Basic Cooking Conversions and Measurements

Need to know this difference between metric measurements and imperial measurements? Or how to convert an oven temp from Celsius to Fahrenheit? You’re in the right place! Keep this page and all the cooking conversions charts below handy by bookmarking this page or printing for later!

Cups? Grams? Liters? Ounces? What?!

With the internet literally at our finger tips and access to different cultures and cuisines a click of a button away – don’t let the headache of converting from grams to cups to whatever deter you from trying something new!

As an American now living in England I am all too familiar with the whole metric vs imperial vs US measurements confusion. That’s why I first started compiling my Cups to Grams Conversions Measurement Chart. It’s a massive list of common ingredients and their cups/grams/ml/ounces equivalencies.

Knowing how much I would benefit from a centralised list of ingredient conversions, I knew it could be helpful to my fellow cooks and bakers out there. It also helps me as a way to stay consistent with my own amounts (there can be quite a lot of variation in ingredient conversions).

The goal of this page it to go a little deeper into the how’s & why’s of measuring units and what proper tools you need to get there.

I’ve included a few free printable cooking conversion charts for viewing here in addition to color free versions you can download for your own personal use.

Otherwise, feel free to bookmark this page for future use. If you need a little more clarification or info on anything in particular, please let me know I’ll try to help as best I can!

Important Things to Remember about Cooking Conversions

First things first – let’s get on the same page:

1. Recipes usually measure ingredients based on either weight (the Metric System) or volume (Imperial System).
   • Volume = how much space something takes up
   • Weight = how heavy something is
2. U.S. recipes use US Customary Units which is based on the Imperial System, but it is not actually the Imperial System.
3. One cup does not always equal one cup and this manifests in a couple ways:
   • Cups sizes vary depending on where in the world you are – different countries have different cups sizes. One UK measuring cup holds 250 ml while one US cups hold 240 ml. One imperial cups is about 280 ml.
   • Cups measure for volume/density which means that different ingredients will weigh different amounts. Example: 1 cup of butter weighs 226 grams (higher density) but 1 cup of flour weighs 140 grams (lower density).
4. Wet and dry ingredients need to be measured differently. One fluid ounce does not equal the same as one ounce.
   • Fluid Ounces are not the same as ounces.
     • Fluid ounces measure volume (space) while ounces measure weight (density).

Use the Right Measuring Tools

Ok, so now that we know there are a number of different measurement systems, let’s move on to how we typically measure our ingredients. Below I’ll cover the four main tools used to measure ingredients and how to use them:

1. Dry Measuring Cups
2. Measuring Spoons
3. Liquid Measuring Cups
4. Kitchen Scale

Dry Measuring Cups

• Typical sizes: 1/4 cup, 1/3 cup, 1/2 cup, 1 cup
• It’s the most popular measuring tool for dry measurements in the United States.
• Measuring cups measure the volume of dry ingredients (how much space it takes up) as opposed to the weight. This is why 1 cup of whole nuts weighs different from 1 cup chopped nuts.
• US legal cups (used in most US based recipes) hold up 240 ml. This is standardized by law so that serving sizes and nutrition labels can be more accurately determined.
• Easy to use, but not always reliable for getting exact measurements.

Measuring Spoons

• Typical sizes: 1/4 teaspoon, 1/2 teaspoon, 1 teaspoon, 1 tablespoon
• Spoons measure dry ingredients and small amounts of liquid ingredients.
• Measuring spoons are found in both US based recipes and metric recipes.
• The UK also has a ‘dessertspoon’ which is equal to two teaspoons (10ml).

Liquid Measuring Cups

• Typically sizes: 1 cup, 2 cup, 4 cup 8 cup
• Liquid measuring cups measure large amounts of liquid ingredients (anything above 1/4 cup).
• You can measure liquids with dry measuring cups, but you’re more likely to spill since you have to fill up the cup all the way to the top.
• Dry ingredients shouldn’t be measured in a liquid measuring cup because can’t level off the top – meaning you will likely end up with too much.

Kitchen Scale

• A kitchen scale will provide the most accurate measurement leading to more consistent results in the kitchen.
• Scales measure the weight of your ingredients as opposed to cups which measure volume.
• Digital scales usually allow you to see the weight in grams, mililiters, ounces, fluid ounces, and pounds.
• You can use a kitchen scale to measure both wet and dry ingredients.
• Scales can easily weight awkwardly shaped ingredients like nuts, berries, chocolate, etc.

The Cup Conundrum

While measuring cups are super easy to use, they do pose a potentially big problem to your cooking and baking. We’ve gone through it a few times already, but I’ve included a visual demonstration below.

The problem? Not all cups weigh the same.

Below I have pictured five identical jars filled with five different ingredients:

• 1/2 cup chocolate chips (85 grams)
• 1/2 cup whole blackberries (72 grams)
• 1/2 cup flour (70 grams)
• 1/2 cup maple syrup (158 grams)
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar (110 grams)

Even though each jar holds 1/2 cup of a particular ingredient, the weight of each jar is quite different. This is because measuring cups measure for volume – how much space something takes up.

The whole blackberries left quite a lot of empty space in the measuring cup which meant that I could only fit 72 grams worth inside.

On the other hand, the maple syrup (a liquid) filled up every nook and cranny of the measuring cup. This meant that I could fit 158 grams of maple syrup into 1/2 cup.

Looks Can Be Deceiving

Even ingredients that look alike will almost always amount to different weights when measured up. For example, one cup of almond flour weighs 96 grams compared to one cup of all purpose flour weighs 140 grams.

This is why it’s important not to deviate too much from a given recipe unless you’re quite experienced in substituting ingredients or the recipe author encourages it. You could very easily accidentally end up adding too much or too little of what you need.

Unit of Measurement Abbreviations

teaspoons – tsp or t
tablespoons – tbsp or T
cups – c or C
pints – pt
quarts – qt
gallons – gal
militers – ml
liters – l
grams – g
kiligrams – kg
ounces – oz
fluid ounces – fl oz
pounds – lb

Weight & Volume Conversions

Use these conversion charts below to find the correct measurements for converting metric units in and out of US based Units.

Key Weight Conversions

Ounces	Tablespoons	Grams	Pounds
1/2 oz	1 tbsp	14 g	-
1 oz	2 tbsp	28 g	-
2 oz	4 tbsp	57 g	1/8 lb
3 oz	6 tbsp	85 g	-
4 oz	8 tbsp	114 g	1/4 lb
6 oz	12 tbsp	170 g	-
8 oz	16 tbsp	226 g	1/2 lb
12 oz	24 tbsp	340 g	-
16 oz	32 tbsp	454 g	1 lb

If you’d like to find conversions for more specific ingredients I recommend you check out my Cups to Grams Conversions page. I am always updating the list with new ingredients and am always happy to add ingredient conversions on request!

Oven Temperature Conversions

If you need to convert from cups to grams then there is a good chance you’ll also need to convert your oven temps as well.

Fahrenheit vs Celsius

The US is in a small minority of countries that uses Fahrenheit (F°) instead of Celsius (C°).

• In, water freezes at 32°F and boils at 212°F (at sea level).
• In Celsius, water freezes at 0°C and boils at 100°C (at sea level).

Convert Fahrenheit to Celsius: Subtract 32, multiply by 5, divide by 9
Convert Celsius to Fahrenheit: Multiply by 9, divide by 5, add 32

Use the infographic above to find the correct temperature you need. I’ll also include a text chart in case that’s easier to navigate.

Download Printable Conversion Charts