A recipe asks for four cups of flour, and the bag says two pounds. How many recipes is that? Or you have a pound of butter and the recipe is in cups. Pounds and cups do not convert on their own, since one measures weight and the other volume.
This pounds to cups converter has the weight of a cup for sixteen common ingredients, so a pound of flour and a pound of honey each get the right number of cups.
How to use the Pounds to Cups Converter#
- Enter the pounds. Type the weight. Use decimals for ounces, so 8 ounces is 0.5.
- Pick the ingredient. This sets the weight of one cup.
- Choose your cup. Use the US cup unless your recipe is metric.
- Read the result. You get cups, the nearest kitchen measure, tablespoons, millilitres and grams.
The formula#
Convert the pounds to grams by multiplying by 453.592, then divide by the grams in one cup of the ingredient. A pound of all-purpose flour is 453.592 grams, and at 125 grams per cup that is about 3.6 cups. A pound is exactly 0.45359237 kilograms, a value set by international agreement in 1959.
Cups in a pound, by ingredient#
| Ingredient | Cups in 1 lb | Cups in 2 lb | Cups in 5 lb |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-purpose flour | 3.63 | 7.3 | 18.1 |
| Granulated sugar | 2.27 | 4.5 | 11.3 |
| Brown sugar (packed) | 2.13 | 4.3 | 10.6 |
| Butter | 2.00 | 4.0 | 10.0 |
| Honey | 1.33 | 2.7 | 6.7 |
| White rice (uncooked) | 2.45 | 4.9 | 12.3 |
| Rolled oats | 5.04 | 10.1 | 25.2 |
| Cocoa powder | 5.34 | 10.7 | 26.7 |
Values use a US cup of 236.6 millilitres and standard baking chart weights. A pound of butter is exactly 2 cups, which is why it is sold as four sticks.
Why the answer changes#
The weight of a cup depends on density. Honey is heavy, so a pound of it only fills about 1.3 cups. Flour is airy, so a pound of it fills 3.6 cups, almost three times as much space. Sugar sits in the middle, at about 2.3 cups per pound. Brown sugar packs tightly, and a pound of it fills closer to 2.1 cups when firmly packed.
For powders the way you fill the cup matters as well. A scooped cup of flour is packed, and is heavier than a spooned cup, so it holds fewer cups to the pound. Use the spoon and level method that the recipe expects, or weigh.
Pounds and ounces#
A pound has 16 ounces, so if a package says 1 lb 4 oz, enter 1.25. Half a pound is 8 ounces, and a quarter pound is 4 ounces. The converter works with decimal pounds. Weight ounces should not be confused with fluid ounces, which measure volume. They are the same only for water and for liquids close to it in density.
Planning a shop#
Use the converter to plan how much to buy. A recipe with 6 cups of flour needs 1.7 pounds, so a 2 pound bag is enough. A cake that calls for 3 cups of sugar needs about 1.3 pounds. For a big bake, such as a batch of cookies, multiply by the number of batches and buy a little extra. Our cups to pounds converter does the reverse sum.
Buying in bulk#
Bulk buying is cheaper per pound, but only if you use it. The table shows how many cups a bag will give you, so you can match it to how often you bake.
| Package | Weight | Approximate cups |
|---|---|---|
| Bag of flour | 5 lb | 18.1 |
| Bag of flour | 10 lb | 36.3 |
| Bag of granulated sugar | 4 lb | 9.1 |
| Bag of brown sugar | 2 lb | 4.3 |
| Bag of rice | 5 lb | 12.3 |
| Bag of rolled oats | 2 lb | 10.1 |
Flour and whole grains keep for months in a sealed container in a cool place, but whole grain flour goes off sooner than white flour because of its natural oils, so freeze it if you do not use it quickly.
Frequently asked questions#
About 3.6 cups of all-purpose flour, using 125 grams per cup.
About 2.3 cups of granulated sugar.
Two cups, which is four sticks.
About 1.3 cups.
About 2.1 cups when firmly packed.
Only for water, where the old saying says a pint is a pound. For other ingredients they differ.
Sources and further reading#
- King Arthur Baking: Ingredient Weight Chart. Weights per cup for flour, sugar, butter, honey and more.
- USDA FoodData Central. Food composition and household measure weights.
- NIST Special Publication 811: Guide for the Use of the International System of Units. Exact definitions of the inch, pound, ounce and the units derived from them.
- Wikipedia: Pound (mass). The international avoirdupois pound.