Ghee:
Grams to Cups
By Stefan Ulrich · Last updated
One cup of ghee weighs 220 grams — slightly less than butter (227 g/cup) because the water and milk solids have been removed. A clarified butter used widely in South Asian cooking and baking, ghee adds a rich, nutty flavor with a very high smoke point.
How much Ghee weighs at each cup measure.
Convert Ghee
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 Ghee
Ghee is produced by simmering butter until the water evaporates and the milk solids settle and brown, then straining them out. What remains is pure clarified butterfat. The browning of the milk solids during ghee production imparts a distinctive nutty, caramel flavor that sets it apart from regular clarified butter.
At 220 g per cup, ghee is close to but not identical to butter in weight. Because ghee is 100% fat and butter is approximately 80% fat, you need slightly more butter to achieve the same fat content in a recipe. The practical conversion is: use ¾ of the called-for butter quantity by weight when substituting ghee, then reduce any milk or water by a small amount.
In baking, ghee produces results similar to clarified butter — tenderness without the browning and moisture of regular butter. It is particularly effective in shortbreads, Indian sweets (halwa, laddoo), and pie crusts where a clean fat with concentrated flavor is desirable. Because it has no water content, it also won't cause as much gluten development.
Ghee is shelf-stable at room temperature for up to a month and much longer in the refrigerator, unlike butter which goes rancid faster. For baking, room-temperature ghee has a soft, spreadable consistency; refrigerated ghee becomes firm and needs softening.
Tips for measuring Ghee
- Substitute for butter at about a 3:4 ratio by weight (ghee is 100% fat).
- Room-temperature ghee has a soft, creamy texture ideal for most baking uses.
- Its high smoke point makes it great for greasing pans at high temperatures.
- Store at room temperature for up to a month; refrigerate for longer storage.
Common mistakes
- Using a 1:1 weight swap for butter without accounting for the water difference.
- Forgetting that ghee is lactose-free but not dairy-free — it still contains milk proteins.
- Measuring cold, firm ghee inaccurately — bring to room temperature first.
Frequently Asked Questions
- How many grams in a cup of Ghee?
- 1 cup of Ghee 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 Ghee?
- ¼ cup of Ghee weighs about 55 grams. The full table above lists every common cup fraction.
- What's the most common mistake when measuring Ghee?
- Using a 1:1 weight swap for butter without accounting for the water difference. Weighing on a kitchen scale avoids it entirely.
- How do I measure Ghee accurately?
- Weigh ghee whenever possible. For cup measures, soften solid fats and press out air pockets, or use the water-displacement method.