All-Purpose Flour:
Grams to Cups
By Stefan Ulrich · Last updated
All-purpose flour is the workhorse of the baking world — and one of the most mis-measured ingredients. 1 cup of all-purpose flour weighs 120 grams when measured correctly. But in real kitchens, that number shifts between 100 g and 150 g depending entirely on technique.
How much All-Purpose Flour weighs at each cup measure.
Convert All-Purpose Flour
1 cup = 120 grams
= — grams
= — cups
Quick reference
Measurement Table
| Cups | Grams | Ounces |
|---|---|---|
| 1 tsp | 3 g | 0.11 oz |
| 1 tbsp | 8 g | 0.28 oz |
| ⅛ cup | 15 g | 0.53 oz |
| ¼ cup | 30 g | 1.06 oz |
| ⅓ cup | 40 g | 1.41 oz |
| ½ cup | 60 g | 2.12 oz |
| ⅔ cup | 80 g | 2.82 oz |
| ¾ cup | 90 g | 3.17 oz |
| 1 cup | 120 g | 4.23 oz |
| 1¼ cups | 150 g | 5.29 oz |
| 1½ cups | 180 g | 6.35 oz |
| 2 cups | 240 g | 8.47 oz |
| 3 cups | 360 g | 12.70 oz |
About All-Purpose Flour
The difference between a tender cake and a dense one often comes down to how you measured your flour. Scooping a measuring cup directly into the bag compacts the flour and can add up to 30 extra grams per cup — a 25% overage that noticeably toughens baked goods.
The professional standard is the spoon-and-level method: fluff the flour in its container, spoon it lightly into the measuring cup, then sweep a straight edge across the top. Better still, use a kitchen scale. At 120 g per cup, all-purpose flour is easy to scale — 240 g for two cups, 360 g for three.
American recipes almost universally use 'cup' measurements for flour, while European and professional recipes list grams. When adapting a French tart dough recipe or a British loaf, understanding the 120 g/cup baseline is your Rosetta Stone.
Storage matters too: flour that has been stored a long time in a humid environment can pack more densely, creeping toward 130–135 g/cup even with correct technique. If your baked goods feel sturdier than expected, weigh your flour.
Tips for measuring All-Purpose Flour
- Spoon flour into the cup, don't scoop — scooping adds up to 30 g extra.
- Fluff the flour in the bag first with a spoon or fork.
- Level with a straight-edge knife, not by shaking or tapping.
- Store in an airtight container: humidity increases density over time.
- Weigh flour for important recipes — 1 cup can vary by 20 g from bag to bag.
- If a batter looks very thick after mixing, let it rest 5 minutes before adding more liquid.
- For cakes, spoon flour into the cup lightly rather than scooping straight from the bag to avoid packing extra flour.
- If your recipe uses self-rising flour, do not replace it with AP flour without reducing salt and baking powder.
Common mistakes
- Scooping directly from the bag (compacts flour by 20–30%)
- Using a wet measuring cup for dry ingredients
- Measuring before sifting when the recipe calls for 'sifted flour'
- Using the same cup for wet and dry ingredients without wiping it between uses
- Forcing a recipe to work with old, compacted flour instead of weighing it
- Scooping directly from the bag creates heavy, dry baked goods.
Frequently Asked Questions
- How many grams in a cup of All-Purpose Flour?
- 1 cup of All-Purpose Flour weighs 120 grams — the standard used in most American recipes. Use the converter above for any other amount.
- How many grams is 1 tablespoon of All-Purpose Flour?
- 1 tablespoon of All-Purpose Flour weighs about 8 grams. The full table above lists every common cup fraction.
- What's the most common mistake when measuring All-Purpose Flour?
- Scooping directly from the bag (compacts flour by 20–30%). Weighing on a kitchen scale avoids it entirely.
- Should I sift All-Purpose Flour before or after measuring?
- Measure All-Purpose Flour first, then sift — unless the recipe says "sifted flour, then measured." Sifting after measuring keeps the gram weight predictable.