Cups to Ounces Converter - Convert Cups to Oz (2024)

Quick navigation:

1. Cups and ounces in recipes
2. How much is a cup in ounces?
3. Converting between cups and oz
4. Cups to oz conversion tables

• Cups of water to ounces conversion table
• Cups of milk to ounces conversion table
• Cups of vegetable oil to ounces conversion table

Cups and ounces in recipes

The cup is a defined measurement unit of volume, but there are different definitions adopted over time. The most widely used is the US legal cup which is defined as containing 240 ml of volume. A more customary unit encountered in older recipes is the Imperial cup which is larger at 284 ml. Both units are supported by our converter.

Unfortunately, many recipes specify ingredients in units of volume such as cups instead of using weights. The issue is that volume is filled differently by different ingredients depending on their specific density and how finely grained the matter is. Getting the right amount of the ingredient can be even more challenging if the recipe does not specify what type of a cup is being used.

Still, we can calculate the weight of an ingredient in ounces (oz) by using the given volume and the expected density using averages. Once that is done, any good scale will allow us to follow the recipe with acceptably low error.

How much is a cup in ounces?

First, one needs to specify the type of substance contained within the cup. That is because the weight in ounces depends directly on the density of the substance and different substances have different densities. For example, a cup of water weighs about eight and a half ounces, while a cup of vegetable oil weighs just 7.7 ounces. This is also the reason oil floats in water.

It should be noted that cooking ingredient density can vary substantially which is especially true for anything that can be ground down with different levels of fineness. This cups to ounces converter features a list of commonly used recipe ingredients. Their densities are estimated from known data, allowing you to convert between cups and ounces with reasonable accuracy. However, some error is inevitable so all such conversions should be taken with a grain of salt.

Converting between cups and oz

The conversion from cups to ounces is straightforward once you know the density of the substance you need to convert. For example, a recipe might specify 2 cups of water, or 4 cups of flour, and you may want to convert it to grams. To do so, follow these instructions:

A cup of water to oz

Sample task: convert one cup of water to ounces, knowing that the density of water is 1 gram per milliliter meaning that a US cup holds 8.5 oz of water. Solution:

Formula:
US Legal Cups * 8.5 = oz
Calculation:
1 US Legal Cups * 8.50 = 8.50 oz
End result:
1 US Legal Cups is equal to 8.50 oz

Two cups of milk to oz

Sample task: convert 2 cups of milk to ounces, knowing that the density of milk is 1.4 grams per milliliter meaning that a US legal cup holds 8.8 oz of milk. Solution:

Formula:
cups * 8.8 = oz
Calculation:
2 cups * 8.80 = 17.60 oz
End result:
2 cups is equal to 17.60 oz

Cups to oz conversion tables

For your convenience, we present conversion charts for some of the most used cooking ingredients, namely water, milk, and vegetable oil.

Cups of water to ounces conversion table

Here is a convenient table with often used quantities of water in US cups and their corresponding values in ounces.

Cups of milk to ounces conversion table

Below is a kitchen conversion chart in US cups of milk and their corresponding values in ounces.

Cups of vegetable oil to ounces conversion table

Here is a conversion chart between cups of vegetable oil and ounces. It should work well for any kind of vegetable oil, including olive oil, sunflower oil, and others as they have very similar density.