Kitchen conversion chart: cups, ounces, grams and spoons
How many grams are in an ounce, how many ounces in a cup and how many tablespoons in a cup, with the US and UK differences and what a cup of flour, sugar or butter weighs.
Short answer: There are 28.35 grams in an ounce (exactly 28.349523125 grams) and 16 ounces in a pound. A US measuring cup holds 8 fluid ounces, about 237 milliliters, which is 16 tablespoons; a tablespoon is 3 teaspoons. Ounces of weight and fluid ounces of volume are different units, so a cup of flour weighs about 125 grams while a cup of water weighs about 237 grams.
Ounces, pounds and grams
The ounce in recipes is the avoirdupois ounce. NIST defines it as exactly 28.349523125 grams and the pound as exactly 453.59237 grams. The gram figures below are rounded to one decimal.
| US weight | Grams |
|---|---|
| 1 ounce | 28.3 g |
| 2 ounces | 56.7 g |
| 4 ounces (¼ pound) | 113.4 g |
| 8 ounces (½ pound) | 226.8 g |
| 12 ounces (¾ pound) | 340.2 g |
| 16 ounces (1 pound) | 453.6 g |
| Grams | Ounces |
|---|---|
| 1 g | 0.035 oz |
| 50 g | 1.76 oz |
| 100 g | 3.53 oz |
| 250 g | 8.82 oz |
| 500 g | 17.64 oz |
Teaspoons, tablespoons, cups and gallons
US customary kitchen measures, from NIST Handbook 44. A tablespoon is 3 teaspoons and half a fluid ounce, a cup is 8 fluid ounces and half a pint, and a gallon is 128 fluid ounces. Milliliters are rounded.
| US measure | Equals | Milliliters |
|---|---|---|
| 1 teaspoon | ⅓ tablespoon | about 5 mL |
| 1 tablespoon | 3 teaspoons, ½ fluid ounce | about 15 mL |
| 1 fluid ounce | 2 tablespoons | 29.6 mL |
| 1 cup | 8 fluid ounces, 16 tablespoons | about 237 mL |
| 1 pint | 2 cups, 16 fluid ounces | about 473 mL |
| 1 quart | 2 pints, 4 cups, 32 fluid ounces | about 946 mL |
| 1 gallon | 4 quarts, 8 pints, 16 cups, 128 fluid ounces | about 3.785 L |
Tablespoons in parts of a cup
- 1 cup: 16 tablespoons
- ¾ cup: 12 tablespoons
- ⅔ cup: 10 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons
- ½ cup: 8 tablespoons
- ⅜ cup: 6 tablespoons
- ⅓ cup: 5 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon
- ¼ cup: 4 tablespoons
- ⅛ cup: 2 tablespoons, which is 1 fluid ounce
Milliliters to US fluid ounces
One milliliter is 0.0338 US fluid ounces, so 50 mL is 1.69 fluid ounces, 100 mL is 3.38 fluid ounces, 250 mL is 8.45 fluid ounces, 500 mL is 16.91 fluid ounces, 750 mL is 25.36 fluid ounces and 1 liter is 33.81 fluid ounces.
US, UK and Canadian measures differ
NIST notes that customary measures such as teaspoons, cups, pints and gallons mean different things in different countries. These are the differences that change a recipe:
- UK imperial: an imperial gallon is about 4.546 liters and holds 160 imperial fluid ounces, and an imperial pint is 20 fluid ounces, about 568 mL. An imperial fluid ounce is about 28.4 mL, a little less than a US fluid ounce.
- US customary: a US gallon is about 3.785 liters and a US pint is 16 fluid ounces, about 473 mL.
- Canada: Canada’s food guide converts 1 cup to 250 mL, 1 tablespoon to 15 mL and 1 teaspoon to 5 mL.
- Ounces and pounds: the ounce and the pound are the same in the US and the UK.
How much a cup of common ingredients weighs
Cup, tablespoon and teaspoon weights from USDA FoodData Central. A cup of flour and a cup of sugar take up the same space but weigh different amounts, which is why NIST recommends weighing ingredients on a kitchen scale when a recipe needs to be exact.
| Ingredient | Measure | Grams |
|---|---|---|
| All-purpose flour | 1 cup | 125 g |
| Whole-wheat flour | 1 cup | 120 g |
| Granulated sugar | 1 cup / 1 teaspoon | 200 g / 4.2 g |
| Brown sugar | 1 cup, packed / 1 cup, unpacked | 220 g / 145 g |
| Powdered sugar | 1 cup, unsifted / 1 cup, sifted | 120 g / 100 g |
| Butter | 1 cup / 1 stick / 1 tablespoon | 227 g / 113 g / 14.2 g |
| Whole milk | 1 cup | 244 g |
| Water | 1 cup (8 fluid ounces) | 237 g |
| Canola oil | 1 cup / 1 tablespoon | 218 g / 14 g |
| Honey | 1 cup / 1 tablespoon | 339 g / 21 g |
| Rolled oats, dry | 1 cup | 81 g |
| Long-grain white rice, uncooked | 1 cup | 185 g |
| Cornstarch | 1 cup | 128 g |
| Cocoa powder, unsweetened | 1 cup / 1 tablespoon | 86 g / 5.4 g |
| Plain yogurt | 1 cup | 245 g |
| Heavy cream | 1 cup, liquid | 238 g |
| Peanut butter, smooth | 2 tablespoons | 32 g |
| Parmesan, grated | 1 tablespoon | 5 g |
| Table salt | 1 teaspoon / 1 tablespoon | 6 g / 18 g |
| Baking soda | 1 teaspoon | 4.6 g |
| Baking powder | 1 teaspoon | 4.6 g |
Cups in a pound
From the same weights: a pound (453.6 g) of all-purpose flour is about 3.6 cups, a pound of granulated sugar about 2.3 cups, a pound of packed brown sugar about 2.1 cups and a pound of butter about 2 cups, or 4 sticks.
How PantryWeave helps
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Only what is missing
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Where the numbers come from
Read on October 30, 2026.
- NIST Handbook 44 (2026), Appendix C: General Tables of Units of Measurement (ounce, pound, cup, tablespoon, teaspoon, pint, quart and gallon, US and British units)
- NIST Metric Kitchen: cooking measurement equivalencies (the 240 mL kitchen cup)
- NIST Metric Kitchen: culinary measurement tips (weighing, and measures that differ by country)
- Canada’s food guide: measure ingredients like a pro (the 250 mL cup)
- USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy portions (cup and spoon weights)
Frequently asked questions
How many grams are in an ounce?
28.35 grams. The avoirdupois ounce used for food is exactly 28.349523125 grams, according to NIST, and 16 ounces make a pound of 453.59 grams.
How many ounces are in a cup?
A US measuring cup holds 8 fluid ounces, about 237 milliliters. By weight it depends on the food: a cup of all-purpose flour weighs about 4.4 ounces (125 g), a cup of granulated sugar about 7.1 ounces (200 g) and a cup of water about 8.4 ounces (237 g).
How many tablespoons are in a cup?
16 tablespoons. Half a cup is 8 tablespoons, a third of a cup is 5 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon and a quarter cup is 4 tablespoons.
How many teaspoons are in a tablespoon?
3 teaspoons. A US tablespoon is half a fluid ounce, about 15 milliliters, and a teaspoon is about 5 milliliters.
How many ounces are in a pound?
16 ounces. A pound is exactly 453.59237 grams, so a quarter pound (4 ounces) is about 113 grams and half a pound (8 ounces) about 227 grams.
How many ounces are in a gallon?
A US gallon holds 128 fluid ounces: 4 quarts, 8 pints or 16 cups, about 3.785 liters. A UK imperial gallon holds 160 imperial fluid ounces, about 4.546 liters.
How many milliliters are in a cup?
A US cup is about 237 milliliters; NIST rounds it to 240 milliliters for home cooking. Canada’s food guide uses a 250 milliliter cup.
Related guides
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