Baking
Baking Powder Conversion
Baking Powder weighs 192g per US cup.
Conventionally measured by the teaspoon — a cup figure is a mathematical extrapolation, not a real recipe quantity.
| Amount | Grams | Ounces |
|---|---|---|
| 1 cup | 192.0 g | 6.77 oz |
| 1/2 cup | 96.0 g | 3.39 oz |
| 1/4 cup | 48.0 g | 1.69 oz |
| 1 tbsp | 12.0 g | 0.42 oz |
| 1 tsp | 4.0 g | 0.14 oz |
| 100 g | 100.0 g | 3.53 oz |
Need a different amount? Use the full Ingredient Converter tool.
192 grams is what a cup of baking powder would weigh, though no recipe actually calls for that much — a teaspoon or two does the leavening work, and dumping in a full cup would leave a batter tasting sharply bitter and metallic rather than simply over-risen.
Baking powder is a premixed combination of a base (baking soda) and a dry acid (commonly cream of tartar or sodium aluminum sulfate), plus a small amount of cornstarch to keep it from reacting prematurely in the container — that built-in acid is exactly what lets it leaven a recipe on its own, without needing an additional acidic ingredient the way baking soda does.
Most baking powder sold today is "double-acting," meaning it reacts in two separate stages — once when it gets wet during mixing, and again when it hits oven heat — which is why a batter can sit briefly before baking without losing all its rise, unlike older single-acting formulations that reacted fully at the moment of mixing.
Baking powder is used in teaspoon quantities almost without exception, so its 192g-per-cup figure exists purely for reference — what actually matters in a recipe is precision at the small-quantity end, since baking powder's leavening reaction is sensitive enough that a meaningfully off teaspoon measurement can visibly change a bake's rise.
Most modern baking powder is "double-acting," reacting once when mixed with liquid and again when heated in the oven — a two-stage reaction that gives batters more forgiveness for sitting a few minutes before baking than a single-acting formula would allow.
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Frequently asked questions
Why does baking powder need a cup-weight conversion if it's only ever used in teaspoons?
The figure exists for mathematical completeness, but the practical use case is always teaspoon-scale — every page for this ingredient notes clearly that a cup quantity isn't a realistic recipe amount.
Does baking powder go bad or lose potency over time?
Yes, more so than most dry pantry staples, since it's a chemical leavening agent — old baking powder can lose its ability to react properly, which is worth testing (a spoonful in hot water should fizz actively) if it's been open a long time and a recipe isn't rising as expected.
What does "double-acting" mean on a baking powder label?
It means the powder reacts in two stages — once when moistened during mixing, and again when heated in the oven — which gives a batter more forgiveness for sitting briefly before baking compared to older single-acting formulations that released all their gas immediately upon mixing.
Is homemade baking powder (baking soda plus cream of tartar) the same weight per cup as store-bought?
Close, though not guaranteed identical, since store-bought baking powder includes a small amount of cornstarch filler that the homemade mix doesn't — a minor difference that doesn't matter at the teaspoon scale either is actually used at.
Does baking powder's density change between aluminum and aluminum-free formulations?
Not meaningfully — the different dry acid used in aluminum-free baking powder doesn't significantly change the overall powder's weight per cup, so this figure applies to either formulation.