When converting recipes, units, and measurements, one of the most frequently asked questions is how many cups are in a pound. This article will answer this question with ease.
Knowing how many cups in a pound can help you come up with the perfect recipe when cooking and baking.
Once you visit a supermarket, you will find that the labels on food items use pounds. But with recipes that call for cups, it can be confusing!
So this post will help clear things up.
Jump to:- What is a pound?
- How to convert cups to pounds and vice versa
- How many cups in a pound of flour
- How many cups in a pound of sugar
- How many cups in a pound of fat
- How many cups in a pound of water
- Which cup you should use
- Other baking conversions
- Conclusion
- FAQ
- Comments
What is a pound?
Pound (abbreviated as lb, lbs, lbm, or #) is a measure of weight in the United States that is equal to 16 ounces or 0.45359237 kilograms.
But there are two types of pound: the Troy pound of the United Kingdom and the avoirdupois pound of the United States.
1 US (avoirdupois) pound = 1.91 cups
1 UK/imperial (Troy) pound = 0.66 cups
Here is a simple conversion table from pounds to cups and vice-versa.
US poundCupsUK poundCups1 lb1.91 cups1 lb1.32 cups2 lb3.82 cups2 lb2.64 cups3 lb5.73 cups3 lb3.3 cups4 lb7.64 cups4 lb3.96 cups5 lb9.55 cups5 lv4.62 cupsHow to convert cups to pounds and vice versa
Let's start from the basics to calculate how many cups are in a pound. The one-pound to 2 cups conversion is mainly used for cooking and baking purposes.
One pound equals two cups.
1 cup equals ½ pound,
or 1 c = ½ lb.
Let's make an example: how many pounds are 5 cups?
If 1 cup = ½ pound, we should first multiply five (the number of cups) by ½ (coefficient):
5 x ½ = 2.5
The answer: 5 cups make 2.5 pounds.
Note: Use the formula when working with liquid-to-pound conversions.
But the food items have different densities. So the actual volume of a pound varies depending on the density of the ingredient.
To convert pounds to cups (lbs to cups), you should divide the weight multiplied by 1.917223 by the density of the ingredient:
cups = pounds × 1.917223/ingredient density
To convert cups to pounds (cups to lbs), you should divide the volume multiplied by the density of the ingredient by 1.917223:
pounds = cups × ingredient density/1.917223
Let's look at how many cups of wet and dry ingredients are in a pound.
How many cups in a pound of flour
It is not simple to get the number of cups in one pound, as it depends on the type of flour you use.
Pounds to cups for all-purpose flour
PoundsCups½ lb1.81 cups1 lb3.62 cups2 lb7.25 cups3 lb10.87 cups4 lb14.5 cups5 lb18.12 cupssPounds to cups for bread flour
PoundsCups½ lb1.74 cups1 lb3.49 cups2 lb6.97 cups3 lb10.46 cups4 lb13.94 cups5 lb17.43 cupsPounds to cups for cake flour
PoundsCups½ lb1.99 cups1 lb3.98 cups2 lb7.96 cups3 lb11.93 cups4 lb15.91 cups5 lb19.89 cupsPounds to cups for self-raising flour
PoundsCups½ lb1.81 cups1 lb3.63 cups2 lb7.26 cups3 lb10.89 cups4 lb14.51 cups5 lb18.14 cupsPounds to cups for whole wheat flour
PoundsCups½ lb1.75 cups1 lb3.5 cups2 lb7 cups3 lb10.5 cups4 lb14 cups5 lb17.5 cupsPounds to cups for pastry flour
PoundsCups½ lb2.1 cups1 lb4.2 cups2 lb8.4 cups3 lb12.6 cups4 lb16.8 cups5 lb21 cupsPounds to cups for buckwheat flour
PoundsCups½ lb1.89 cups1 lb3.78 cups2 lb7.56 cups3 lb11.34 cups4 lb15.12 cups5 lb18.9 cupsPounds to cups for gluten-free flour
PoundsCups½ lb1.86 cups1 lb3.72 cups2 lb7.44 cups3 lb11.15 cups4 lb14.87 cups5 lb18.59 cupsSo, let's break it down:
- 1 pound of all-purpose flour equals 3.62 cups.
- 1 pound of bread flour equals 3.49 cups.
- 1 pound of cake flour equals 3.98 cups.
- 1 pound of self-raising flour equals 3.63 cups.
- 1 pound of whole wheat flour equals 3.5 cups.
- 1 pound of pastry flour equals 4.2 cups.
- 1 pound of buckwheat flour equals 3.78 cups.
- 1 pound of gluten-free flour equals 3.72 cups.
How many cups in a pound of sugar
A pound of different types of sugar is variably expressed using cups.
Pounds to cups for granulated sugar
PoundsCups½ lb1.13 cups1 lb2.27 cups2 lb4.54 cups3 lb6.8 cups4 lb9.07 cups5 lb11.34 cupsPounds to cups for caster sugar
PoundsCups½ lb1.01 cups1 lb2.02 cups2 lb4.03 cups3 lb6.05 cups4 lb8.06 cups5 lb10.08 cupsPounds to cups for brown sugar
PoundsCups½ lb1.13 cups1 lb2.27 cups2 lb4.54 cups3 lb6.8 cups4 lb9.07 cups5 lb11.34 cupsPounds to cups for powdered sugar
PoundsCups½ lb1.81 cups1 lb3.63 cups2 lb7.26 cups3 lb10.89 cups4 lb14.51 cups5 lb18.14 cupsSo, let's break it down:
- 1 pound of granulated sugar equals 2.27 cups.
- 1 pound of caster equals 2.02 cups.
- 1 pound of brown sugar equals 2.27 cups.
- 1 pound of powdered sugar equals 3.63 cups.
How many cups in a pound of fat
Pounds to cups for butter
When butter is standardized, it's always a pound for every two cups, regardless of brand.
PoundsCups½ lb1 cups1 lb2 cups2 lb4 cups3 lb6 cups4 lb8 cups5 lb10 cupsPounds to cups for margarine
PoundsCups½ lb1.05 cups1 lb2.09 cups2 lb4.18 cups3 lb6.27 cups4 lb8.36 cups5 lb10.45 cupsPounds to cups for virgin olive oil
PoundsCups½ lb1.03 cups1 lb2.07 cups2 lb4.13 cups3 lb6.2 cups4 lb8.26 cups5 lb10.33 cupsSo, let's break it down:
- 1 pound of butter equals 2 cups.
- 1 pound of margarine equals 2.09 cups.
- 1 pound of virgin olive oil equals 2.07 cups.
How many cups in a pound of water
PoundsCups½ lb0.96 cups1 lb1.92 cups2 lb3.83 cups3 lb5.75 cups4 lb7.67 cups5 lb9.59 cupsSo, 1 pound of water equals 1.92 cups.
Which cup you should use
The cup is a US customary unit of volume equal to 16 tablespoons or 8 fluid ounces.
In America, there are two main sizes of cups: the US customary cup used in recipes and the US legal cup used in nutrition labeling.
1 US customary cup = 236.588 mL
1 US legal cup = 240 mL
There is the metric cup in the UK and the rest of the Commonwealth.
1 international (metric) cup = 250 mL
However, if you use a recipe from an old British cookbook, it probably uses an imperial cup.
1 imperial cup = 284.131 mL
If you follow the US recipes, please, invest in a set of measuring cups and spoons to measure ingredients.
But a good kitchen scale will always give precise measurements and predictable results in baking.
Other baking conversions
To convert between other measurement units such as grams, pints, quarts, gallons, tablespoons, teaspoons, and more, visit Baking Conversion Charts.
You will find individual converters from cups to grams, grams to cups, cups to pints, etc.
- How Many Cups In A Pint
- How Many Cups In A Quart
- How Many Cups In A Gallon
- How Many Milliliters In A Teaspoon
- How Many Milliliters In A Tablespoon
Conclusion
Now it is clear that each ingredient has its measuring cup value. So despite the standard system conversion where one pound equals 2 cups, different ingredients have different pound to cups measurements.
What's next? Now, take a chance to learn the baking basics and measurements by signing up for a 30-day E-course.
How many cups are in a 1 pound bag of sugar?
How many cups is in 1 box of brown sugar?
Domino® Sugar Package Requirements (approximate) | ||
Domino® Brown Sugar | ||
1 lb | = | approximately 2 1/3 cups** |
2 lbs | = | approximately 4 2/3 cups** |
4 lbs | = | 10 cups** |