Butter converter
US butter comes in sticks. The rest of the world weighs butter in grams or buys it in a block. This tool changes between all the units so you can follow any recipe, US or not.
US stick butter: 1 stick = 1/2 cup = 8 tbsp = 113 g (4 oz).
Butter amounts you will see in recipes
The most common butter amounts and what they mean:
- 1 stick = 1/2 cup = 8 tablespoons = 113 g = 4 oz
- 2 sticks = 1 cup = 16 tablespoons = 227 g = 8 oz
- 1/2 stick = 1/4 cup = 4 tablespoons = 57 g = 2 oz
- 1/4 stick = 2 tablespoons = 28 g = 1 oz
- 1 tablespoon = 14 g
- 1 teaspoon = 4.7 g
- 100 g = about 7 tablespoons
- 1 pound = 4 sticks = 2 cups = 454 g
- 1 kilogram = about 8.8 sticks
How butter math works
Butter is dense and packs cleanly, so the math is simple. Every unit ties back to the stick.
1 US stick is 1/2 cup by volume. By weight, it is 113 grams or 4 ounces. There are 8 tablespoons in a stick. From those facts you can derive the rest.
When the small differences matter
US sticks are 113 grams. European butter blocks are 250 grams. Irish butter is sometimes sold in 227 gram or 8 ounce blocks. Always weigh by grams if you bought it outside the US.
Stick wrappers print the tablespoon marks, but the marks can drift if the stick has warmed and re-frozen. For baking, weigh on a scale.
Cup measurements for butter are messy. Pressing soft butter into a cup leaves air pockets and the cup ends up under-filled by 5 to 10 percent. Stick wrappers or grams are more reliable.
European and other butter
European butter blocks are usually 250 grams, sometimes 200. Irish butter blocks are 227 grams (same as 2 US sticks). New Zealand and Australian blocks are 250 or 500 grams. Indian ghee comes in jars by weight. None of them use sticks. If your recipe is from a US source and you have a metric block, weigh out the grams.
Common butter conversion mistakes
- Measuring butter by cup when you have a stick wrapper that already prints tablespoons. The wrapper is more accurate.
- Treating European 250 gram blocks as 1 US cup. A US cup is 227 grams. A 250 gram block is closer to 1.1 cups.
- Using softened butter in a cup. Soft butter leaves air pockets and under-measures. Use sticks, tablespoons, or weight when butter is soft.
- Forgetting that recipe "butter" defaults to unsalted in most baking. Salted butter changes the salt amount in the recipe.
FAQ
- How many tablespoons in a stick of butter?
- 1 US stick of butter is 8 tablespoons. The stick wrapper usually has tablespoon marks printed on it.
- How many grams is 1 stick of butter?
- 1 US stick of butter is 113 grams (about 4 ounces). Two sticks make 227 grams.
- How much butter is 1 cup?
- 1 cup of butter is 2 US sticks, which is 16 tablespoons or 227 grams.
- I have a 250 gram European butter block. How much is that?
- 250 grams of butter is about 1.1 US cups, or 2 and 1/5 sticks. In tablespoons, that is 17.6 tablespoons. For most recipes, treat it as 2 sticks plus 1 to 2 extra tablespoons.
- How many sticks of butter in a pound?
- 1 US pound of butter is 4 sticks. That is 2 cups, 32 tablespoons, or 454 grams.
Related tools
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Why a stick is 113 grams
US stick butter started in the 1900s. The factories chose a quarter-pound stick: 4 ounces. In metric, that is 113.398 grams. Two sticks make a half-pound (227 grams). Four sticks make a pound (454 grams).
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