Ingredient Weight Converter · flour
Rice Flour: cups to grams
1 cup of rice flour weighs 158 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.
Rice Flour baseline: 1 cup = 158 g.
Common amounts
| Cups | Tablespoons | Grams | Ounces (weight) | Milliliters |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1/4 cup | 4.0 | 40 g | 1.39 oz | 59 mL |
| 1/3 cup | 5.3 | 53 g | 1.86 oz | 79 mL |
| 1/2 cup | 8.0 | 79 g | 2.79 oz | 118 mL |
| 2/3 cup | 10.7 | 105 g | 3.72 oz | 158 mL |
| 3/4 cup | 12.0 | 119 g | 4.18 oz | 177 mL |
| 1 cup | 16.0 | 158 g | 5.57 oz | 237 mL |
| 1.5 cups | 24.0 | 237 g | 8.36 oz | 355 mL |
| 2 cups | 32.0 | 316 g | 11.15 oz | 473 mL |
| 3 cups | 48.0 | 474 g | 16.72 oz | 710 mL |
| 4 cups | 64.0 | 632 g | 22.29 oz | 946 mL |
Spoon weights
Derived from the same 158 g per cup — a US tablespoon is 1/16 of a cup and a teaspoon is 1/48.
| Amount | Grams |
|---|---|
| 1 tablespoon | 9.9 g |
| 1 teaspoon | 3.3 g |
| 1/2 teaspoon | 1.6 g |
| 1/4 teaspoon | 0.82 g |
Rice Flour at a glance
- Gluten
- none; a gluten-free blend needs a binder (about 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum per cup of flour for yeast breads)
- Grit
- Standard rice flour is gritty. Superfine (Asian-market) rice flour is not — it is a different product at the same weight
- Not the same as
- Glutinous / sweet rice flour (mochiko), which is a sticky short-grain starch and behaves nothing like this
What a cup of rice flour actually weighs
The published 158 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 measured | Grams per cup | vs. published | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| White rice flour, spooned and leveled | 158 g | published figure | The published figure. Rice flour is heavy and free-flowing, so handling moves it less than wheat flour. |
| Brown rice flour, spooned | ~165 g | +4% | The bran layer is still in it, adding weight and a faint nuttiness. |
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 rice flour by cup goes wrong
Rice flour is denser than wheat flour because the particles are heavier and pack closer together: a cup weighs roughly 158 grams. White rice flour and brown rice flour are both common in gluten-free baking, with brown being slightly heavier per cup and more nutritionally complete.
Practical tips for working with rice flour
Outside of dedicated gluten-free recipes, rice flour's best home use is dusting a banneton or proofing basket for sourdough. Unlike wheat flour, it doesn't absorb the dough's moisture, so the loaf releases cleanly with a crisp, lightly floured crust pattern. Keep a small jar of it next to your sourdough starter even if you never bake anything gluten-free.
Note from this ingredient's record: Denser than wheat flour and gritty unless very finely milled. Used in gluten-free blends and for dusting banneton baskets because it does not absorb dough moisture.
Substitutions that work — and what they cost you
Rice flour for dusting a banneton
Ratio: 1:1 for wheat flour
Trade-off: Better than wheat for dusting because it does not hydrate into the dough. This is a dusting swap only — not a swap inside the dough.
In a home gluten-free blend
Ratio: 2 parts rice flour : 2/3 part potato starch : 1/3 part tapioca starch
Trade-off: The classic Bette Hagman ratio. It still needs a binder — about 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum per cup for yeast breads, less for cakes.
When rice flour ruins the recipe
| What you see | What went wrong | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Gluten-free cake has a sandy, gritty texture | Coarse rice flour that never fully hydrated during the short mix. | Use superfine rice flour, or let the batter rest 30 minutes before baking so the starch takes up water. |
Storing rice flour
White rice flour keeps a year or more sealed at room temperature — no germ, no oil. Brown rice flour goes rancid like whole wheat; refrigerate or freeze it.
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