Cups of salt to grams

What the sources say about a cup of salt

Two published sources, side by side. Where a source lists several forms or ways of measuring, each is a row.

Spread across sources: 1% between USDA and King Arthur for the main entry. Ingredient weights vary by brand, packing and humidity; the table is a reference, not a guarantee.

Why this number: 288 g per US cup

We use King Arthur's published figure, which is a stated reference for home bakers and is the weight most gram-based recipes from that source use. Where the two sources disagree, both figures are in the table above and in the calculator, so you can switch to the one your recipe was written with.

Salt is the ingredient with the biggest brand spread. For one tablespoon, King Arthur lists 18 g of table salt, 16 g of Morton kosher salt and 8 g of Diamond Crystal kosher salt. USDA lists 18 g per tablespoon for table salt. A recipe that says "1 tablespoon salt" can mean 8 g or 18 g, more than a 2x difference, because coarse flake crystals pack with more air.

A cup of salt is a theoretical measure that few recipes use; it is shown here because the conversion is asked for. The cup figure for table salt (USDA 292 g, King Arthur-derived 288 g) is 16 times the tablespoon figure to within a few percent.

If you substitute one salt for another, go by weight, not volume. A switch from Diamond Crystal to table salt by tablespoon more than doubles the amount of sodium chloride.

Cups of salt to grams chart

Grams of salt to cups

US cup, metric cup and spoons

One US cup of salt at our default weight is 288 g. A 250 ml metric cup, used in Australia, New Zealand, Canada and many metric recipes, holds the same volume plus 5.7%, which is 304 g. A US legal (nutrition label) cup of 240 ml is 292 g. These all assume the same packing as the US cup; read about it on US cup vs metric cup.

Sources and when they were checked

• USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy (April 2018 release), food Salt, table (FDC ID 173468). Gram weights per household measure as published; per-cup figures where USDA lists a different amount (such as 2 tablespoons) are scaled.
• King Arthur Baking, Ingredient Weight Chart, row(s): Salt (table), Salt (Kosher, Diamond Crystal), Salt (Kosher, Morton's). Chart rows that list a quarter cup, half cup or tablespoon are scaled to a full cup on this page; the original listing is shown in the table above.
• Cup volumes: the US customary cup is exactly 236.5882365 ml; the US nutrition-label cup is defined in US law as 240 ml (21 CFR 101.9); the metric cup is 250 ml (see US cup vs metric cup).

Last checked 27 October 2026. Weights are for reference: ingredients vary by brand, humidity and how they are packed. If your recipe gives gram weights, use those.

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