Grams To Cups Conversions: Everything You Need To Know

Picture this: You are face to face with a recipe that lists ingredient amounts in grams, but you have only ever measured in cups. Suddenly, you’re in unfamiliar territory on unfamiliar ground. How are you supposed to know how many cups are in 125 grams of flour? And how many cups do you need for 200 grams of butter? 

Working with a recipe that’s listed in grams isn’t automatic, but fortunately there is a pretty easy way to do grams to cups conversions without messing up the cake, brownies, or loaf of bread, and we are here to help demystify this scenario. After all, accurate ingredient measurement is essential to turning out excellent baked goods, homemade pasta, and birthday cakes.

Understanding the Conversion

Some bakers believe that measuring ingredients by weight (i.e., grams) instead of amounts (i.e., cups) is the more accurate way of measuring. Rather than filling a cup with flour (could be packed lightly or packed as much as possible), you measure it in grams for more precision.

Plenty of other people, however, like to measure in amounts because that’s what they are familiar with and/or they don’t own a kitchen scale. This is where understanding the conversion of grams to cups is helpful. The conversion is different depending on whether the ingredient is liquid or solid. But so long as you have a few measuring cups and measuring spoons on hand, along with a conversion chart or access to an online calculator, you are good to go about your baking.

Conversion Factors

The conversion is different depending on whether the ingredient is liquid or solid. This means converting grams of butter into cups of butter will not result in the same numbers as converting flour grams to flour cups. An online conversion calculator can be useful, but we’ve put together some handy charts below.

Flour

Butter

Sugar (Granulated)

Brown Sugar (Packed)

Powdered Sugar

Honey, Molasses, and Syrup

Using a Conversion Calculator

Using a conversion calculator is valuable, too. If you have a magnetic fridge, you can buy a one-page chart listing the conversions from grams to cups and vice versa and simply refer to this anytime you’re working with a recipe that’s listed the ingredients by weight when you wish to measure them by amount.

You can also go online and utilize a free conversion calculator, although some charge a small fee. Apple’s Unit Converter (free) is a trusted source for converting baking recipes, and they also have one called Kitchen Calculator Pro ($2.99) available on the app store. My Kitchen Calculator is another good one, and so is Cooks.com. These apps and websites will also show units in ounces where relevant.

Tips and Considerations

Converting recipes is a useful skill for any home cook. Converting recipes allows you to adjust quantities and amounts using a method you are comfortable with. Converting ingredients from one measurement to another, however, can pose some challenges and lead to errors if you’re not careful.

First things first, remember that converting is not just dividing the ingredients by the same factor when you change from grams to cups and vice versa. Different ingredients have different densities and weights so as the charts above demonstrate it’s not simply a matter of 1 cup of X equals X grams of X. It’s important to use a conversion calculator or refer to a chart which will list specific ingredients so you don’t wind up putting too much or little little of some ingredient into the recipe. Ingredients used in baking are precise for a reason; it’s a science after all.