How many grams are in a cup of peanut butter?

Peanut butter cups to grams: quick conversion table

These are Cupstograms' approximate weights for peanut butter, rounded to the nearest gram.

For example, if an American cookie recipe asks for ½ cup peanut butter, weigh out 135g. If it asks for 1½ cups, use 405g.

These are weights for peanut butter itself, not whole peanuts, peanut flour or a peanut butter-flavoured filling.

If the recipe already gives a gram weight, use the recipe author's figure rather than converting it again.

Why do some charts say 256g or 264g instead of 270g?

Because a cup measures volume, and peanut butter doesn't have one universal weight per cup.

Cupstograms uses the King Arthur Baking reference, but the serving information on individual jars can suggest different figures.

A US cup contains 16 US tablespoons, so the two jar-label figures have been multiplied by eight. Those are indicative comparisons from labelled serving amounts, not exact measurements of a full cup. Serving weights may be rounded, and products differ.

That explains why you might see a website recommend something closer to 260g and another say 270g. It doesn't mean either chart is necessarily describing your particular jar.

For consistency, our calculator stays at 270g per US cup. If you're using a recipe from a publisher with its own ingredient-weight chart, follow that publisher's figures. And if your recipe gives both cups and grams, the recipe's grams take priority.

How do I measure peanut butter without an American cup?

Use kitchen scales. It's quicker and there's far less washing-up.

If your peanut butter has a layer of oil on top, stir it back in thoroughly first, so you're measuring the mixture as intended.

Then:

1. Put your mixing bowl on the scales.
2. Press the tare or zero button.
3. Spoon in the required weight of peanut butter — 135g for half a US cup or 270g for a full cup.
4. Scrape any peanut butter still on the spoon into the bowl.

If you only have US measuring cups, spoon the peanut butter into the cup, ease it into the corners so there aren't obvious gaps, then level the top. Scrape it all out into your mixture.

You don't need to press it down as though you're packing brown sugar. Above all, avoid estimating the quantity from a heaped spoonful when the recipe calls for a cup.

What if the recipe asks for tablespoons of peanut butter?

On our 270g-per-cup reference, one level US tablespoon works out at approximately 17g, and two US tablespoons work out at approximately 34g.

That's a useful small-quantity estimate, but remember the jars in the comparison table: their labelled two-tablespoon servings are 32g and 33g.

If you're following a recipe with a specified gram amount, use that amount. For a tablespoon or two in a sauce, measuring with the spoon specified by the recipe may be perfectly practical.

Does smooth or crunchy peanut butter make a difference?

Choose the type your recipe asks for. Smooth peanut butter blends into batters and sauces more evenly, while crunchy peanut butter adds pieces of peanut.

Our 270g reference is a general peanut-butter conversion. We haven't established a separate cup weight for every smooth, crunchy, natural or sweetened product.

Some natural peanut butters separate into oil and solids while they're stored. Stir the jar well before measuring, rather than scooping mostly oil from the top or a very stiff layer from the bottom.

And don't assume every type will behave the same in baking. A cookie recipe designed for a thick, no-stir peanut butter may turn out differently with a runnier natural variety. Check the recipe's advice before switching.

For everyday cooking, the important thing is to start with the right amount and the right type of peanut butter, rather than chasing an apparently exact number from a generic chart.

Is a US cup the same as a 250ml UK measuring cup?

No. A standard US recipe cup is about 237ml, while some metric measuring cups hold 250ml.

That's a difference in volume. It doesn't mean one cup of peanut butter weighs 237g or 250g.

Peanut butter is denser than water, which is why our US-cup reference weighs 270g.

If an American recipe asks for a cup of peanut butter and your only cup is marked 250ml, the simplest solution is to skip that cup and weigh 270g instead.

Where our figures come from

Our 270g per US cup reference is based on King Arthur Baking's ingredient weight chart (opens in a new tab), which gives 135g for half a cup of peanut butter.

For the comparison of other published weights, we checked the official product information for Jif Creamy Peanut Butter (opens in a new tab) and Smucker's Natural Creamy Peanut Butter (opens in a new tab). Their labelled two-tablespoon serving weights are 33g and 32g respectively.

For practical use and different varieties, BBC Good Food's homemade peanut butter guide (opens in a new tab) explains stirring separated natural oils back in. Its peanut butter cookie recipe (opens in a new tab) also illustrates a UK recipe written in grams that permits smooth or crunchy peanut butter.

To convert another quantity, open our Cups to Grams converter and select Peanut butter.

In short: one US cup of peanut butter is about 270g in Cupstograms, and half a cup is 135g. Weigh it if you can, stir separated natural peanut butter first, and use your recipe's own gram weight when it supplies one.