Baking Soda:
Grams to Cups
By Stefan Ulrich · Last updated
Baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) weighs 220 grams per cup, but you'll almost never measure it that way — most recipes call for teaspoons. 1 teaspoon of baking soda = 5 grams. Precision matters enormously here: even a ½ teaspoon too much can leave a metallic, soapy taste in your baked goods.
How much Baking Soda weighs at each cup measure.
Convert Baking Soda
1 cup = 220 grams
= — grams
= — cups
Quick reference
Measurement Table
| Cups | Grams | Ounces |
|---|---|---|
| 1 tsp | 5 g | 0.18 oz |
| 1 tbsp | 14 g | 0.49 oz |
| ⅛ cup | 28 g | 0.99 oz |
| ¼ cup | 55 g | 1.94 oz |
| ⅓ cup | 73 g | 2.57 oz |
| ½ cup | 110 g | 3.88 oz |
| ⅔ cup | 147 g | 5.19 oz |
| ¾ cup | 165 g | 5.82 oz |
| 1 cup | 220 g | 7.76 oz |
| 1¼ cups | 275 g | 9.70 oz |
| 1½ cups | 330 g | 11.64 oz |
| 2 cups | 440 g | 15.52 oz |
| 3 cups | 660 g | 23.28 oz |
About Baking Soda
Baking soda is a pure chemical leavener — it reacts with acids (buttermilk, yogurt, brown sugar, lemon juice, cocoa powder) to produce carbon dioxide, which makes baked goods rise. Unlike baking powder, it requires an acid to activate. Using too much without sufficient acid leaves unreacted sodium bicarbonate in your batter, producing a distinctly unpleasant metallic taste.
The standard ratio: approximately 1 teaspoon (5 g) of baking soda per 1 cup (240 g) of acidic liquid. Most cookie recipes use ½ to 1 teaspoon per batch; most cake recipes use ½ teaspoon per cup of flour.
Baking soda also promotes browning in baked goods — it raises the pH, which accelerates Maillard reactions. This is why recipes that produce deeply browned results (pretzels, certain cookies) use baking soda even when baking powder is the primary leavener.
Test your baking soda's freshness by adding ½ teaspoon to a tablespoon of vinegar. It should fizz immediately and vigorously. Flat or weak fizzing means it's expired and won't properly leaven your baked goods.
Tips for measuring Baking Soda
- 1 teaspoon = 5 g. ½ teaspoon = 2.5 g. ¼ teaspoon = 1.25 g.
- Too much = metallic taste. When in doubt, use slightly less.
- Test freshness: ½ tsp in 1 tbsp vinegar should fizz vigorously.
- Baking soda ≠ baking powder: soda is 3–4x stronger and requires acid.
- If a recipe contains yogurt, buttermilk, cocoa, or molasses, the soda amount is often part of the acid balance.
- A tiny extra pinch of salt can help control soapy flavor if you are adjusting a recipe for a smaller batch.
Common mistakes
- Confusing baking soda and baking powder — soda is 3–4x more potent
- Using expired baking soda — results in flat, dense baked goods
- Adding baking soda without enough acidic ingredient to neutralize it.
Frequently Asked Questions
- How many grams in a cup of Baking Soda?
- 1 cup of Baking Soda weighs 220 grams — the standard used in most American recipes. Use the converter above for any other amount.
- How many grams is ¼ cup of Baking Soda?
- ¼ cup of Baking Soda weighs about 55 grams. The full table above lists every common cup fraction.
- What's the most common mistake when measuring Baking Soda?
- Confusing baking soda and baking powder — soda is 3–4x more potent. Weighing on a kitchen scale avoids it entirely.
- Does Baking Soda need to be levelled in the cup?
- Yes — spoon baking Soda in and sweep a straight edge across the top. Scooping or tapping compacts it and changes the weight.