Butter Conversion Chart: Sticks, Cups, Tablespoons and Grams
1 US stick of butter equals ½ cup, 8 tablespoons, 4 ounces, or 113 g. Two sticks make 1 cup (227 g) and four sticks make 1 pound (454 g).
Assumptions
- US measures: 1 cup = 16 tablespoons = 236.6 mL. A tablespoon of butter weighs about 14 g.
- Stick size: standard US quarter-pound stick (113 g). Western US "stubby" sticks are shorter and wider but weigh the same.
- Butter weighs the same whether salted or unsalted for conversion purposes.
Butter by stick
| Sticks | Cups | Tablespoons | Ounces | Grams |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ¼ stick | 2 tbsp | 2 | 1 oz | 28 g |
| ½ stick | ¼ cup | 4 | 2 oz | 57 g |
| 1 stick | ½ cup | 8 | 4 oz | 113 g |
| 1½ sticks | ¾ cup | 12 | 6 oz | 170 g |
| 2 sticks | 1 cup | 16 | 8 oz | 227 g |
| 3 sticks | 1½ cups | 24 | 12 oz | 340 g |
| 4 sticks | 2 cups | 32 | 16 oz (1 lb) | 454 g |
Butter by cup and spoon
| Amount | Grams |
|---|---|
| 1 teaspoon | 5 g |
| 1 tablespoon | 14 g |
| 2 tablespoons | 28 g |
| ¼ cup | 57 g |
| ⅓ cup (5 tbsp + 1 tsp) | 76 g |
| ½ cup | 113 g |
| ⅔ cup (10 tbsp + 2 tsp) | 151 g |
| ¾ cup | 170 g |
| 1 cup | 227 g |
Canadian, UK and European blocks
Outside the US, butter rarely comes in sticks.
| Where | Typical block | US equivalent |
|---|---|---|
| Canada | 454 g (1 lb) | 4 sticks / 2 cups |
| UK, Ireland, Europe | 250 g | 2 sticks + about 2 tbsp (1 cup + 2 tbsp) |
| Australia, New Zealand | 250 g | 2 sticks + about 2 tbsp |
| UK, some brands | 500 g | 4 sticks + about 3 tbsp |
To cut a recipe's "1 stick" from a Canadian 454 g block, cut the block into quarters. Each quarter is 113 g.
Grams to US butter measures
| Grams | US measure |
|---|---|
| 25 g | about 1¾ tbsp |
| 50 g | about 3½ tbsp |
| 100 g | 7 tbsp |
| 125 g | 1 stick + 1 tbsp (about 9 tbsp) |
| 150 g | about ⅔ cup (10½ tbsp) |
| 200 g | about ⅞ cup (14 tbsp) |
| 250 g | 1 cup + 2 tbsp |
In a 250 mL metric cup
If an older Canadian or Australian recipe calls for "1 cup" of butter using a 250 mL cup, that's about 240 g, slightly more than a US cup (227 g). The difference is small enough not to matter in most savoury cooking, but it can make shortbread a little greasier.
Why weighing butter is easiest
Pressing cold butter into a measuring cup leaves air pockets and is messy. Weighing is quicker and exact: put the bowl on a scale, tare it, and slice butter straight in. For recipes written in tablespoons, the paper wrapper markings on US sticks and many Canadian blocks are accurate enough.
Chef Fizz says: Butter wrappers are secret rulers. Each line is one tablespoon, so slice along the dotted line!
What's actually in butter
North American butter must be at least 80% milk fat; the rest is roughly 16% water plus milk solids. European-style butters run 82–86% fat. That matters when you swap butter for something else:
| Swap for 1 cup (227 g) butter | Amount | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Clarified butter or ghee | about 180–190 g | Water and milk solids removed |
| Neutral oil | ¾ cup (about 165 g) | Matches butter's fat content |
| Shortening | 1 cup (about 180 g) plus 2 tbsp milk or water | Shortening is 100% fat, so add back some liquid |
Because of that water, clarified butter weighs about 80–85% of the butter you started with. Browning butter loses a similar amount as the water boils off, so weigh brown butter after cooking if a recipe calls for a specific amount.
Questions
How much is a stick of butter in Canada?
Canadian butter is usually sold in 454 g (1 lb) blocks rather than sticks. A recipe's '1 stick' equals 113 g, which is one quarter of a Canadian block; many blocks have tablespoon or 1/4-cup markings on the wrapper.
How many grams is 1 tablespoon of butter?
One tablespoon of butter weighs about 14 g. A US stick has 8 tablespoons and weighs 113 g.
Is melted butter measured the same as solid butter?
By weight, yes: 113 g of butter is 113 g whether solid or melted. By volume they are also very close, so 1/2 cup solid butter gives about 1/2 cup melted.
How many cups is 250 g of butter?
A 250 g UK or European block is about 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons in US measures, or 2 sticks plus about 2 tablespoons.