Cups ↔ Grams Butter Converter
Convert cups of butter to grams or grams to cups for accurate baking. Bidirectional conversion with stick measurements and tips.
Reviewed by the Calcura editorial team · Last reviewed
- Question
- How many grams are in a cup of butter?
- Answer
- 1 US cup of butter = 227 g (exactly 2 sticks, or 8 oz). 1 stick = ½ cup = 113 g = 4 oz = 8 tablespoons. These are the standard US recipe equivalents and match the wrapper markings on a US butter stick. For half-quantities: ¼ cup = 57 g = 4 tbsp; ⅓ cup ≈ 76 g; ½ cup = 113 g; ¾ cup ≈ 170 g.
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- Formula
1 cup butter = 227 g; 1 stick = ½ cup = 113 g = 8 tbsp = 4 oz- Caveats
- European butter packaging is typically 250 g per block — not a clean conversion to US sticks.
- Whipped butter has air incorporated; 1 cup of whipped weighs ~150 g, not 227 g.
- Melted butter measured by volume is slightly lighter (less dense when liquid) — weigh when precision matters.
Butter Cups to Grams Conversion Table
US butter stick: 1 stick = ½ cup = 8 tbsp = 113 g = 4 oz.
| Cups | Sticks | Tablespoons | Grams | Ounces |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 tbsp | ⅛ stick | 1 tbsp | 14 g | 0.5 oz |
| ¼ cup | ½ stick | 4 tbsp | 57 g | 2 oz |
| ⅓ cup | ⅔ stick | 5⅓ tbsp | 76 g | 2.7 oz |
| ½ cup | 1 stick | 8 tbsp | 113 g | 4 oz |
| ⅔ cup | 1⅓ sticks | 10⅔ tbsp | 151 g | 5.3 oz |
| ¾ cup | 1½ sticks | 12 tbsp | 170 g | 6 oz |
| 1 cup | 2 sticks | 16 tbsp | 227 g | 8 oz |
| 1½ cups | 3 sticks | 24 tbsp | 340 g | 12 oz |
| 2 cups | 4 sticks | 32 tbsp | 454 g | 16 oz (1 lb) |
What This Calculator Does
This converter translates US cups of butter to grams and back, using the standard 1 cup = 227 g (equivalent to 2 US sticks or 8 oz). Unlike flour or sugar, butter's density is consistent enough that cup-based measuring is reliable — solid butter at refrigerator temperature is ~0.911 g/mL, which gives 216 g per customary cup, but US recipe tradition uses 227 g per cup to match the 2-stick / 8-oz package convention. The calculator uses 227 g per cup.
When To Use This Calculator
Following a metric cookie recipe in the US
A Nigella Lawson recipe calls for '225 g butter.' Convert: 225 / 227 = 0.99 cup — essentially 2 sticks (the full 1-cup block). No need to cut partial sticks.
Halving or quartering a recipe by weight
Recipe for 1 cup butter halved = ½ cup = 113.5 g = 1 stick exactly. Quartered = ¼ cup = 57 g = ½ stick. Weight makes fractional scaling trivial.
Using European butter blocks
European butter sells in 250 g blocks. Cup equivalent: 250 / 227 = 1.10 cups. A US recipe calling for 1 cup leaves 23 g (about 1.5 tbsp) unused per block.
Adapting Australian or NZ recipes
An Aussie recipe calls for 250 g butter. 250 / 227 = 1.1 cup, or 2 sticks + 1.5 tbsp. Close enough to round up to 1 cup, or to weigh for accuracy.
How It Works
US butter sticks are manufactured at exactly 4 oz = 113.4 g each. Two sticks = 1 US cup by tradition, giving 227 g/cup as the cooking-world standard. By pure physics, butter at ~4°C has density 0.911 g/mL, and a US customary cup is 236.588 mL, so a true volume-filled cup would weigh 215.5 g. The 227 g figure reflects US manufacturers packaging butter to the weight-standardized 8 oz per 1 cup, not the liter-volumetric density. Both are in common use; recipe writers who came up through the US pastry tradition almost always mean 227 g when they write '1 cup butter.'
Formula
grams = cups × 227
cups = grams / 227
1 US stick = 113.4 g = ½ cup = 4 oz = 8 tbsp
1 tbsp butter ≈ 14.2 gReal-World Example
Scenario
A home baker converting a classic Toll House chocolate chip cookie recipe (1 cup butter, softened) to grams and also wanting to know how much butter a halved batch uses.
Calculation
Full batch: 1 cup × 227 g = 227 g = 2 sticks Half batch: ½ cup × 227 g = 113.5 g = 1 stick Quarter batch: ¼ cup × 227 g = 56.75 g ≈ 57 g = ½ stick
Result
For full batch use both sticks from a 1-lb package. For half batch, one stick exactly — no cutting or weighing needed. For quarter batch, cut one stick at the ½ mark printed on the wrapper. Weighing is overkill for butter specifically because the stick markings already encode the 14.2 g/tbsp increments.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Mistake: Assuming melted butter measures the same
Solution: Butter expands slightly when melted — 1 cup solid doesn't equal 1 cup melted. Recipe specifies which form; 'melt and measure' and 'measure and melt' can differ by 5%. Weigh before melting if the recipe says 'melted butter, 227 g.'
Mistake: Using European butter 1:1 by weight without noting fat content
Solution: US butter is 80% fat; European butter is 82–84%. Substituting by weight gives a richer result. For delicate recipes (shortbread, croissants), reduce European butter slightly or expect a denser, more-flavorful outcome.
Mistake: Measuring soft butter in a volume cup
Solution: Packed softened butter compresses unevenly — one cook's '1 cup' can weigh 210 g, another's 240 g. This 14% variation throws off cookie texture. Weigh cold butter, then soften.
Mistake: Mixing 'sticks' with 'ounces' across regions
Solution: A US 'stick' is 113 g / 4 oz. Some recipes confusingly call for '1 stick' without noting US origin. In UK and EU, butter isn't sold as sticks — '1 stick' is meaningless there. Translate to grams when sharing recipes.
Cups to Grams Butter vs. Related Calculators
Butter Stick Converter
Specialized for US stick ↔ tbsp ↔ grams conversions when following stick-based recipes on non-US packaging.
Cups to Grams (Flour)
Flour has variable density (0.55–0.62 g/mL); butter doesn't. Different tool for a different ingredient class.
Ounces to Grams
Pure weight conversion. Use when a recipe spec is in ounces rather than cups.
When This Isn't the Right Tool
Whipped or creamed butter
Use instead: Creamed butter-sugar mixtures aerate and expand 50–100%. Measure butter before creaming. Once whipped, volume is no longer a reliable proxy for mass.
Clarified butter or ghee
Use instead: Clarified butter has ~20% less water, so 1 cup ghee weighs less than 1 cup butter (≈180 g for ghee). Use a ghee-specific conversion or weigh directly.
Cultured butter with higher moisture
Use instead: Some small-batch cultured butters have different moisture content than commodity butter. For high-precision baking (laminated doughs), weigh rather than assume 227 g/cup.
Butter substitutes (margarine, plant-based)
Use instead: Plant-based butters often have higher water content, so 227 g doesn't behave like 227 g dairy butter. Check substitute's conversion chart — some brands list '1 cup = 200 g' to compensate.
How to Verify This Calculation
US butter packaging lists 'Net Wt. 1 lb (453 g)' on a 4-stick block. Two sticks = 1 cup = 227 g; four sticks = 2 cups = 454 g. Match your scale reading to those printed weights and the conversion is correct.
Sources
- USDA FoodData Central — Butter, Without Salt — USDA entry for salted butter with nutrient data per 100 g and per tablespoon — the reference for US cooking weight conventions.
- NIST — Handbook 44 — Defines packaging conventions and labeling for US butter (8 oz = 227 g half-pound block = 1 cup).
- FDA — Food Labeling Guide — FDA rules on butter labeling, including net weight and fat-content specifications that affect substitutions.
Reviewed by the Calcura editorial team · Last reviewed