How to measure and convert butter
The way butter is measured varies between countries. Butter is often measured by volume in Canadian recipes, by sticks in the United States, and by weight in European and British recipes.
Here are the equivalents of some common weights and volumes:
Butter Conversion Chart (Volume/Weight/Sticks)
| Butter by block size | Butter by cups | Butter by tablespoon | Butter by volume | Butter by weight | Quantity in sticks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 whole block of butter | 2 cups of butter | 32 tbsp of butter | 500 mL of butter | 1 lb (16 oz) / 454 g | 4 sticks of butter |
| 3/4 block of butter | 1 1/2 cups of butter | 24 tbsp of butter | 375 mL of butter | 4/5 lb (12.69 oz) / 359 g | 3 sticks of butter |
| 1/2 block of butter | 1 cup of butter | 16 tbsp of butter | 250 mL of butter | 1/2 lb (8 oz) / 227 g | 2 sticks of butter |
| 3/8 block of butter | 3/4 cup of butter | 12 tbsp of butter | 177 mL of butter | 3/8 lb (6 oz) / 170 g | 1 + 1/2 sticks of butter |
| 1/3 block of butter | 2/3 cup of butter | 10 tbsp + 2 tsp of butter | 160 mL of butter | 1/3 lb (5.33 oz) / 151 g | 1 + 1/3 sticks of butter |
| 1/4 block of butter | 1/2 cup of butter | 8 tbsp of butter | 125 mL of butter | 1/4 lb (4 oz) / 115 g | 1 stick of butter |
| 1/5 block of butter | 3/8 cup of butter | 6 tbsp of butter | 88 mL of butter | 9/50 lb (2.84 oz) / 80 g | 3/4 stick of butter |
| 1/6 block of butter | 1/3 cup of butter | 5 tbsp + 1 tsp of butter | 80 mL of butter | 1/6 lb (2.67 oz) / 76 g | 2/3 stick of butter |
| 1/8 block of butter | 1/4 cup of butter | 4 tbsp of butter | 60 mL of butter | 1/8 lb (2 oz) / 58 g | 1/2 stick of butter |
| 1/16 block of butter | 1/8 cup (2 tbsp) of butter | 3 tbsp of butter | 30 mL of butter | 1/16 lb (1 oz) / 28 g | 1/4 stick of butter |
| 1/32 block of butter | 1 tbsp of butter | 1 tbsp + 3 tsp of butter | 15 mL of butter | 1/32 lb (1/2 oz) / 14 g | 1/8 stick of butter |
Popular Butter Conversions
Converting cups of butter in grams
- 1 cup butter in grams? Is 227 grams of butter
- 3/4 cup butter to grams? Is 170 grams of butter
- 1/2 cup butter in grams? Is 115 grams of butter
- 1/4 cup butter in grams? Is 58 grams of butter
Converting tbsp of butter to cups
- 12 tbsp butter to cups? Is 3/4 cup of butter
- 8 tbsp butter to cups? Is 1/4 cup of butter
- 6 tbsp butter to cups? Is 3/8 cup of butter
Converting sticks of butter in cups
- 1 stick of butter to cups? Is 1/2 cup of butter
- 1/2 stick of butter to cups? Is 1/4 cup of butter
How to measure butter in blocks
Measure butter using the lines on the wrapper
Most foil-wrapped butter has measurements printed on the side showing ½ cup, ¼ cup, and other commonly used volumes. Slice the block with a knife at these intervals as a handy measuring shortcut.
Measure butter using a ruler
No measurements on the butter wrapper? No problem! You can use a ruler, as long as the butter block shape is still intact. Keeping in mind that a whole brick of butter is 2 cups (500 mL), you can measure and convert it based on the chart above.
Mark up the butter
Knowing you will eventually remove all the wrapping on the butter, another trick is to pre-mark the measurement lines. When you first open a new brick of butter, gently score the top into ¼-cup measurements (there will be 8 on a new brick) so you can see the remaining marks even after cutting off portions of butter as you use it.
How to measure softened butter
How to measure softened butter in a measuring cup
When butter is soft, use a firm rubber spatula to push butter into a dry, nesting-style measuring cup or measuring spoon, being sure to expel any air, then level off the top with the flat side of a knife or spatula.
How to measure irregularly shaped butter
When you need to measure hard butter that is in irregularly shaped pieces, you can either measure it by weight, or you can use the water displacement method.
Measure butter using the water displacement method
- Fill a 2-cup (500 mL) liquid measuring cup (the kind with a spout, handle and graduated measures marked on the side) with water to the 1 cup (250 mL) mark.
- Add the butter to the cup, making sure it is fully submerged.
- Observe the new volume of water in the measuring cup, and subtract 1 cup. This will tell you the amount of butter you have, by volume (cups or MLs).
- Retrieve the butter and pat it dry.
