A pound of flour fills far more cups than a pound of sugar or butter. Pick the ingredient, enter the weight in pounds and ounces, and get the cups, nearest kitchen fraction, tablespoons and grams.
Last updated:
lb
oz
g/cup
Weigh one level US cup of your ingredient, or use the package's serving info.
Enter your values to see the result.
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How to use the Pounds to Cups Converter
Enter the weight in pounds, and add ounces if needed.
Choose the ingredient, or pick Custom and enter grams per cup.
Pick the cup size your recipe uses (US cup by default).
Press Convert to see cups, the nearest fraction, tablespoons and grams.
Use the tables for other bag sizes or to compare ingredients.
How to convert pounds to cups
Pounds measure weight and cups measure volume, so the conversion uses how much one cup of the ingredient weighs:
cups = pounds × 453.592 ÷ grams per cup
Worked example: a recipe calls for 1½ lb of powdered sugar. 1.5 × 453.592 = 680.4 g, and 680.4 ÷ 120 g per cup = 5.67 cups, or about 5⅔ cups.
If your recipe lists ounces instead, divide the ounces by 16 to get pounds first (12 oz = 0.75 lb). These are weight ounces, not fluid ounces.
Cups per pound of common ingredients
Ingredient
1 US cup (g)
1 US cup (oz)
Cups per pound
Cups per ½ lb
All-purpose flour
125 g
4.4 oz
3.63
1.81
Bread flour
127 g
4.5 oz
3.57
1.79
Whole wheat flour
120 g
4.2 oz
3.78
1.89
Cake flour
114 g
4.0 oz
3.98
1.99
Almond flour
96 g
3.4 oz
4.72
2.36
Granulated sugar
200 g
7.1 oz
2.27
1.13
Brown sugar (packed)
220 g
7.8 oz
2.06
1.03
Powdered sugar
120 g
4.2 oz
3.78
1.89
Butter
227 g
8.0 oz
2.00
1.00
White rice, uncooked
185 g
6.5 oz
2.45
1.23
Rolled oats
81 g
2.9 oz
5.60
2.80
Cocoa powder
86 g
3.0 oz
5.27
2.64
Chocolate chips
170 g
6.0 oz
2.67
1.33
Honey
340 g
12.0 oz
1.33
0.67
Peanut butter
258 g
9.1 oz
1.76
0.88
Shredded cheese
113 g
4.0 oz
4.01
2.01
Water
236.6 g
8.3 oz
1.92
0.96
Milk
244 g
8.6 oz
1.86
0.93
Values are typical for spooned-and-leveled dry ingredients and packed brown sugar, based on standard baking charts and USDA household measures. Brands, humidity and grind size cause small differences.
Tips for measuring by the pound
Spoon, then level. Spoon flour into the cup and sweep off the top with a knife. Dipping the cup into the bag compacts it.
Pack brown sugar firmly so it holds the cup's shape when turned out; that is how recipes measure it.
Buying in bulk? Use the chart in the results to see how many cups a 5, 10 or 25 lb bag yields, which helps when scaling recipes for a crowd.
Butter is easy: 1 lb = 4 sticks = 2 cups, regardless of brand, because US sticks are sold by weight.
Frequently asked questions
How many cups are in a pound?
It depends on the ingredient's density. One pound is about 3.6 cups of all-purpose flour, 2.3 cups of granulated sugar, 2 cups of butter, 2.1 cups of packed brown sugar, 3.8 cups of powdered sugar and 5.6 cups of rolled oats.
How many cups are in a 5 lb bag of flour?
At about 125 g per spooned and leveled cup, a 5 lb bag of all-purpose flour holds roughly 18 cups. If you scoop, you may get closer to 15–16 cups.
How many cups is a pound of butter?
One pound of butter is 2 cups, or 4 US sticks. Each stick is ¼ lb, ½ cup or 8 tablespoons.
How many cups of sugar are in 4 pounds?
A 4 lb bag of granulated sugar is about 9 cups (4 × 453.6 g ÷ 200 g per cup = 9.07 cups).
How do you convert pounds to cups?
Multiply the pounds by 453.592 to get grams, then divide by the ingredient's grams per cup. For 2 lb of rice: 2 × 453.592 = 907 g ÷ 185 g per cup = 4.9 cups.
Why is weighing more accurate than cups?
A cup measures volume, and how tightly an ingredient is packed changes how much fits. Flour can vary by 20% or more between spooning and scooping, while a kitchen scale gives the same result every time.
Does a pound of liquid equal 2 cups?
Roughly. A pint of water weighs about 1.04 lb, so one pound of water is about 1.92 US cups. Milk is slightly denser (about 1.86 cups per pound) and honey much denser (about 1.33 cups per pound).
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