many millilitres is 1 cup of dried cranberries?

1 cup of dried cranberries is 236.6 ml. That figure is fixed: a US cup is defined as 236.6 ml, so it is the same for every ingredient. What changes from one ingredient to another is the weight, and 1 cup of dried cranberries weighs about 114 g. The volume never changes; the weight always depends on the ingredient.

How many grams is 1 cup of dried cranberries?

1 cup of dried cranberries weighs about 114 g, measured spooned and levelled according to King Arthur Baking. The word "about" matters: the exact weight of a cup depends on how the ingredient is handled, how finely it is ground or cut, and how much moisture it holds. For baking and for any recipe where the amount is critical, weigh the ingredient on a kitchen scale rather than trusting the cup.

Is 1 cup of dried cranberries the same as 250 ml?

No. A US cup is 236.6 ml, while a metric cup — used in Australia and in many metric recipes — is 250 ml. The difference is 13.4 ml per cup, which is about 5.7%. If your recipe was written with metric cups and you measure with a US cup, you will be short on every cup; if it was written with US cups and you use a metric cup, you will be over. Check which cup your recipe means, and when in doubt use the gram figure, 114 g, which does not depend on the cup at all.

How many tablespoons of dried cranberries are in a cup?

There are 16 tablespoons in 1 cup, so 1 cup of dried cranberries is 16 tablespoons, weighing about 114 g in total. One tablespoon is about 7.1 g and one teaspoon is about 2.4 g. These spoon figures are worked back from the cup weight, so they carry the same approximation — they are useful for small amounts, but for a full cup the scale is still the more accurate tool.

Can I swap fresh and dried dried cranberries by the cup?

No — not by volume. Dried fruit has lost most of its water, so a cup of dried fruit weighs more and is far sweeter and more concentrated than a cup of the same fruit fresh. Sweetened dried cranberries, tart and chewy. If a recipe calls for one form and you only have the other, convert by weight and adjust the liquid in the recipe, or find a recipe written for the form you have.

Can I use a kitchen scale instead of a cup for dried cranberries?

Yes, and for most recipes you should. Put your bowl on the scale, press tare to zero it, and add dried cranberries until the display reads the grams you need — 114 g for a full cup, 57 g for half a cup, 29 g for a quarter cup. A scale removes every variable that makes cup measuring unreliable: how firmly the ingredient was packed, how it was scooped, and how humid the day is.

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