Sticks of butter to grams, cups and tablespoons
Convert sticks of butter to grams, ounces, cups and tablespoons. One US stick is exactly a quarter pound — 113.4 g, half a cup, 8 tablespoons.
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Fractions are fine — type 1 1/2, 3/4 or 1.5.
One US stick = 1/4 lb = 113.3980925 g = 1/2 US cup = 8 tbsp grams = 1.000 × 113.3980925 grams = 113.4 g cups = 1.000 × 0.5 = 0.500
| Sticks | Grams | Ounces | US cups | Tablespoons |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1/4 | 28.3 g | 1.00 oz | 1/8 | 2.0 tbsp |
| 1/2 | 56.7 g | 2.00 oz | 1/4 | 4.0 tbsp |
| 1 | 113.4 g | 4.00 oz | 1/2 | 8.0 tbsp |
| 1 1/2 | 170.1 g | 6.00 oz | 3/4 | 12.0 tbsp |
| 2 | 226.8 g | 8.00 oz | 1 | 16.0 tbsp |
| 3 | 340.2 g | 12.00 oz | 1 1/2 | 24.0 tbsp |
| 4 | 453.6 g | 16.00 oz | 2 | 32.0 tbsp |
| 6 | 680.4 g | 24.00 oz | 3 | 48.0 tbsp |
| 8 | 907.2 g | 32.00 oz | 4 | 64.0 tbsp |
Volume measures are an approximation of weight, and always will be. If a recipe matters — bread, pastry, macarons — weigh it. A cheap digital scale removes every source of error on this page in one purchase.
One stick, four numbers
A US stick of butter is a quarter of a pound. Everything else follows from that single fact, and every figure is exact:
- 113.4 g (a quarter of 453.59 g)
- 4 ounces
- 1/2 US cup
- 8 tablespoons, which are printed on the wrapper
- 24 teaspoons
A standard American pack holds four sticks: one pound, or 453.6 g.
The wrapper is the measuring tool
This is the genuinely clever part of the stick format. The paper is marked in tablespoons, so you cut through the mark and you have your measure without a cup or a scale. Two tablespoons of butter is a quarter of a stick; six tablespoons is three quarters. No other ingredient in an American kitchen is packaged as its own ruler.
Outside the United States
| Where | Typical pack | In sticks |
|---|---|---|
| United States | 4 × 113.4 g sticks (1 lb) | 4 |
| United Kingdom | 250 g block | 2.20 |
| Ireland, much of Europe | 250 g or 500 g block | 2.20 / 4.41 |
| Germany | 250 g block | 2.20 |
| Australia, New Zealand | 250 g or 500 g block | 2.20 / 4.41 |
| Canada | 454 g block, sometimes sticks | 4.00 |
With a block, the practical method is to weigh it, or to mark the block into portions with a ruler before cutting. A 250 g block cut into ten equal slices gives 25 g each — close enough to two tablespoons (28.4 g) for most purposes, and exact enough if you weigh the first slice and adjust.
Elgin and Western sticks
American butter comes in two shapes. East of the Rocky Mountains, "Elgin" sticks are long and slim; to the west, "Western" or "stubby" sticks are short and fat. Both weigh exactly 4 oz, so every conversion here applies to either — but a butter dish designed for one will not hold the other, which is a genuinely common domestic annoyance.
Softened, melted and clarified
Weight does not change with temperature; volume does. A stick of butter melted occupies slightly more space than the same stick cold, and whipped butter can be 30% air by volume — which is why recipes calling for whipped butter always specify it. Clarified butter and ghee lose about 20% of their mass as water and milk solids are removed, so 113 g of butter yields roughly 90 g of ghee.
Substituting oil
If you are converting sticks because you want to bake without butter, note that oil is not a volume-for-volume swap: butter is roughly 80% fat and 16% water, so a stick contributes about 91 g of fat and 18 g of liquid. Most bakers use around three quarters as much oil by volume and add a little liquid back.
Questions
How many grams is a stick of butter?
113.4 g, because a US stick is exactly a quarter of a pound. A four-stick pack is one pound, or 453.6 g.
How many tablespoons in a stick of butter?
Eight — and they are printed on the wrapper, which is the easiest way to measure butter without a scale. A stick is also exactly half a US cup.
What do I use outside the US?
European butter comes in 200 g, 250 g and 500 g blocks, so there is no stick to count. Convert to grams and cut the block by eye against a ruler, or weigh it.
Are Elgin and Western sticks different?
Only in shape. East of the Rockies butter is sold in long, thin "Elgin" sticks; west of them, short and fat "Western" sticks. Both are 4 oz, so every number here applies to either.