How much Cups is a pound of butter?

Quickly understand how butter is measured and weighed around the world.  Convert butter from US cups, sticks of butter and tablespoons and more to grams with handy Butter Measurement Conversion Charts.

The confusion:  Most countries outside the US (and Canada), weigh their butter using scales which makes it very difficult to understand American recipes.

I knew I couldn’t be the only one in need of quick answers.  So, in the charts at the bottom of this page, I have tried to give a variety of different conversions to try to clear up some of the confusion.

Differences in butter around the world:

• American butter is required to have at least an 80% fat content.  French butter must contain a minimum of 82% fat.  The higher the fat content in butter, the less water it contains, making pastries flakier.  More butterfat also means a softer texture, faster melt, and often, a deeper yellow color. 

• European butter is known for its rich taste which is a direct result of the higher butterfat content.  It also contains less water, European butter is often the preference for baking, especially when the butter flavor is essential in a recipe.

Tips on Making Measuring and Weighing Butter

• To make it easier to convert yourself – Try memorizing one fact in each category so you can work it out in your head. 

For example – 1/2 cup of butter equals 1 stick of butter so if a recipe calls for 2 sticks of butter, it will be simple to work out in your head that 2 sticks are equal to 1 cup and so on.

Please choose a cooking ingredient. A density is required for converting between cups and pounds (a cup of sugar weighs less than a cup of water). If you wish to add your own density figure, click 'add own'. add own

Convert between pounds (lb) and cups for ingredients such as flour, sugar, butter, margarine and more. A reference table of common ingredients and their cup to pound conversion can be found in our .

Disclaimer: Whilst every effort has been made in building our calculator tools, we are not to be held liable for any damages or monetary losses arising out of or in connection with their use. Full disclaimer.

On this page:

How many cups are in a pound?

The conversion of cups and pounds will vary depending on the ingredient being used. A pound of sugar measures around 2.26 US cups, and a pound of flour measures around 3.62 US cups.

If you're converting between pounds and cups, it's important to remember that the cup is a unit of volume and the pound (lb) is a unit of weight. This means that to make the conversion, you need a substance density figure.

I've listed below some common baking ingredients and their conversions. Please be aware that these approximations reference the US cup - different ingredient brands and cups sizes will vary. These measurements assume the ingredient is being spooned into the cup.

Pounds and cups for all purpose flour

Pounds to cupsCups to pounds1/2 lb = 1.81 cups1/2 cup = 0.14 pounds1 lb = 3.62 cups1 cup = 0.28 pounds2 lb = 7.25 cups2 cups = 0.55 pounds3 lb = 10.87 cups3 cups = 0.83 pounds4 lb = 14.5 cups4 cups = 1.1 pounds5 lb = 18.12 cups5 cups = 1.38 pounds

More flour conversions can be found in our article, how many cups are in a pound of flour?

Pounds and cups for bread flour

Pounds to cupsCups to pounds1/2 lb = 1.74 cups1/2 cup = 0.14 pounds1 lb = 3.49 cups1 cup = 0.29 pounds2 lb = 6.97 cups2 cups = 0.57 pounds3 lb = 10.46 cups3 cups = 0.86 pounds4 lb = 13.94 cups4 cups = 1.15 pounds5 lb = 17.43 cups5 cups = 1.43 pounds

Pounds and cups for cake flour

Pounds to cupsCups to pounds1/2 lb = 1.99 cups1/2 cup = 0.13 pounds1 lb = 3.98 cups1 cup = 0.25 pounds2 lb = 7.96 cups2 cups = 0.5 pounds3 lb = 11.93 cups3 cups = 0.75 pounds4 lb = 15.91 cups4 cups = 1.01 pounds5 lb = 19.89 cups5 cups = 1.26 pounds

Pounds and cups for granulated sugar

Pounds to cupsCups to pounds1/2 lb = 1.13 cups1/2 cup = 0.22 pounds1 lb = 2.26 cups1 cup = 0.44 pounds2 lb = 4.52 cups2 cups = 0.89 pounds3 lb = 6.77 cups3 cups = 1.33 pounds4 lb = 9.03 cups4 cups = 1.77 pounds5 lb = 11.29 cups5 cups = 2.21 pounds

More sugar conversions can be found in our article, how many cups are in a pound of sugar?

Pounds and cups for powdered sugar (unsifted)

Pounds to cupsCups to pounds1/2 lb = 1.88 cups1/2 cup = 0.13 pounds1 lb = 3.75 cups1 cup = 0.27 pounds2 lb = 7.5 cups2 cups = 0.53 pounds3 lb = 11.26 cups3 cups = 0.8 pounds4 lb = 15.01 cups4 cups = 1.07 pounds5 lb = 18.76 cups5 cups = 1.33 pounds

Pounds and cups for brown sugar (packed)

Pounds to cupsCups to pounds1/2 lb = 1.16 cups1/2 cup = 0.21 pounds1 lb = 2.33 cups1 cup = 0.43 pounds2 lb = 4.66 cups2 cups = 0.86 pounds3 lb = 6.99 cups3 cups = 1.29 pounds4 lb = 9.32 cups4 cups = 1.72 pounds5 lb = 11.65 cups5 cups = 2.15 pounds

Pounds and cups for butter

Pounds to cupsCups to pounds1/2 lb = 1 cups1/2 cup = 0.25 pounds1 lb = 2 cups1 cup = 0.5 pounds2 lb = 4 cups2 cups = 1 pounds3 lb = 6 cups3 cups = 1.5 pounds4 lb = 8 cups4 cups = 2 pounds5 lb = 10 cups5 cups = 2.5 pounds

Pounds and cups for margarine

Pounds to cupsCups to pounds1/2 lb = 0.99 cups1/2 cup = 0.25 pounds1 lb = 1.97 cups1 cup = 0.51 pounds2 lb = 3.94 cups2 cups = 1.02 pounds3 lb = 5.91 cups3 cups = 1.52 pounds4 lb = 7.88 cups4 cups = 2.03 pounds5 lb = 9.85 cups5 cups = 2.54 pounds

Which cup is which?

As you'll have noticed from the list of conversion options above, there are different types of cup depending on where in the world you are. The cup is more commonly referenced in US recipes than the rest of the world.

Conversion of cooking units

To convert between other cooking units such as grams, pounds, quarts, tablespoons, teaspoons, litres and more, give the full cooking converter a try. We also have individual converters for cups and grams, cups and ounces and ounces and mL.

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How many cups are in a block of butter?