Converting recipes to increase or decrease the number of servings, or to fit a different sized-baking dish doesn’t have to be complicated. How many cups in a pound is one of the most frequently asked questions, but the answer depends on what you’re measuring. Let’s take a look at cups to pounds conversions for kitchen staples and how to use measuring cups!

Each food or ingredient has a different volume. As an example, one pound of flour won’t translate into the same number of cups as sugar does.
If your recipe calls for an ingredient by weight, the easiest way to measure it is using a kitchen scale. However, measuring your ingredient using cups is possible since we already know the cup weight for so many kitchen staples!
What Is A Pound?

A pound is a measure of weight for dry ingredients used in the United States often abbreviated as “lb”, “lbs”, or “#”.
1 pound = 16 ounces = 0.45 kilograms = 454 grams
Note: In this post, we are referring to the US (avoirdupois) pound, which is different from the UK/imperial (Troy) pound. The latter weighs 13 ounces or 373.24 grams.
What Is A Cup?

A cup is a tool used to measure both wet and dry kitchen ingredients by volume. It’s worth noting this is not the kind of cup you use for drinking coffee or tea.
Measuring cups are usually made differently for dry and liquid ingredients. The dry measuring cup has a measuring scale on it while the liquid measuring cup is commonly made of transparent glass or plastic.
Which Cup Should You Use?
In the United States, there are two main cup sizes: the US customary cup is used for cooking and the US legal cup is typically used for nutrition labeling. They have a slightly different volume.
1 US customary cup = 236.588 ml
1 US legal cup = 240 ml
The UK and Commonwealth nations (such as Australia, New Zealand, and Canada) use a different cup called the metric cup.
1 metric cup = 250 ml
You might find a different kind of cup in old British cookbooks known as the imperial cup.
1 imperial cup = 284.131 ml
Phew….so many cups! Confusing, right?

For the sake of simplicity, we’re sticking with the US customary cup throughout this entire article. After all, this is the one most Americans use.
It’s certainly good to have a set of measuring cups and spoons if you cook often but I also highly recommend you also invest in a kitchen scale.
For baking especially, exact measurements always yield the best results!
Pounds To Cups Conversion
1 pound of water = 1.92 cups = 15.34 fluid ounces = 0.45 liters
For baking and cooking purposes, the pounds-to-cups conversion for liquids is rounded up:
1 pound = 2 cups
1 cup = 1/2 pound
This equation works for liquid conversion, but foods have different densities. The most accurate formula also takes density into account because a cup is a unit of volume while a pound is a unit of weight. This is what it looks like:
cups = pounds x 1.92/ingredient density
To save you time from looking up the densities of the different ingredients you might be working with, here are pre-calculated values for common cooking and baking ingredients.
Note: The values can vary slightly between brands as they each use ingredients from different sources and various processing methods.
How Many Cups In A Pound Of Flour?
Each type of flour has a slightly different density, and we’re listing the most frequently used.
Type Of Flour | Pounds | Cups |
---|---|---|
All-Purpose Flour | 1 lb | 3.62 cups |
Bread Flour | 1 lb | 3.49 cups |
Cake Flour | 1 lb | 3.98 cups |
Self Raising Flour | 1 lb | 3.63 cups |
Whole Wheat Flour | 1 lb | 3.5 cups |
Pastry Flour | 1 lb | 4.2 cups |
Buckwheat Flour | 1 lb | 3.78 cups |
Gluten-Free Flour | 1 lb | 3.72 cups |
How Many Cups In A Pound Of Sugar?
There are many types of sugar, each with its own density. Skip the math and use these pounds to cups calculations for common types of sugar and liquid sweeteners such as corn syrup and honey.
Type Of Sugar | Pounds | Cups |
---|---|---|
Granulated Sugar | 1 lb | 2.27 cups |
Caster Sugar | 1 lb | 2.02 cups |
Brown Sugar | 1 lb | 2.27 cups |
Powdered Sugar | 1 lb | 3.63 cups |
Corn Syrup | 1 lb | 1.39 cups |
Honey | 1 lb | 1.35 cups |
Maple Syrup | 1 lb | 1.45 cups |
How Many Cups In A Pound Of Fat?
These cooking fats and oils are used in a lot of recipes and you can consult this handy chart whenever you need to make the pounds-to-cups conversion.
As you can see in the table below the values are different because each type of fat has another density. Butter is the easiest one since 1 pound of butter equals 2 cups.
Type Of Fat | Pounds | Cups |
---|---|---|
Butter | 1 lb | 2 cups |
Lard | 1 lb | 2.09 cups |
Margarine | 1 lb | 2.09 cups |
Virgin Olive Oil | 1 lb | 2.07 cups |
Canola Oil | 1 lb | 2.11 cups |
Vegetable Oil | 1 lb | 2.08 cups |
Coconut Oil | 1 lb | 2.07 cups |
Palm Oil | 1 lb | 2.15 cups |
Rapeseed Oil | 1 lb | 2.08 cups |
Sunflower Oil | 1 lb | 2 cups |
Pounds To Cups Conversions For Dairy
Milk, cream, yogurt, and other types of dairy are also kitchen staples. They are used for both cooking and baking which is why you’ll often need to measure them for your recipes.
Type Of Dairy | Pounds | Cups |
---|---|---|
Milk | 1 lb | 1.85 cups |
Buttermilk | 1 lb | 1.88 cups |
Condensed Milk | 1 lb | 1.48 cups |
Light Cream | 1 lb | 1.89 cups |
Heavy Cream | 1 lb | 1.93 cups |
Sour Cream | 1 lb | 1.97 cups |
Whipped Cream | 1 lb | 3.87 cups |
Mascarpone | 1 lb | 2.02 cups |
Plain Yogurt | 1 lb | 1.81 cups |
Greek Yogurt | 1 lb | 2 cups |
How To Use A Measuring Cup
Getting the right quantities for ingredients without a scale is not just about how many cups in a pound, it’s also about measuring properly.
For liquids, it’s pretty straightforward. Simply fill the cup to the level you need.
Some mistakes can be made when measuring dry ingredients though. If you don’t need a whole cup, fill it to the appropriate level and lightly tap it against the table to level the surface.
Refrain from packing the dry ingredient as the “cup” it will end up weighing more which can affect how your recipe turns out.
When you need a whole cup of the ingredient just use your finger to level it off in one sweeping motion.
F.A.Q.
One pound is equal to two cups. Each cup weighs 8 fluid ounces.
1 pound of unsifted all-purpose flour is approximately 3 1/2 cups. One pound of sifted all-purpose flour is 4 cups.
For a recipe requiring 1 pound of cake flour measure 4 cups if the flour is unsifted or 4 1/2 cups for sifted cake flour.
One pound of granulated sugar equals approximately 2 1/4 cups.
1 pound of water equals 1.92 cups, which can be rounded up to 2 cups for most purposes.
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Hi!
Ginny Collins is a passionate foodie and recipe creator of Savor and Savvy and Kitchenlaughter. Indoors she focuses on easy, quick recipes for busy families and kitchen basics. Outdoors, she focuses on backyard grilling and smoking to bring family and friends together. She is a lifelong learner who is always taking cooking classes on her travels overseas and stateside. Her work has been featured on MSN, Parade, Fox News, Yahoo, Cosmopolitan, Elle, and many local news outlets. She lives in Florida where you will find her outside on the water in her kayak, riding her bike on trails, and planning her next overseas adventure.


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