The Short Answer
The formula, if you want to convert any amount:
So 500 grams of butter works out to about 2.2 cups. Going the other direction is just as simple — multiply cups by 227 to get grams.
Why Butter Converts So Cleanly (Unlike Flour or Sugar)
Most dry ingredients are frustrating to convert because how loosely or tightly they're packed changes the outcome — a "packed cup" of brown sugar and a "loose cup" can differ by 30+ grams. Butter doesn't have that problem. It's a solid block with a consistent density of roughly 911 grams per liter, so a cup of butter weighs close to the same amount every single time, whether it's cold from the fridge, softened on the counter, or melted in a pan. The weight doesn't change with temperature — only the shape does.
This is actually good news for anyone converting a recipe: unlike flour or powdered sugar, you don't need to worry about sifting, packing, or scooping technique. A gram of butter is a gram of butter.
Grams to Cups (and Sticks) Chart
In the US, butter is sold in sticks — a detail that makes conversion easier, since sticks are pre-marked in tablespoons right on the wrapper.
| Grams | Cups | Sticks |
|---|---|---|
| 28 g | ⅛ cup | ¼ stick |
| 57 g | ¼ cup | ½ stick |
| 85 g | ⅜ cup | ¾ stick |
| 100 g | ~0.44 cup | ~⅞ stick |
| 113 g | ½ cup | 1 stick |
| 150 g | ~0.66 cup | ~1⅓ sticks |
| 200 g | ~0.88 cup | ~1¾ sticks |
| 227 g | 1 cup | 2 sticks |
| 250 g | ~1.1 cups | ~2¼ sticks |
| 300 g | ~1.32 cups | ~2⅔ sticks |
| 340 g | 1½ cups | 3 sticks |
| 400 g | ~1.76 cups | ~3½ sticks |
| 454 g | 2 cups | 4 sticks |
| 500 g | ~2.2 cups | ~4½ sticks |
These figures are based on standard US butter (about 227g per cup). Butter sold in other countries — particularly in blocks rather than sticks — can be portioned slightly differently, so it's worth checking the packaging if you're working with an imported brand.
The Fastest Way to Measure Butter Without a Scale
If you're working with standard US stick butter, you often don't need to convert anything at all — the wrapper does the work for you.
- Each stick is marked in tablespoons along its length (8 tablespoons per stick).
- 1 stick = 113 grams = ½ cup = 8 tablespoons.
- 2 sticks = 227 grams = 1 cup.
This makes stick butter one of the easiest ingredients to portion precisely without ever touching a scale — just cut along the printed line for the amount you need.
When You Should Weigh Butter Instead
Because butter's weight doesn't shift with packing or temperature, cup and stick measurements are usually reliable enough for everyday cooking. Weighing still helps in a few specific situations:
- Pastry work (croissants, puff pastry, pie dough): the ratio of butter to flour affects flakiness directly, and professional bakers weigh both for consistency.
- Recipes converted from grams: if a recipe was originally written with a gram measurement, weighing the original figure avoids the small rounding errors that come from converting to cups and back.
- Halving or scaling a recipe: cutting a stick precisely at an odd fraction (like ⅓) is far easier and more accurate with a scale than guessing by eye.
Gram, Defined
A unit of mass in the metric system that is equal to one thousandth of a kilogram. According to the International Bureau of Weights and Measures, the gram remains one of the most widely used everyday units for cooking and food science because of its precision.
Cup, Defined
A US customary unit of volume equal to 16 tablespoons, or about 236.6 milliliters. The USDA's Food and Nutrition Service commonly references cup measurements in its standardized serving-size guidance, though it notes that volume measurements are inherently less precise than weight for solid and semi-solid ingredients.
Quick Reference
- 1 stick butter = 113 g = ½ cup = 8 tablespoons
- 2 sticks butter = 227 g = 1 cup
- 1 tablespoon = ~14 g
- 1 pound butter = 454 g = 4 sticks = 2 cups
The Bottom Line
Butter is one of the more forgiving ingredients to convert because its density barely changes, whether it's cold, soft, or melted. For everyday cooking, sticks and cup markings will get you close enough almost every time. Reach for a scale mainly when precision genuinely affects the result — laminated pastry, scaled recipes, or anything converted directly from a gram-based source.
Other Ingredients
Grams-to-cups conversion isn't only useful for sugar. Each of these has its own weight-per-cup because densities differ: