Kitchen Conversion Guide: Cups, Grams, Ounces and Oven Temps
You find a great recipe, start measuring, and realise it is written in grams while your drawer is full of cups. Or the oven says 180 and the recipe says 350. This guide collects the conversions home cooks need most, with tables you can trust, and explains where conversions get tricky.
If you just want a quick answer, our free kitchen converter does cups, grams, ounces and °F/°C in one place.
The base numbers this guide uses
All tables below use the standard US measures:
- 1 US cup = 236.6 ml
- 1 tablespoon (tbsp) = 14.8 ml
- 1 teaspoon (tsp) = 4.93 ml
- 1 ounce (oz, weight) = 28.35 g
- °C = (°F − 32) × 5/9
Values are rounded for everyday cooking. A gram or a millilitre either way will not change your dinner.
Volume: cups, spoons and millilitres
The handy relationships to memorise: 1 cup = 16 tablespoons, 1 tablespoon = 3 teaspoons, and 2 tablespoons = 1 US fluid ounce (about 29.6 ml).
| US measure | Tablespoons | Millilitres |
|---|---|---|
| 1 cup | 16 tbsp | 237 ml |
| 3/4 cup | 12 tbsp | 177 ml |
| 2/3 cup | 10 tbsp + 2 tsp | 158 ml |
| 1/2 cup | 8 tbsp | 118 ml |
| 1/3 cup | 5 tbsp + 1 tsp | 79 ml |
| 1/4 cup | 4 tbsp | 59 ml |
| 1/8 cup | 2 tbsp | 30 ml |
| 1 tbsp | 3 tsp | 14.8 ml |
| 1 tsp | – | 4.9 ml |
| 1/2 tsp | – | 2.5 ml |
Larger amounts: 2 cups (1 US pint) is about 473 ml, and 4 cups (1 US quart) is about 946 ml.
A note on other countries: some recipes from outside the US use a 250 ml "metric cup", and tablespoon sizes also vary by country. If a recipe gives grams or millilitres, follow those. They are the least ambiguous.
Weight: ounces and grams
Weight ounces (oz) are not the same as fluid ounces (fl oz). A fluid ounce measures volume; an ounce measures weight. They only line up closely for water and similar liquids.
| Ounces | Grams |
|---|---|
| 1 oz | 28 g |
| 2 oz | 57 g |
| 4 oz (1/4 lb) | 113 g |
| 8 oz (1/2 lb) | 227 g |
| 12 oz (3/4 lb) | 340 g |
| 16 oz (1 lb) | 454 g |
To convert any amount, multiply ounces by 28.35. To go the other way, divide grams by 28.35.
Cups to grams for common baking ingredients
Here is where most conversion mistakes happen. A cup is a volume, so how much it weighs depends on the ingredient and on how you fill the cup. A cup of flour weighs much less than a cup of sugar.
| Cups | Flour (all-purpose) | Granulated sugar | Butter |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 cup | 120–125 g | 200 g | 227 g |
| 3/4 cup | 90–94 g | 150 g | 170 g |
| 2/3 cup | 80–83 g | 133 g | 151 g |
| 1/2 cup | 60–63 g | 100 g | 113 g |
| 1/3 cup | 40–42 g | 67 g | 76 g |
| 1/4 cup | 30–31 g | 50 g | 57 g |
| 1 tbsp | about 8 g | about 12.5 g | about 14 g |
Why flour is a range
Flour compacts. Scooping the cup straight into the bag packs it down and can give noticeably more than 125 g. The weights above assume the spoon-and-level method: stir the flour, spoon it loosely into the cup, then sweep the top flat with a knife. Different flours (bread, whole wheat, cake) also weigh differently, so if a recipe gives grams, use them.
Butter shortcuts
In the US, butter is often sold in sticks. One stick is 1/2 cup, 8 tablespoons, or about 113 g. Four sticks make 1 lb.
Liquids
For water, 1 ml weighs about 1 g, so 1 cup of water is roughly 237 g. Milk is very close to water. Oils are lighter, and honey and syrups are heavier, so weigh those if accuracy matters.
Oven temperatures: Fahrenheit to Celsius
Use °C = (°F − 32) × 5/9. The exact results are in the middle column; the right-hand column shows the rounded settings you will usually see in recipes and on oven dials.
| °F | Exact °C | Common setting |
|---|---|---|
| 250°F | 121°C | 120°C |
| 275°F | 135°C | 140°C |
| 300°F | 149°C | 150°C |
| 325°F | 163°C | 160–170°C |
| 350°F | 177°C | 180°C |
| 375°F | 191°C | 190°C |
| 400°F | 204°C | 200°C |
| 425°F | 218°C | 220°C |
| 450°F | 232°C | 230°C |
| 475°F | 246°C | 240–250°C |
Fan (convection) ovens: many recipes and oven manufacturers suggest setting a fan oven roughly 20°C (about 25°F) lower than a conventional oven. Check your oven's manual, because models differ.
Oven accuracy: home ovens can run hotter or cooler than the dial says. An inexpensive oven thermometer is the easiest way to find out, and it explains a lot of "the recipe never works for me" moments.
Practical tips for converting recipes
- Weigh when you can. A basic digital scale removes almost all the guesswork for baking. Most scales switch between grams and ounces.
- Convert once, write it down. When you convert a favourite recipe, note the new numbers on the card so you never redo the maths. Our Kitchen Conversion Charts and Recipe Cards set includes fridge-friendly charts and cards with space for both units.
- Do not mix systems in one recipe. If you start in grams, stay in grams. Switching halfway compounds rounding errors.
- Small amounts are forgiving; leavening is not. Rounding 118 ml to 120 ml of milk is fine. Be careful with baking powder, baking soda, yeast and salt; use proper measuring spoons and level them.
- Scaling up or down? Multiply everything by the same factor, then round sensibly. Eggs are the awkward part: for half an egg, beat one egg and use about half by weight.
- Bread bakers think in percentages. If you bake sourdough or other breads, baker's percentages make scaling much easier. Try our free baker's percentage calculator or the Sourdough Baking Journal, which has a calculator built in.
Keep your converted recipes together
Once you have converted the family favourites, keep them somewhere permanent. A family recipe book template turns those notes into a binder that gets passed on, and a weekly meal planner helps you actually cook them on busy weeks.
FAQ
How many grams are in a cup? It depends on the ingredient. A cup of all-purpose flour is about 120–125 g, granulated sugar about 200 g, butter 227 g and water about 237 g.
How many tablespoons are in a cup? Sixteen. Half a cup is 8 tablespoons and a quarter cup is 4.
What is 350°F in Celsius? About 177°C, which recipes usually round to 180°C. For a fan oven, many people use around 160°C.
Is a fluid ounce the same as an ounce? No. A fluid ounce measures volume (about 29.6 ml); an ounce measures weight (28.35 g). They match closely only for water-like liquids.
