Vegetable Shortening:
Grams to Cups
One cup of vegetable shortening weighs 190 grams. This 100% fat product — lighter than butter at 227 g/cup — produces exceptionally flaky pie crusts and tender biscuits because it contains no water to develop gluten.
Convert Vegetable Shortening
1 cup = 190 grams
= — grams
= — cups
Quick reference
Measurement Table
| Cups | Grams | Ounces |
|---|---|---|
| ⅛ cup | 24 g | 0.85 oz |
| ¼ cup | 48 g | 1.69 oz |
| ⅓ cup | 63 g | 2.22 oz |
| ½ cup | 95 g | 3.35 oz |
| ⅔ cup | 127 g | 4.48 oz |
| ¾ cup | 143 g | 5.04 oz |
| 1 cup | 190 g | 6.70 oz |
| 1¼ cups | 238 g | 8.40 oz |
| 1½ cups | 285 g | 10.05 oz |
| 2 cups | 380 g | 13.40 oz |
| 3 cups | 570 g | 20.11 oz |
About Vegetable Shortening
Vegetable shortening is made by hydrogenating vegetable oils to create a solid fat at room temperature. Unlike butter (which is roughly 80% fat and 20% water and milk solids), shortening is 100% fat. This absence of water is what makes it so effective at creating tender, flaky pastry — water develops gluten, and less gluten means more tenderness.
At 190 g per cup, shortening is lighter than butter (227 g/cup) because it contains no water. When substituting shortening for butter in a recipe by weight, you'll use less shortening by volume — but because shortening is pure fat and butter is only 80% fat, you technically need slightly more shortening to provide equivalent fat content: approximately 220 g of shortening per 227 g of butter.
For pie crusts, shortening's high melting point means it stays in discrete pieces throughout mixing, creating distinct fat layers that translate to visible, flaky strata when baked. For the best of both worlds — flakiness and flavor — many bakers use half shortening and half butter.
Measuring shortening can be tricky due to its soft, sticky texture. The water-displacement method (filling a cup with cold water and submerging the shortening until it displaces the right amount) is one approach. More reliably, use a kitchen scale.
Tips for measuring Vegetable Shortening
- Use a scale — shortening's sticky texture clings to measuring cups unpredictably.
- Cold shortening makes flakier pie crusts; keep it refrigerated before cutting in.
- For flavor + flakiness, use 50/50 shortening and butter.
- Water displacement method: fill cup partly with water, add shortening to the line.
Common mistakes
- Using room-temperature shortening for pie crust — it needs to be cold to create flaky layers.
- Assuming 1:1 butter-for-shortening substitution — adjust for the water difference.
- Pressing into the measuring cup unevenly, leaving air pockets that understate weight.
Frequently Asked Questions
- How many grams in a cup of Vegetable Shortening?
- 1 cup of Vegetable Shortening weighs 190 grams. This is the standard measurement used in most American recipes.
- How many cups is 190 grams of Vegetable Shortening?
- 190 grams of Vegetable Shortening equals exactly 1 cup. For partial amounts, use the converter above or the measurement table.
- Is 190 g per cup accurate for all brands?
- 190 g/cup is the widely accepted standard. Minor brand-to-brand variation exists (±5–10%), but for most baking purposes this figure is reliable.