If you came here for one number, here is the honest version: One ounce of all-purpose flour is about 0.24 cups, one ounce of granulated sugar is about 0.14 cups, and one ounce of butter is about 0.12 cups. The conversion changes with the ingredient, because a cup of flour weighs far less than a cup of honey. This page lists the per-ingredient figures from King Arthur Baking and USDA FoodData Central, explains why they differ, works through three real recipes, and tells you which numbers are solid and which are disputed — flour at 120 g per cup spooned and levelled is the one most often argued about.

1 Ounce 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 oz is about 8 oz is about
All-purpose flour 0.236 cups 1.89 cups
Granulated sugar 0.143 cups 1.145 cups
Brown sugar (packed) 0.133 cups 1.065 cups
Powdered sugar 0.251 cups 2.007 cups
Butter 0.125 cups 0.999 cups
Honey 0.084 cups 0.675 cups
Milk 0.116 cups 0.93 cups
Water 0.12 cups 0.957 cups
Heavy cream 0.119 cups 0.953 cups
Olive oil 0.131 cups 1.05 cups
Vegetable oil 0.13 cups 1.04 cups
Rolled oats 0.319 cups 2.548 cups
Cocoa powder 0.338 cups 2.7 cups
Table salt 0.098 cups 0.788 cups
Yogurt 0.116 cups 0.926 cups

Method and sources

The figures here are reference values, and understanding the method is what makes them useful. A cup is 236.6 ml of volume. What that volume weighs depends on density, and density depends on how the ingredient is put into the cup. King Arthur Baking spoons dry ingredients into the cup and levels them off — never scooping, which compacts the ingredient — and packs brown sugar firmly. Liquids are poured. The table records each ingredient's grams per cup under that method, with the source (King Arthur Baking or USDA FoodData Central). Two disputes are worth knowing. Flour: King Arthur says 120 g spooned and levelled; other sources quote 125 g, 130 g and up to 142 g for a scooped cup. Sugar: King Arthur says 198 g; USDA rounds to 200 g. Neither dispute changes the advice: spoon and level, and verify with a scale when the bake matters.

Why this conversion comes up

Every number on this page is approximate, and that is not a weakness — it is the truth about cooking. Flour weighs more when it is scooped than when it is spooned and levelled; brown sugar weighs more packed than loose; honey weighs differently at different temperatures. The table gives the standard value and the method it assumes, and the worked examples show how much the method matters in a real recipe. When the result has to be exact, the answer is always the same: use a kitchen scale.

Worked examples

A cake that lists everything in grams

A cake recipe calls for 8 ounce of Powdered sugar, and your cups are the only measure to hand. 8 ounce of Powdered sugar is about 2.007 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 4 ounce of All-purpose flour, and you have no scale. 4 ounce of All-purpose flour is about 0.945 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 8 ounce of Butter. That is about 0.999 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

Doubling and halving are where small errors become large ones. A rounding error of 10 ml in a single cup is nothing; the same error doubled across a party-sized batch is a noticeable difference in a sauce or a dough. Convert with the full factor, round only at the end, and write the converted amount on the recipe so you only do the arithmetic once.

Common mistakes to avoid

  1. 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.
  2. Measuring honey or syrup in a dry cup. Measuring honey or syrup in a dry cup. Sticky liquids cling to the cup and you lose a tablespoon to the sides. Use a liquid jug, or lightly oil the cup first so the honey slides out.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.

Frequently asked questions

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.

Should I spoon and level, or scoop?

Spoon and level, always, for dry ingredients. Spoon the ingredient into the cup, then level it off with the back of a knife. Scooping with the cup compacts the ingredient and can add 20 g or more of flour per cup — the most common reason a cake comes out dry.

What is the best way to convert a whole recipe?

Convert every ingredient before you start, write the converted amounts in the margin, and then cook without stopping to calculate. If you own a scale, weigh each ingredient directly in the unit the recipe uses — that is more accurate than any conversion table.

Does brown sugar really weigh more than white sugar?

Yes, when packed. Packed brown sugar is 213 g per cup against 198 g for granulated sugar, because the molasses coating makes the crystals stick together and pack down. Loosely spooned, brown sugar is only about 170 g per cup — which is why the method matters as much as the number.

Why does ounce to cups depend on the ingredient?

Because a ounce 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.

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