Vegetable Shortening: Cups to Grams
One US cup (240 ml) of vegetable shortening weighs about 205 grams, based on its typical kitchen density. Convert any amount below, or use the reference table for common cup fractions.
1 cup=205 g
Based on vegetable shortening at 205 g per US cup.
Vegetable Shortening conversion table
| Cups | Grams | Millilitres | Tablespoons | Ounces |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1/4 cup | 51.3 g | 60 ml | 4 tbsp | 1.81 oz |
| 1/3 cup | 68.3 g | 80 ml | 5.33 tbsp | 2.41 oz |
| 1/2 cup | 103 g | 120 ml | 8 tbsp | 3.62 oz |
| 2/3 cup | 137 g | 160 ml | 10.7 tbsp | 4.82 oz |
| 3/4 cup | 154 g | 180 ml | 12 tbsp | 5.42 oz |
| 1 cup | 205 g | 240 ml | 16 tbsp | 7.23 oz |
| 1 1/2 cups | 308 g | 360 ml | 24 tbsp | 10.8 oz |
| 2 cups | 410 g | 480 ml | 32 tbsp | 14.5 oz |
| 2 1/2 cups | 513 g | 600 ml | 40 tbsp | 18.1 oz |
| 3 cups | 615 g | 720 ml | 48 tbsp | 21.7 oz |
In grams, 1/4 cup of vegetable shortening is about 51 g, 1/3 cup is about 68 g, 1/2 cup is about 103 g, 2/3 cup is about 137 g, 3/4 cup is about 154 g, 1 cup is about 205 g, 1 1/2 cups is about 308 g, 2 cups is about 410 g and 3 cups is about 615 g.
A tablespoon of vegetable shortening is about 12.8 grams, and a teaspoon is about 4.3 grams.
About measuring vegetable shortening
Vegetable shortening is a solid fat with air worked into it, which is exactly why measuring it by cup is unreliable: one US cup is about 205 grams, but that depends entirely on how firmly you press it in. Shortening is also the one fat where the old water displacement trick still earns its keep. Because it is essentially all fat with no water, it behaves differently from butter in pastry, producing a shorter, more tender crumb and a higher rise in biscuits, so swapping the two gram for gram changes both texture and the moisture balance of the dough.
Press shortening firmly into the cup with a spatula to drive out air pockets, or better, weigh it straight into the bowl.
How many grams is a cup of vegetable shortening?
One US cup (240 ml) of vegetable shortening weighs about 205 grams. Because a cup measures volume rather than weight, that figure is specific to vegetable shortening 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 vegetable shortening is about 51 grams
- 1/3 cup of vegetable shortening is about 68 grams
- 1/2 cup of vegetable shortening is about 103 grams
- 2/3 cup of vegetable shortening is about 137 grams
- 3/4 cup of vegetable shortening is about 154 grams
- 1 1/2 cups of vegetable shortening is about 308 grams
- 2 cups of vegetable shortening is about 410 grams
- 3 cups of vegetable shortening is about 615 grams
Working the other way round, 100 grams of vegetable shortening is about 0.488 cups, and 500 grams is about 2.44 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 vegetable shortening comes to about 214 grams, and the old British imperial cup of 284.1 ml holds about 243 grams. See cup sizes by country for every standard side by side.
Frequently asked questions
How many grams is 1 cup of shortening?
About 205 grams for a US cup, packed. Because shortening traps air, loosely spooned shortening can come in well under that, which is why weighing is more reliable here than for most fats.
Can I substitute butter for shortening by weight?
Not directly. Butter carries a meaningful amount of water while shortening does not, so swapping gram for gram adds water to the dough and makes pastry less tender. Recipes that call for shortening in pastry are relying on that difference.
How do I measure shortening without a scale?
Use water displacement: put a known volume of cold water in a measuring jug, spoon in shortening until the level rises by the amount you need, then pour the water off. It is fiddly, but it beats guessing how hard you packed the cup.
Where this figure comes from
The 205 grams per US cup used on this page was checked against USDA FoodData Central portion weights. Published figures for the same ingredient still vary a little between references, because how an ingredient is packed changes its weight. Treat any cup figure as accurate to within a few percent and weigh on a scale when a recipe is sensitive.