Skip to content

Cups to dl and other US recipe measurements in metric

Cups, tablespoons, sticks and ounces converted to decilitres and grams, with a table for every fraction of a cup and what a cup weighs.

A US cup is 2.37 dl. A tablespoon is 15 ml, a stick of butter weighs 113 grams and an ounce 28 grams. An American recipe measures almost everything by volume: flour, sugar and butter in cups and spoons, weights in ounces and pounds, and the oven in Fahrenheit. Here they all are, with tables.

FROM

write a number and we convert instantly

ALSO:

How much is a cup in dl?

A US cup is 236.6 ml, or 2.37 dl. For everyday cooking, 2.4 dl is close enough. Recipes from Australia and New Zealand use a metric cup of 2.5 dl instead.

Cup Decilitres Millilitres
1/8 cup 0.30 dl 30 ml
1/4 cup 0.59 dl 59 ml
1/3 cup 0.79 dl 79 ml
1/2 cup 1.18 dl 118 ml
2/3 cup 1.58 dl 158 ml
3/4 cup 1.77 dl 177 ml
1 cup 2.37 dl 237 ml
1 1/4 cups 2.96 dl 296 ml
1 1/3 cups 3.15 dl 315 ml
1 1/2 cups 3.55 dl 355 ml
1 2/3 cups 3.94 dl 394 ml
1 3/4 cups 4.14 dl 414 ml
2 cups 4.73 dl 473 ml
2 1/2 cups 5.91 dl 591 ml
3 cups 7.10 dl 710 ml
4 cups 9.46 dl 946 ml
5 cups 11.83 dl 1,183 ml
6 cups 14.20 dl 1,420 ml
8 cups 18.93 dl 1,893 ml

For other amounts, use the cup to decilitre converter.

What does a cup of flour, sugar and butter weigh?

A cup is a volume, so the weight depends on what is in it. The table uses Swedish measurements per decilitre.

1 cup Grams, about From
Wheat flour 130 g 56 g per dl
Granulated sugar 200 g 85 g per dl
Icing sugar 140 g 60 g per dl
Brown sugar, loose 175 g 75 g per dl
Butter 227 g 2 sticks
Rolled oats 90 g 39 g per dl
Milk 235 g 99 g per dl

“Packed” brown sugar is pressed into the cup and weighs more. If the recipe also gives grams, use the grams. Sources and more ingredients are in the guide grams per decilitre.

Tablespoons and teaspoons

Tbsp is short for tablespoon and tsp for teaspoon. A US tablespoon is 14.8 ml and a teaspoon 4.9 ml. The difference from the metric 15 ml and 5 ml spoons is too small to matter in cooking. In handwritten recipes a capital T often means tablespoon and a small t teaspoon.

US Millilitres Swedish measure
1 tablespoon (tbsp) 14.8 ml 1 msk
1/2 tablespoon 7.4 ml 1/2 msk
1 teaspoon (tsp) 4.9 ml 1 tsk
1/2 teaspoon 2.5 ml 1/2 tsk
1/4 teaspoon 1.2 ml about 1 krm

Three teaspoons make a tablespoon, and 16 tablespoons make a cup. The spoon measures guide compares spoons across countries.

Butter in sticks

American butter is sold in sticks. A stick is a quarter of a pound, and the wrapper is marked in tablespoons.

Butter Grams
1 tablespoon 14 g
1/2 stick (1/4 cup, 4 tbsp) 57 g
1 stick (1/2 cup, 8 tbsp) 113 g
2 sticks (1 cup) 227 g
4 sticks (1 pound) 454 g

Weights: ounces and pounds

An ounce (oz) is 28.3 grams and a pound (lb) is 453.6 grams. A pound is 16 ounces.

Weight Grams
1 oz 28 g
4 oz 113 g
8 oz 227 g
12 oz 340 g
16 oz (1 lb) 454 g
2 lb 907 g

The converters are ounce to gram and pound to gram.

Fluid ounces, pints and quarts

Watch the word ounce. A fluid ounce, or fl oz, is a volume, not a weight. The British pint is larger than the American one.

Measure Volume
1 fl oz 2.96 cl
8 fl oz 1 cup, 2.37 dl
1 US pint 4.73 dl
1 British pint 5.68 dl
1 US quart 9.46 dl
1 US gallon 3.79 l

See the converters for fluid ounce to centilitre, US pint to decilitre and British pint to decilitre.

The oven

350 °F is 177 °C, so set the oven to 175 °C. A full table, gas marks and fan ovens are in the oven temperatures guide.

Frequently asked questions

How many dl is 1 cup?

A US cup is 2.37 dl. An Australian or New Zealand cup is 2.5 dl.

How much is 1/2 cup in dl?

Half a cup is 1.18 dl, a little more than one decilitre.

How much is 1/4 cup in dl?

A quarter cup is 0.59 dl, about 6 centilitres.

What does 1 cup of flour weigh?

About 130 grams of wheat flour, from the Swedish Food Agency’s 56 grams per decilitre. Packing changes it a lot.

What does 1 cup of sugar weigh?

About 200 grams of granulated sugar, from Dansukker’s 85 grams per decilitre.

What does a stick of butter weigh?

A stick is 113 grams. That is half a cup or 8 tablespoons.

Is a tablespoon the same as a Swedish matsked?

In practice, yes. A US tablespoon is 14.8 ml and a Swedish matsked is 15 ml.

How many grams is 8 oz?

8 ounces is 227 grams. If the recipe says 8 fl oz, it is a volume instead: one cup.