One ounce of molasses is 0.084123214 cups, so converting ounces of molasses to cups means multiplying by 0.084123214. That factor is specific to this ingredient — it comes from its density, not from any relationship between the two units.
Water is the yardstick: 1 mL of it weighs 1 g. Molasses comes in at 1.4244 g per mL, or 142.4% of water, which is why a cup of it is 337 g rather than 236.6 g. Volume and weight only line up for water, and only in metric.
A cup of molasses is 337 g when it is measured the standard way, but how it gets into the cup changes the answer: between about 335.3 g and 340.4 g covers the range from lightly spooned to firmly packed. That 1% spread is larger than most of the adjustments recipes fuss over, and it disappears entirely the moment the ingredient is weighed instead.
One cup of molasses is 11.89 oz. US kitchen scales usually step in eighths of an ounce, which is 3.54 g — around 1.05% of a cup of this ingredient, so the scale is precise enough for a full cup and coarse for a spoonful. That is why recipes mix the two systems: ounces for the bulk, spoons for the small amounts.
What the number depends on: What is left after sugar crystallises out, so almost all of its weight is dissolved solids.
The formula
ounces- The amount of molasses you are converting, in ounces
0.0841232140208- Cups per ounce for molasses, from its density of 1.4244 g/mL
cups- The equivalent quantity in cups
How it works, step by step
- Enter the quantity in ounces.
- It is multiplied by 0.0841232140208, the cups-per-ounce figure for molasses.
- The result appears in cups, with a second reading in tbsp beneath it.
- Use the measure table if you want a standard recipe quantity rather than a number you type in.
Worked examples
2 oz of molasses in cups
2 oz of molasses weighs out at 0.168246 cups. Divide 0.168246 by 0.084123214 and you get back to 2 oz, which is the quickest check that the factor is the right way up.
4 oz of molasses in cups
A recipe calling for 4 oz of molasses needs 0.336493 cups on the scale. The arithmetic is 4 × 0.084123214 = 0.33649286, and halving the recipe halves the weight to 0.168246 cups.
12 oz of molasses in cups
Take 12 oz of molasses: 12 × 0.084123214 gives 1.00948 cups. Doubling the batch takes it to 2.01896 cups, because the relationship is a straight proportion once the density is known.
How to read your score
Frequently asked questions
How many cups are in 1 oz of molasses?
One ounce of molasses is 0.084123214 cups. Half that quantity is 0.0420616 cups and double it is 0.168246 cups, so the figure scales straight up and down — there is no offset in this conversion, only the factor.
Why is a cup of molasses not 236 g like water?
Because weight per cup depends on what is in the cup. Molasses has a density of 1.4244 g per mL where water has 1.00, so a cup of it weighs 337 g rather than 236.6 g. That is a difference of 100.4 g per cup, and it is the reason a single volume-to-weight factor cannot be applied to every ingredient.
Does how I measure it change the weight?
Barely. Molasses does not compress, so a cup of it is 337 g however it is poured — within about 1%, which is inside the accuracy of a domestic scale. This is the group where measuring by volume is defensible.
Is a fluid ounce of molasses the same as an ounce?
No. A fluid ounce is a volume — one eighth of a US cup, 29.57 mL — and an ounce is a weight. One fluid ounce of molasses weighs 1.486 oz, so the two readings differ by 48.6%. They coincide only for something with the density of water, and then only roughly.
Is this a US cup or a metric cup?
US customary: 236.59 mL, which is the cup every US recipe means. A metric cup is 250 mL, so the same cup of molasses would weigh 356.1 g instead of 337 g — 19.1 g more, or 5.67%. Australian and some European recipes use the metric cup, and the difference is large enough to matter in baking.
Do I need a scale for this, or will measuring cups do?
A scale, if the result matters. Volume measuring carries a spread of about 1% for molasses — roughly 3.37 g on a 337 g cup — while a domestic scale is accurate to a gram or two. For anything where the ratio of ingredients drives the outcome, bread and pastry above all, weigh it.
How much does 2 cup of molasses weigh?
2 cup of molasses comes to 674 g, or 23.775 ounces. This page runs that calculation in reverse — enter a weight and it returns the volume — and the cups-to-ounces page does it in the direction the question is usually asked.
Molasses in ounces and cups
| Ounces | Cups | Unrounded |
|---|---|---|
| 1/2 oz | 0.0420616 cup | 0.04206160701 |
| 1 oz | 0.0841232 cup | 0.08412321402 |
| 2 oz | 0.168246 cup | 0.168246428 |
| 3 oz | 0.25237 cup | 0.2523696421 |
| 4 oz | 0.336493 cup | 0.3364928561 |
| 6 oz | 0.504739 cup | 0.5047392841 |
| 8 oz | 0.672986 cup | 0.6729857122 |
| 12 oz | 1.00948 cup | 1.009478568 |
| 16 oz | 1.34597 cup | 1.345971424 |
Based on 337 g per cup of molasses. One ounce of molasses is 0.084123214 cups.
| Measure | Grams | Ounces | Millilitres |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 cup | 337 g | 11.9 oz | 236.6 mL |
| 3/4 cup | 252.8 g | 8.92 oz | 177.4 mL |
| 2/3 cup | 224.7 g | 7.92 oz | 157.7 mL |
| 1/2 cup | 168.5 g | 5.94 oz | 118.3 mL |
| 1/3 cup | 112.3 g | 3.96 oz | 78.86 mL |
| 1/4 cup | 84.25 g | 2.97 oz | 59.15 mL |
| 1 tbsp | 21.06 g | 0.743 oz | 14.79 mL |
| 1 tsp | 7.021 g | 0.248 oz | 4.929 mL |
US customary measures: 1 cup = 236.59 mL, 1 tbsp = 14.79 mL, 1 tsp = 4.93 mL.
| Ingredient | Grams per cup | Ounces per cup | Density (g/mL) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Peanut butter | 258 g | 9.101 oz | 1.091 |
| Sweetened condensed milk | 306 g | 10.79 oz | 1.293 |
| Maple syrup | 322 g | 11.36 oz | 1.361 |
| Corn syrup | 328 g | 11.57 oz | 1.386 |
| Agave nectar | 331 g | 11.68 oz | 1.399 |
| Molasses (this page) | 337 g | 11.89 oz | 1.424 |
| Honey | 340 g | 11.99 oz | 1.437 |
Ordered by weight. The spread across this group is why a single generic cups-to-grams factor cannot work.