Cocoa Powder: Cups to Grams
One US cup (240 ml) of cocoa powder weighs about 85 grams, based on its typical kitchen density. Convert any amount below, or use the reference table for common cup fractions.
85 g
1 cups of cocoa powder, us legal cup
1 cup cocoa powder = 85 g (cupsngrams.com)
Based on cocoa powder at 85 g per US cup.
Cup standard: US legal cup (240 ml)
Baking from a UK, Australian or New Zealand recipe? Their cup is not the American one. Pick the standard your recipe assumes and every cup figure above follows it.
Cocoa Powder conversion table
| Cups | Grams | Millilitres | Tablespoons | Ounces (weight) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1/4 cup | 21.3 g | 60 ml | 4 tbsp | 0.75 oz |
| 1/3 cup | 28.3 g | 80 ml | 5.33 tbsp | 0.999 oz |
| 1/2 cup | 42.5 g | 120 ml | 8 tbsp | 1.5 oz |
| 2/3 cup | 56.7 g | 160 ml | 10.7 tbsp | 2 oz |
| 3/4 cup | 63.8 g | 180 ml | 12 tbsp | 2.25 oz |
| 1 cup | 85 g | 240 ml | 16 tbsp | 3 oz |
| 1 1/2 cups | 128 g | 360 ml | 24 tbsp | 4.5 oz |
| 2 cups | 170 g | 480 ml | 32 tbsp | 6 oz |
| 2 1/2 cups | 213 g | 600 ml | 40 tbsp | 7.5 oz |
| 3 cups | 255 g | 720 ml | 48 tbsp | 8.99 oz |
Ounces here are ounces of weight (1 oz = 28.35 g), not fluid ounces. One US cup is 8 fluid ounces of volume whatever is in it, but what it weighs in ounces depends on the ingredient: a cup of cocoa powder weighs about 3 oz. Why these two are not the same.
In grams, 1/4 cup of cocoa powder is about 21 g, 1/3 cup is about 28 g, 1/2 cup is about 43 g, 2/3 cup is about 57 g, 3/4 cup is about 64 g, 1 cup is about 85 g, 1 1/2 cups is about 128 g, 2 cups is about 170 g and 3 cups is about 255 g.
A tablespoon of cocoa powder is about 5.3 grams, and a teaspoon is about 1.8 grams.
About measuring cocoa powder
Unsweetened cocoa powder is light, fine and prone to clumping, so a cup holds only about 85 grams. Like flour, the way you fill the cup swings the weight a lot, and a packed cup can carry far more cocoa than a sifted one. Since cocoa is intensely flavoured and slightly acidic, getting the amount right matters for both taste and how your bake rises. Sift it to break up lumps, then weigh for a truly reliable measure.
Sift cocoa before measuring. It clumps like flour, so a scooped cup varies a great deal.
How many grams is a cup of cocoa powder?
One US cup (240 ml) of cocoa powder weighs about 85 grams. Because a cup measures volume rather than weight, that figure is specific to cocoa powder and does not transfer to any other ingredient: the same cup holds 125 grams of all-purpose flour and 340 grams of honey.
- 1/4 cup of cocoa powder is about 21 grams
- 1/3 cup of cocoa powder is about 28 grams
- 1/2 cup of cocoa powder is about 43 grams
- 2/3 cup of cocoa powder is about 57 grams
- 3/4 cup of cocoa powder is about 64 grams
- 1 1/2 cups of cocoa powder is about 128 grams
- 2 cups of cocoa powder is about 170 grams
- 3 cups of cocoa powder is about 255 grams
Working the other way round, 100 grams of cocoa powder is about 1.18 cups, and 500 grams is about 5.88 cups.
Does it matter which cup my recipe means?
It does, though less than the ingredient itself. This page uses the US legal cup of 240 ml. An Australian metric cup is 250 ml, so a metric cup of cocoa powder comes to about 89 grams, and the old British imperial cup of 284.1 ml holds about 101 grams. See cup sizes by country for every standard side by side.
Frequently asked questions
How many grams is 1 cup of cocoa powder?
One US cup of unsweetened cocoa powder is about 85 grams. It is light and airy, so it weighs much less than sugar for the same volume.
Is Dutch process cocoa a different weight?
The weight per cup is essentially the same. Dutch process cocoa is treated to reduce acidity, but its density is close to natural cocoa at around 85 grams per cup.
Why does cocoa need sifting before measuring?
Cocoa clumps as it sits, so a scooped cup traps lumps and air unevenly. Sifting and then weighing to 85 grams gives a far more consistent amount.
Where this figure comes from
We have not yet found a published reference that states a weight for a cup of cocoa powder. The 85 grams on this page follows the calibration the rest of the site is built on, with butter at 227 grams per cup, water at 240, all-purpose flour at 125 and granulated sugar at 200. Treat it as a good working figure rather than a cited one. If you have a better source, tell us and we will check it and credit you.
Published figures for the same ingredient vary between references anyway, because how an ingredient is packed changes what a cup of it weighs. Treat any cup figure as accurate to within a few percent, and weigh on a scale when a recipe is sensitive. Our full approach is on the methodology page.
Figures last verified . Compiled by the CupsToGrams editorial team at FusionStudios. Spotted a value that looks off? Tell us.