To convert grams of sour cream into cups, multiply by 0.0041666667: one gram comes to 0.0041666667 cups. Every ingredient has its own figure here, because the units are measuring different things and only the density links them.
The density behind that figure is 1.0144 g per mL, against 1.00 for water. A cup of water weighs 236.6 g and a cup of sour cream weighs 240 g, so this ingredient is 101.4% as heavy as the same volume of water — the single fact the whole page rests on.
A cup of sour cream is 240 g when it is measured the standard way, but how it gets into the cup changes the answer: between about 238.8 g and 242.4 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.
Grams are the unit this conversion is really for. A domestic scale resolves to a gram, which is 0.417% of a cup of sour cream, so weighing gets an accuracy no measuring cup can reach. A 500 g pack of it is 2.083 cups, and a 1 kg pack 4.167.
How the figure is arrived at: Thick enough that it has to be spooned and levelled, which is where the measuring error creeps in.
The formula
grams- The amount of sour cream you are converting, in grams
0.00416666666667- Cups per gram for sour cream, from its density of 1.0144 g/mL
cups- The equivalent quantity in cups
How it works, step by step
- Enter the quantity in grams.
- It is multiplied by 0.00416666666667, the cups-per-gram figure for sour cream.
- 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
50 g of sour cream in cups
50 g of sour cream weighs out at 0.208333 cups. Divide 0.208333 by 0.0041666667 and you get back to 50 g, which is the quickest check that the factor is the right way up.
150 g of sour cream in cups
A recipe calling for 150 g of sour cream needs 0.625 cups on the scale. The arithmetic is 150 × 0.0041666667 = 0.625, and halving the recipe halves the weight to 0.3125 cups.
500 g of sour cream in cups
500 g of sour cream weighs out at 2.08333 cups. Divide 2.08333 by 0.0041666667 and you get back to 500 g, which is the quickest check that the factor is the right way up.
How to read your score
Frequently asked questions
How many cups are in 1 g of sour cream?
One gram of sour cream is 0.0041666667 cups. Half that quantity is 0.00208333 cups and double it is 0.00833333 cups, so the figure scales straight up and down — there is no offset in this conversion, only the factor.
Why is a cup of sour cream not 236 g like water?
Because weight per cup depends on what is in the cup. Sour cream has a density of 1.0144 g per mL where water has 1.00, so a cup of it weighs 240 g rather than 236.6 g. That is a difference of 3.4 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. Sour cream does not compress, so a cup of it is 240 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 sour cream 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 sour cream weighs 1.058 oz, so the two readings differ by 5.82%. 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 sour cream would weigh 253.61 g instead of 240 g — 13.6 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 sour cream — roughly 2.4 g on a 240 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 sour cream weigh?
2 cup of sour cream comes to 480 g, or 480 grams. This page runs that calculation in reverse — enter a weight and it returns the volume — and the cups-to-grams page does it in the direction the question is usually asked.
Sour cream in grams and cups
| Grams | Cups | Unrounded |
|---|---|---|
| 5 g | 0.0208333 cup | 0.02083333333 |
| 10 g | 0.0416667 cup | 0.04166666667 |
| 25 g | 0.104167 cup | 0.1041666667 |
| 50 g | 0.208333 cup | 0.2083333333 |
| 100 g | 0.416667 cup | 0.4166666667 |
| 125 g | 0.520833 cup | 0.5208333333 |
| 150 g | 0.625 cup | 0.625 |
| 200 g | 0.833333 cup | 0.8333333333 |
| 250 g | 1.04167 cup | 1.041666667 |
| 300 g | 1.25 cup | 1.25 |
| 500 g | 2.08333 cup | 2.083333333 |
| 1000 g | 4.16667 cup | 4.166666667 |
Based on 240 g per cup of sour cream. One gram of sour cream is 0.0041666667 cups.
| Measure | Grams | Ounces | Millilitres |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 cup | 240 g | 8.47 oz | 236.6 mL |
| 3/4 cup | 180 g | 6.35 oz | 177.4 mL |
| 2/3 cup | 160 g | 5.64 oz | 157.7 mL |
| 1/2 cup | 120 g | 4.23 oz | 118.3 mL |
| 1/3 cup | 80 g | 2.82 oz | 78.86 mL |
| 1/4 cup | 60 g | 2.12 oz | 59.15 mL |
| 1 tbsp | 15 g | 0.529 oz | 14.79 mL |
| 1 tsp | 5 g | 0.176 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) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Water | 236 g | 8.325 oz | 0.9975 |
| Heavy cream | 238 g | 8.395 oz | 1.006 |
| Vinegar | 239 g | 8.43 oz | 1.01 |
| Sour cream (this page) | 240 g | 8.466 oz | 1.014 |
| Tahini | 240 g | 8.466 oz | 1.014 |
| Half-and-half | 242 g | 8.536 oz | 1.023 |
| Egg whites | 243 g | 8.572 oz | 1.027 |
Ordered by weight. The spread across this group is why a single generic cups-to-grams factor cannot work.