Cups to Grams: Flour Conversion Chart
1 cup of all-purpose flour weighs about 125 g (spooned and levelled). If you scoop the cup straight into the bag, the flour packs down and the same cup weighs roughly 140–150 g, which is why weighing flour gives far more reliable baking.
Assumptions
- US cup (236.6 mL, 16 tablespoons). For a 250 mL metric cup, add about 6%.
- Spoon-and-level method: stir the flour to loosen it, spoon it into the cup until heaped, then sweep the top level with a straight edge. No tapping or shaking.
- Figures are rounded. Brands vary by a few grams, and humid flour weighs slightly more.
All-purpose flour by fraction
| Amount (US) | Spooned & levelled | Scooped | Sifted |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 tablespoon | 8 g | 9 g | 7 g |
| ¼ cup | 31 g | 36 g | 29 g |
| ⅓ cup | 42 g | 48 g | 38 g |
| ½ cup | 63 g | 73 g | 58 g |
| ⅔ cup | 83 g | 97 g | 77 g |
| ¾ cup | 94 g | 109 g | 86 g |
| 1 cup | 125 g | 145 g | 115 g |
| 1½ cups | 188 g | 218 g | 173 g |
| 2 cups | 250 g | 290 g | 230 g |
| 3 cups | 375 g | 435 g | 345 g |
| 4 cups | 500 g | 580 g | 460 g |
The scooped column assumes about 145 g per cup, a middle value. Your own scoop could be lighter or heavier, which is the whole problem with scooping.
Other wheat flours
| Flour (spooned & levelled) | 1 cup | ½ cup | ⅓ cup | ¼ cup |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All-purpose | 125 g | 63 g | 42 g | 31 g |
| Bread flour | 130 g | 65 g | 43 g | 33 g |
| Cake flour | 115 g | 58 g | 38 g | 29 g |
| Pastry flour | 115 g | 58 g | 38 g | 29 g |
| Whole wheat flour | 120 g | 60 g | 40 g | 30 g |
| Self-raising flour | 125 g | 63 g | 42 g | 31 g |
| Italian "00" flour | 120 g | 60 g | 40 g | 30 g |
| Light or medium rye | 105 g | 53 g | 35 g | 26 g |
| Semolina | 165 g | 83 g | 55 g | 41 g |
Bread flour feels heavier because it is slightly coarser and packs a little tighter. Cake flour is finely milled and chlorinated or heat-treated, so it stays fluffier and lighter.
Gluten-free and nut flours
| Flour (spooned & levelled) | 1 cup |
|---|---|
| Almond flour (blanched, fine) | 95 g |
| Coconut flour | 120 g |
| White rice flour | 160 g |
| Cornmeal (fine to medium) | 140 g |
| Cornstarch | 128 g |
| Tapioca starch | 125 g |
| Oat flour | 90 g |
| Gluten-free 1:1 blends | 135–145 g (check the bag) |
Gluten-free flours don't swap cup-for-cup with wheat unless the blend is designed for it. Coconut flour in particular absorbs several times its weight in liquid.
Why weighing flour matters
Flour is the most common measuring mistake in baking. It is a fine powder full of air, so its volume changes with how it was handled: freshly sifted, settled in the bag for a month, or rammed into the cup with a scoop. An extra 20 g per cup across 3 cups adds 60 g of flour, close to half a cup extra.
Too much flour means more starch and gluten relative to the liquid. Cakes turn dry and dense, cookies don't spread, and bread dough feels stiff. That's why bakers talk in baker's percentages, with everything weighed against the flour.
Chef Fizz says: If your cookies come out like hockey pucks, the flour scoop is the prime suspect. Weigh it and watch them spread!
How to measure without a scale
- Fluff the flour in its container with a spoon or whisk.
- Spoon it lightly into a dry measuring cup until it mounds over the top.
- Don't tap or shake the cup.
- Sweep the excess off with the back of a knife.
Converting a metric-cup recipe
For older Canadian and most Australian recipes using a 250 mL cup, use about 132 g for all-purpose flour, 137 g for bread flour and 122 g for cake flour per cup.
See cups to grams for sugar, butter, liquids and mix-ins, all on the same 125 g-per-cup flour basis.
Questions
How many grams is 2 cups of flour?
Two US cups of all-purpose flour, spooned and levelled, weigh about 250 g. If the flour was scooped straight from the bag, it could be closer to 290 g.
Should I sift flour before measuring?
Only if the recipe says 'sifted flour' before the word cup, such as '1 cup sifted flour'. Sifted all-purpose flour weighs about 115 g per cup, lighter than spooned flour. If you weigh flour, sifting before measuring doesn't matter.
How many grams is 1 cup of flour in Canada?
If the recipe uses a 250 mL metric cup, 1 cup of all-purpose flour weighs about 132 g spooned and levelled. Most modern Canadian recipes use the US-size 1 cup, so 125 g is the safer default.
How many tablespoons of flour are in 100 g?
About 12½ tablespoons, since a level tablespoon of all-purpose flour weighs about 8 g. For anything over a few tablespoons, a scale is far more accurate.