Ingredient Weight Converter

Ingredient Weight Converter · sweetener

Honey: cups to grams

1 cup of honey weighs 340 grams. Use the converter below for any other amount, or check the quick-reference table.

By Andrew Flores, Editor and publisher, Nathan Management. Last reviewed .

Density source: USDA FoodData Central, cross-checked against the King Arthur Baking weight chart. How these figures are derived and corrected is documented in our editorial standards.

Honey baseline: 1 cup = 340 g.

Common amounts

CupsTablespoonsGramsOunces (weight)Milliliters
1/4 cup4.085 g3.00 oz59 mL
1/3 cup5.3113 g3.99 oz79 mL
1/2 cup8.0170 g6.00 oz118 mL
2/3 cup10.7227 g8.00 oz158 mL
3/4 cup12.0255 g8.99 oz177 mL
1 cup16.0340 g11.99 oz237 mL
1.5 cups24.0510 g17.99 oz355 mL
2 cups32.0680 g23.99 oz473 mL
3 cups48.01020 g35.98 oz710 mL
4 cups64.01360 g47.97 oz946 mL

Spoon weights

Derived from the same 340 g per cup — a US tablespoon is 1/16 of a cup and a teaspoon is 1/48.

AmountGrams
1 tablespoon21 g
1 teaspoon7.1 g
1/2 teaspoon3.5 g
1/4 teaspoon1.8 g

Honey at a glance

Composition
about 80% sugars, 17% water, pH around 3.9
Sweetness
Roughly 1.2–1.5x as sweet as table sugar, which is why 3/4 cup replaces 1 cup
12 oz squeeze bottle
just over 1 cup (340 g)

What a cup of honey actually weighs

The published 340 g assumes one specific way of filling the cup. Here is what the same cup weighs under the other common handling methods and product forms, and how far off the recipe you end up.

How it was measuredGrams per cupvs. publishedWhy
Poured from an oiled cup and scraped clean340 gpublished figureThe published figure. Oiling the cup (or warming it) is the only way to get all of it into the bowl.
Poured from a dry cup, not scraped~320 g-6%Roughly a tablespoon of honey stays welded to the cup — about 21 g of sugar that never reaches the batter.

A tilde (~) marks a working estimate rather than a published figure — it varies with brand, grind, or how hard the cup was packed.

Why measuring honey by cup goes wrong

Honey is a saturated sugar solution: about 80 percent sugar, 17 percent water, and a few percent acids and aromatic compounds. A cup weighs 340 grams — far more than the 200 grams a cup of granulated sugar weighs — because the water-sugar matrix is dense. That density also means honey carries more sweetness per cup than sugar.

Practical tips for working with honey

When substituting honey for sugar in a baked good, use 3/4 cup honey for every 1 cup sugar, reduce other liquids by 1/4 cup per cup of honey used, drop the oven temperature by 25 °F (honey browns faster), and add 1/4 teaspoon baking soda per cup to neutralize the acidity. With those four adjustments, most cake and quick-bread recipes can swap honey for sugar without redesign.

Note from this ingredient's record: Heavier than sugar because it is denser and water-rich. To substitute honey for one cup of sugar, use 3/4 cup honey, drop oven temperature by 25 °F, and reduce other liquids by about 1/4 cup.

Substitutions that work — and what they cost you

  • Honey for granulated sugar

    Ratio: 3/4 cup honey per 1 cup sugar; cut other liquid by 1/4 cup; oven 25 °F lower; add 1/4 teaspoon baking soda

    Trade-off: Works in cakes and quick breads. It will not work where sugar crystals do structural work: meringue, creamed-butter aeration, crisp cookies.

  • Maple syrup for honey

    Ratio: 1:1

    Trade-off: Thinner, less sweet, and it brings its own flavor. Fine in dressings and glazes, noticeable in a delicate cake.

When honey ruins the recipe

What you seeWhat went wrongWhat to do
Cake is dark on top and raw in the middleHoney's fructose browns at a lower temperature than sucrose does.Drop the oven 25 °F and tent the top with foil once it colors.
The jar has turned solid and grainyGlucose crystallizing out of solution — normal, and not spoilage.Stand the jar in 110 °F water until it clears. Do not boil or microwave hard; that drives off the aroma compounds that make it worth buying.

Storing honey

Sealed at room temperature, effectively forever — honey has too little free water for microbes. Refrigeration speeds crystallization, so never store it cold.

Frequently asked

Is honey safe for babies?

No. Honey can contain Clostridium botulinum spores, which an infant gut cannot yet suppress. The CDC and the American Academy of Pediatrics both say no honey — raw, pasteurized, or baked into food — before 12 months. After the first birthday it is fine.

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