How Much Is a Stick of Butter Exactly? (With Conversion Chart!)

Have you ever taken a short pause during baking because you’re not sure how many cups are there in a stick of butter? You’re not alone. As an essential ingredient in most recipes such as cream pies, measuring butter for both cooking and baking can be a bit of a head-scratcher. Some recipes may ask for a cup, while some tablespoons or grams. But if the recipe calls for a stick of butter, how much do you actually add?

If you live in the US, this will be easy to solve as sticks of butter are sold with measurements already indicated on the wrapper. If not, however, you can easily convert butter to cups, grams, tablespoons, and more with our guide!

How to Measure a Stick of Butter

stick of butter with measurements in tablespoon, teaspoon, and more

If you’re living in the U.S. (East Coast or West Coast), then those wrappers actually come in handy as they show you how many tablespoons or cups there are in 1 stick. But if you’re living outside of the US, then you might be envious of that convenience as stores near you may be selling blocks or 1-pound of butter instead.

In that case, though, some brands may offer cup measurements on the foil wrappers. But more often than not, there wouldn’t be any labels at all. But don’t worry! All you have to do is cut these 1-pound butter blocks into quarters to produce 4 sticks.

You don’t have to search high and low for butter with label markings! Instead, refer to our comprehensive chart above as a quick guide or check specific butter conversions below.

How Many Cups and Grams in a Stick of Butter?

BUTTER VOLUME	CUPS (c)	GRAMS (g)
4 sticks of butter	2 cups	453 g
2 sticks of butter	1 cup	227 g
1 ½ sticks of butter	¾ cup	170 g
1 stick of butter	½ cup	113 g
⅔ stick of butter	⅓ cup	76 g
½ stick of butter	¼ cup	57 g
⅛ stick of butter	⅟₁₆ cup	14 g

How many cups are there is a stick of butter? A 1 stick is equal to ½ cup. So, if your recipe calls for 1 cup, you’ll need about 2 sticks of butter. No need to be confused when converting ingredients for this amazing buttercream frosting recipe!

You’ll find most recipes will ask for this ingredient in cup measurements. But you can also use a kitchen scale if that’s what you have at home. Referring to the chart above will undoubtedly come in handy regardless.

How Many Tablespoons and Teaspoons In a Stick of Butter?

BUTTER VOLUME	TABLESPOON (tbsp)	TEASPOON (tsp)
4 sticks of butter	32 tbsp	96 tsp
2 sticks of butter	16 tbsp	48 tsp
1 ½ sticks of butter	12 tbsp	36 tsp
1 stick of butter	8 tbsp	24 tsp
⅔ stick of butter	5 ⅓ tbsp	16 tsp
½ stick of butter	4 tbsp	12 tsp
⅛ stick of butter	1 tbsp	3 tsp

Some recipes, like this lemon bars recipe, measure butter in tablespoons and not the usual grams or cups. But don’t worry, there’s no need to be confused as you can easily refer to the handy conversion chart above!

And in case you’re wondering how many tablespoons there are in 1 stick of butter, the answer is 8 tablespoons or 24 teaspoons.

How Much Is a Stick of Butter in Ounces and Pounds?

BUTTER VOLUME	OUNCE (oz)	POUND (lb)
4 sticks of butter	16 oz	1 lb
2 sticks of butter	8 oz	½ lb
1 ½ sticks of butter	6 oz	⅜ lb
1 stick of butter	4 oz	¼ lb
⅔ stick of butter	2 ⅔ oz	⅙ lb
½ stick of butter	2 oz	⅛ lb
⅛ stick of butter	½ oz	⅟₃₂lb

We mentioned earlier how you can cut a pound of butter in quarters to produce 4 sticks. So now, you just have to keep in mind that there are 16 ounces in 1 pound of butter. As for how many ounces there are in 1 stick, there are actually 4 ounces.

Accordingly, if you were to try your hand at a caramel pecan turtle cheesecake that requires 5 ounces of butter, then you’ll need about 1 ¼ sticks of butter. Refer to our chart above and make a few adjustments if needed.

Measuring Melted Butter

You might also be wondering what to do when measuring melted butter. In most cases, you should measure butter before you melt it as it’s likely what the recipe intends.

However, if a recipe specifically needs butter in liquid form (e.g. ghee, clarified butter, and browned butter), then you might need to melt it first before measuring it out.

You should remember that measuring melted butter is different from its solid volume. Solid butter has air and when introduced to heat will decrease in volume. You’ll certainly need more than a stick to produce an equal amount for the melted ingredient.

Conclusion

On the occasion you want to be extra careful with finicky desserts, using a kitchen scale can be very helpful. After all, baking is science, so you want to be as accurate as possible. Adding too much butter to baked goods can either make or break your dessert too.

This is why many prefer to measure butter (and other ingredients) by weight — although there’s nothing wrong with US customary units. Just follow our helpful guides and you’ll surely yield excellent results!

Want to discuss how much a stick of butter really is? Join the conversation in the Ingredients Spotlight forum and share your thoughts on this common baking question.