The Cooking Converter converts recipe measures among cups, tablespoons, teaspoons, millilitres, litres, and grams for common ingredients. Enter a volume or an ingredient-aware mass and read the paired result with the factor path shown, including the difference between volume spoons and weight in grams.
Volume-to-volume conversions use fixed cup and spoon definitions. Volume-to-gram conversions depend on the ingredient, because a cup of flour does not weigh the same as a cup of sugar. The Cooking Converter keeps that distinction explicit so baked recipes scale without silent density errors.
Convert cooking measurements
The Cooking Converter handles two jobs that home cooks mix constantly: changing spoon and cup volumes into millilitres, and changing those volumes into grams for a chosen ingredient. Pick the measure you have, pick the measure you need, and select an ingredient when mass is involved.
US recipes dominate cup language online. Metric recipes prefer millilitres and grams. The Cooking Converter bridges those styles so a US cup amount can become millilitres for a scale-marked jug, or grams for a kitchen scale.
Liquid oils and water track volume closely to mass near 1 g/mL, but flour, sugar, cocoa, and packed brown sugar do not. Always confirm whether a gram target assumes sifted or scooped flour when precision baking matters.
Convert cups to millilitres
One US legal cup equals 240 mL in some nutrition labeling contexts, while one US customary cup equals 236.5882365 mL (exactly 231 in³ / 16). This page uses the customary culinary factor commonly shown as about 236.6 mL per US cup unless a labeled 240 mL cup option is selected.
millilitres ≈ cups × 236.588Worked example: convert 2 US cups to millilitres.
1. Multiply by 236.588. 2 × 236.588 ≈ 473.18 mL.
2. Tablespoon check. One US cup = 16 tablespoons, so 2 cups = 32 tablespoons.
The Cooking Converter shows the active cup definition on the factor line. Australian and older UK cup sizes differ; do not assume every "cup" in a scanned cookbook matches the US customary cup.
Convert cups to grams by ingredient
Grams measure mass. Cups measure volume. Converting cups to grams requires an ingredient density (or a tested kitchen reference mass per cup). Typical reference values used on many cooking converters:
| Ingredient | Grams per US cup (typical reference) |
|---|---|
| All-purpose flour (scooped/averaged) | about 125 g |
| Granulated sugar | about 200 g |
| Water | about 237 g |
| Butter | about 227 g |
Worked example: convert 1 cup flour using 125 g per cup.
1. Multiply. 1 × 125 = 125 g.
2. Half cup. 0.5 × 125 = 62.5 g.
The Cooking Converter applies the selected ingredient's reference mass per cup. Packing method changes flour mass significantly; spoon-and-level versus scoop-and-sweep can swing results by tens of grams. Prefer weighing when a bakery formula is written in grams already.
Understand why a cup of flour and sugar differ
Flour particles trap air. Granulated sugar packs denser. One US cup of granulated sugar near 200 g holds more mass than one US cup of flour near 125 g, even though both fill the same cup volume. Treating every cup as 240 g (as if it were water) over-sugars or over-flours a batter.
That density gap is the most common cup-to-gram mistake. The Cooking Converter forces an ingredient choice before emitting grams from cups, rather than inventing a single "cup to grams" factor for all foods.
Brown sugar packed firmly weighs more per cup than loosely poured crystals. Cocoa sifted lightly weighs less than cocoa packed. When a recipe author publishes both cup and gram lines, prefer the gram line and use this tool only to translate unmatched cup text.
Convert between metric and US measures
Metric spoons often use 5 mL teaspoons and 15 mL tablespoons. US customary spoons are 4.92892 mL per teaspoon and 14.7868 mL per tablespoon (with 3 teaspoons per tablespoon and 16 tablespoons per cup). For everyday cooking the rounded 5 mL and 15 mL figures are close; for lab-style syrup work, use the exact factors on the converter.
1 US tablespoon ≈ 14.787 mL
1 US teaspoon ≈ 4.929 mL
1 US cup = 16 tablespoons = 48 teaspoonsMillilitres to cups divide by ~236.588. Litres multiply by 1000 to reach millilitres first. The Cooking Converter chains those steps and prints them so a 500 mL metric carton becomes about 2.11 US cups.
Read the common cooking conversions
| Measure | US customary equivalent |
|---|---|
| 1 tablespoon | 3 teaspoons |
| 1 cup | 16 tablespoons |
| 1 cup | ≈ 236.6 mL |
| 1 stick butter (US) | 1/2 cup ≈ 113 g |
The Cooking Converter's reference table can centre on the entered amount for quick scanning. Liquid conversions stay volume-only. Gram rows appear when an ingredient profile is active. Cross-check packaged nutrition cups (sometimes 240 mL) against the cup definition shown in the tool before scaling a diet plan.
Scaling a recipe up by volume scales grams by the same factor only when the ingredient density assumption stays fixed. Changing brands of flour can still shift mass per cup even after a perfect unit conversion.
FAQ
How many millilitres are in a US cup?
One US customary cup is about 236.588 mL. The Cooking Converter multiplies cups by that factor when converting to millilitres under the customary cup definition.
How do I convert cups to grams?
To convert cups to grams, multiply cups by the ingredient's grams-per-cup reference. Flour near 125 g/cup and sugar near 200 g/cup are common starting points. The Cooking Converter applies the selected ingredient factor.
Why does flour not weigh the same as sugar per cup?
Flour and sugar have different densities, so the same cup volume holds different masses. The Cooking Converter keeps separate gram factors per ingredient instead of one universal cup-to-gram number.
How many tablespoons are in a cup?
There are 16 tablespoons in one US cup. The Cooking Converter uses that relationship for tablespoon and cup pairs.
Is a metric tablespoon the same as a US tablespoon?
A metric tablespoon is often 15 mL; a US tablespoon is about 14.787 mL. The Cooking Converter labels which spoon system is selected so those definitions do not silently mix.
Can I convert butter sticks?
Yes, when butter is listed: one US stick is 1/2 cup, about 113 g. The Cooking Converter applies the butter profile for cup, stick, and gram fields when that ingredient is active.
Should baking use cups or grams?
Grams reduce packing error. Use the Cooking Converter to translate cup-only recipes into grams, then prefer the scale for repeatable bakes.
Does water convert as 1 g per mL?
Near typical kitchen temperatures, water is about 1 g/mL, so millilitres and grams nearly match. The Cooking Converter still shows both fields so oils and dry goods do not inherit that water shortcut automatically.
Summary
The Cooking Converter converts recipe volumes among cups, spoons, and millilitres, and converts cups to grams using ingredient-specific references such as about 125 g per cup of flour and about 200 g per cup of sugar. A US customary cup is about 236.6 mL.
Flour and sugar differ by density, so volume-to-weight conversion always needs an ingredient. Metric and US spoon sizes are close but not identical, and every result shows which factor was applied.