The short answer is that it depends on the ingredient — and this page gives you the exact numbers. One kilogram of all-purpose flour is about 8.3 cups, one kilogram of granulated sugar is about 5.1 cups, and one kilogram of butter is about 4.4 cups. The reason there is no single answer is density: a cup is a volume, and different ingredients pack different weights into that volume. All the figures below come from the King Arthur Baking ingredient weight chart and USDA FoodData Central, and every density-based result here is approximate — verify with a kitchen scale when it matters.

1 Kilogram in Cups by ingredient

All figures below are approximate. Densities come from King Arthur Baking and USDA FoodData Central; verify with a kitchen scale when it matters.

Ingredient 1 kg is about 500 g is about
All-purpose flour 8.333 cups 4.167 cups
Granulated sugar 5.051 cups 2.525 cups
Brown sugar (packed) 4.695 cups 2.347 cups
Powdered sugar 8.85 cups 4.425 cups
Butter 4.405 cups 2.203 cups
Honey 2.976 cups 1.488 cups
Milk 4.098 cups 2.049 cups
Water 4.219 cups 2.11 cups
Heavy cream 4.202 cups 2.101 cups
Olive oil 4.63 cups 2.315 cups
Vegetable oil 4.587 cups 2.294 cups
Rolled oats 11.24 cups 5.618 cups
Cocoa powder 11.9 cups 5.952 cups
Table salt 3.472 cups 1.736 cups
Yogurt 4.082 cups 2.041 cups

Method and sources

The method behind every figure on this page is the same: weigh one US cup (236.6 ml) of the ingredient, prepared as stated, and record the weight. King Arthur Baking publishes its ingredient weight chart using the spoon-and-level method for dry goods — spoon the ingredient into the cup, level it off with a straight edge, never scoop with the cup itself, because scooping packs the flour and can add 20 g or more. Brown sugar is the exception: it is packed firmly into the cup. Liquids are poured to the line at eye level. The figures in the table use the King Arthur value where one exists and the USDA FoodData Central value otherwise, and the source is noted in the table. Every result is approximate, because packing, humidity, temperature and crystal size all move the weight by a few grams. When the result has to be exact — bread, macarons, anything with yeast — weigh the ingredient on a scale instead of converting at all.

Why this conversion comes up

This conversion is the one that causes the most baking failures, because it looks like a unit conversion and behaves like an ingredient question. A cup of flour and a cup of sugar are the same volume and very different weights, so any page that gives you a single number for this conversion is wrong. The table below is the honest version: one row per ingredient, each with its own figure from King Arthur Baking or USDA, so you can convert the ingredient you actually have.

Worked examples

A cake that lists everything in grams

A cake recipe calls for 1 kilogram of All-purpose flour, and your cups are the only measure to hand. 1 kilogram of All-purpose flour is about 8.333 cups cups. But notice the word 'about': the figure assumes the standard method, so spoon the ingredient into the cup and level it off rather than scooping. For a cake, that 10 g difference between scooping and spooning is the difference between a tender crumb and a dry one.

Bread dough, converted to cups

A bread recipe calls for 1 kilogram of Butter, and you have no scale. 1 kilogram of Butter is about 4.405 cups cups. Bread is the least forgiving place to convert by volume: flour compacts so easily that two cups measured two ways can differ by 30 g. If you bake bread more than once a month, a scale is the single best purchase you can make.

A pancake batter on a slow morning

A pancake recipe calls for 0.5 kilogram of Powdered sugar. That is about 4.425 cups cups. Pancakes are forgiving — a slightly thick or thin batter still makes a pancake — so this is a safe place to use the table instead of a scale. Whisk the dry ingredients before adding the wet ones, and let the batter rest for five minutes so the flour hydrates.

Practical guidance

Scaling is where this conversion earns its keep. Doubling a recipe doubles every liquid; halving it halves them. The danger is not the arithmetic but the vessel: a doubled soup needs a pot that holds the doubled volume, and a halved brine needs a container the ingredient actually fits in. Convert first, then check the container, then cook. The table below lists the amounts you will meet most often, so the scaling is a lookup rather than a calculation done with wet hands.

Common mistakes to avoid

  1. Treating all flours as interchangeable by weight. Treating all flours as interchangeable by weight. Cake flour, bread flour, whole-wheat flour and almond flour all weigh differently per cup, and they behave differently too. Convert with the right row of the table, and do not swap flours cup-for-cup without expecting a different result.
  2. Forgetting that salt is not salt. Forgetting that salt is not salt. Fine table salt is 288 g per cup; Diamond Crystal kosher salt is about 128 g per cup and Morton kosher about 256 g. Swapping them cup-for-cup can double or halve the salt in a dish.
  3. Scooping flour with the cup instead of spooning and levelling. Scooping flour with the cup instead of spooning and levelling. Scooping compacts the flour and can add 20 g or more per cup — the single most common reason a cake comes out dry. Spoon the flour in, level it off, and never tap the cup down.
  4. Packing brown sugar when the recipe means loose, or leaving it loose when the recipe means packed. Packing brown sugar when the recipe means loose, or leaving it loose when the recipe means packed. Packed brown sugar is 213 g per cup; loosely spooned it is about 170 g. That 43 g gap changes a cookie completely, so pack it firmly unless the recipe says otherwise.

Frequently asked questions

Why does kilogram to cups depend on the ingredient?

Because a kilogram measures volume and a cups measures weight, and different ingredients pack different weights into the same volume. A cup of flour weighs 120 g, a cup of sugar 198 g, a cup of honey 336 g and a cup of butter 227 g. There is no single conversion factor — you need the ingredient's density, which is what the table on this page gives.

How accurate are these conversions?

They are approximate, and honest about it. The figures assume the standard method — dry ingredients spooned and levelled, brown sugar packed, liquids poured — and packing, humidity and temperature can move the weight by a few grams either way. For everyday cooking that is fine. For bread, macarons and anything with yeast, weigh the ingredient on a scale instead of converting.

Why is flour listed at 120 g per cup when other sources say 125 g or 130 g?

Because the figure depends on the method. King Arthur Baking lists 120 g per cup spooned and levelled; other sources quote 125 g or 130 g, and a scooped cup can reach 142 g. The difference is not a mistake in any source — it is the difference between spooning flour into the cup and scooping the cup through the bag. Spoon and level, and 120 g is the right figure.

Is granulated sugar 198 g or 200 g per cup?

Both, depending on rounding. King Arthur Baking lists 198 g per cup; USDA FoodData Central rounds to 200 g. The 2 g difference is rounding, not a real disagreement, and it makes no difference in any recipe. Use 198 g if you want the more precise figure.

Can I use these conversions for any ingredient?

Only for the ingredients in the table. Every density is measured individually, so an ingredient that is not listed has no figure here — and this guide does not guess one. If your ingredient is not in the table, weigh it on a scale, or convert it by volume (cups to millilitres) instead, which needs no density at all.

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