Convert cooking measurements instantly: cups, tablespoons, milliliters, ounces, and grams. Smart ingredient densities for flour, sugar, and butter. Free.
Results are estimates for planning purposes and are not financial, medical, or professional advice.
How to Use the Cooking Converter
Recipes from other countries use grams while your measuring cups use cups, or the recipe calls for tablespoons and you only have a milliliter jug. This cooking converter switches between volume and weight units instantly, using real ingredient densities so a cup of flour and a cup of water convert correctly.
- Enter the amount from your recipe.
- Choose the unit the recipe uses, from cups and tablespoons to milliliters, ounces, or grams.
- Choose the unit you want to measure with.
- Pick the ingredient when converting between volume and weight, since a cup of flour weighs far less than a cup of water. The ingredient choice only matters for cross conversions — cup to milliliter is the same for everything.
Quick Reference: The Kitchen Ladder
Most everyday conversions come from a handful of fixed ratios. Pin these down and half of all recipe math becomes mental arithmetic:
| Measurement | Equals |
|---|---|
| 1 tablespoon | 3 teaspoons = 14.79 mL = 0.5 fl oz |
| 1/4 cup | 4 tablespoons = 59.15 mL |
| 1 US cup | 16 tablespoons = 48 teaspoons = 236.59 mL = 8 fl oz |
| 1 pint | 2 cups = 473.18 mL |
| 1 quart | 4 cups = 946.35 mL |
| 1 liter | 1,000 mL = about 4.23 US cups |
| 1 ounce (weight) | 28.35 grams |
Conversion Formulas
Volume to volume conversions go through milliliters: one US cup equals 236.588 milliliters, one tablespoon equals 14.7868 milliliters, one teaspoon equals 4.92892 milliliters, and one fluid ounce equals 29.5735 milliliters. Weight to weight conversions go through grams, with one ounce equal to 28.3495 grams.
Crossing between volume and weight needs the ingredient density, because a cup measures space, not mass. This converter carries four built-in ingredients:
| Ingredient | 1 cup weighs | Density |
|---|---|---|
| Water | 236.59 g | 1.000 g/mL |
| Butter | 227 g | 0.959 g/mL |
| Granulated sugar | 200 g | 0.845 g/mL |
| All-purpose flour | 120 g | 0.507 g/mL |
Example Calculation
Converting 2 cups of water to milliliters: 2 times 236.588 equals 473.18 milliliters. Converting 1 cup of all-purpose flour to grams: 1 times 236.588 times 0.50721 equals 120.00 grams, which matches the standard kitchen reference that one cup of flour weighs 120 grams. Going the other way, 250 grams of flour divided by the 120-gram cup weight gives 2.08 cups — a conversion worth doing by weight whenever a recipe offers it, because weighing flour is far more repeatable than scooping it.
Measuring Tips That Keep Conversions Honest
Spoon and level your flour. Scooping the cup straight from the bag packs the flour down and can add 20 percent or more — that is 24 extra grams per cup that no converter can correct for. Spoon flour into the cup, then level it with a knife.
Use the right cup for the job. Dry ingredients belong in dry measuring cups filled to the brim; liquids belong in a spouted jug read at eye level. A liquid cup filled with flour reads low, and a dry cup of milk sloshes short.
Watch for foreign cups. This converter uses the US cup of 236.588 mL. A metric cup is 250 mL (about 5.6 percent more), and older British recipes use a 284 mL cup. Australian tablespoons are 20 mL, not the US 14.79 mL — one reason Australian recipes can taste off when followed with US spoons. When a recipe’s origin matters, convert with its home system in mind.
Weigh when it counts. Baking is chemistry: a kitchen scale plus gram weights removes the density guessing entirely. Volume is fine for soups and marinades, but bread, cakes, and pastry reward weighing.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many grams are in a cup of flour?
About 120 grams for all-purpose flour when spooned and leveled. Scooping directly from the bag packs it down and can add 20 percent more.
Is a US cup the same as a metric cup?
No. A US cup is 236.588 milliliters while a metric cup is 250 milliliters. This converter uses US cups, the standard in American recipes.
How many tablespoons are in a cup?
Sixteen tablespoons make one cup, and three teaspoons make one tablespoon. These are exact by US definition.
Why does the ingredient matter for conversions?
Volume measures space and weight measures mass. A cup of flour and a cup of honey fill the same space but honey weighs nearly three times more, so the ingredient density bridges the two.
How many milliliters in a fluid ounce?
One US fluid ounce equals 29.5735 milliliters. Do not confuse fluid ounces, a volume, with ounces, a weight.
How many grams are in a cup of granulated sugar?
200 grams, using this converter’s sugar density. That is for loose granulated sugar; packed brown sugar weighs more and powdered sugar weighs less, so check the ingredient before converting baking recipes.
How many milliliters are in a tablespoon?
14.7868 milliliters per US tablespoon — exactly 3 teaspoons and half a fluid ounce. The Australian tablespoon is larger at 20 milliliters, so treat Australian recipes with care when following them with US spoons.
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