There are 4 cups in a quart. Working outward from there: 2 cups make a pint, 2 pints make a quart, and 4 quarts make a gallon — so a gallon is 16 cups. Those numbers are the US customary measures used in American recipes, including every recipe on this site.
This is the conversion people look up mid-recipe, usually with wet hands and a pot already on the heat. The short answer is 4. The longer answer is that American kitchen measures double at every step — cup, pint, quart, gallon — which makes the whole ladder easy to hold in your head once you have seen it laid out. Below is the full chart, the small-spoon conversions, and the one distinction that actually trips people up: a dry cup and a liquid cup hold the same volume, but they are not measured the same way.
Convert it now
US customary measures, the ones American recipes use.
| Measure | Cups | Fluid ounces | Milliliters |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 tablespoon | 1/16 cup | 0.5 fl oz | 15 ml |
| 1/4 cup | 1/4 cup | 2 fl oz | 59 ml |
| 1/2 cup | 1/2 cup | 4 fl oz | 118 ml |
| 1 cup | 1 cup | 8 fl oz | 237 ml |
| 1 pint | 2 cups | 16 fl oz | 473 ml |
| 1 quart | 4 cups | 32 fl oz | 946 ml |
| 1 gallon | 16 cups | 128 fl oz | 3.8 liters |
The ladder: cups, pints, quarts, gallons
Every step up in US measure is a doubling or a quadrupling, and it never varies. 2 cups make 1 pint. 2 pints make 1 quart, which is 4 cups. 4 quarts make 1 gallon, which is 16 cups. If you remember only one thing, remember that a quart is 4 cups and a gallon is 4 quarts — everything else falls out of that.
Dry cups and liquid cups hold the same amount
A cup is 8 fluid ounces whether you are measuring milk or flour, so the volume is identical. What differs is the vessel and the technique. A liquid measuring cup has a spout and headroom above the top line, so you can carry it without slopping, and you read it at eye level on a flat surface. A dry measuring cup is filled to the brim and leveled off with the back of a knife. Use a liquid cup for flour and you will overfill it; use a dry cup for milk and you will spill it on the way to the bowl.
Why weight beats volume for baking
A cup of all-purpose flour can weigh anywhere from 120 g to 150 g depending on whether it was scooped or spooned, and that gap is the difference between a tender cake and a dry one. This is why every recipe here gives the gram weight alongside the cup measure. If you own a scale, use it for baking and keep the cups for liquids and for anything forgiving.
Halving and doubling without a headache
Awkward halves are easier through the small measures. Half of ¾ cup is 6 tablespoons. Half of ⅓ cup is 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons. Half of a tablespoon is 1½ teaspoons. When you double a recipe, double everything except the salt and any strong spice — start at 1½ times those and taste, because seasoning does not scale in a straight line.
Questions we get asked
How many cups in a quart?
4 cups. A quart is 2 pints, and each pint is 2 cups.
How many cups in a pint?
2 cups, which is 16 fluid ounces.
How many cups in a gallon?
16 cups. A gallon is 4 quarts, and each quart is 4 cups.
How many pints in a quart?
2 pints. And 4 quarts make a gallon.
How many tablespoons in a cup?
16 tablespoons. Half a cup is 8 tablespoons, a quarter cup is 4, and there are 3 teaspoons in every tablespoon.
How many ounces in a cup?
8 fluid ounces. Be careful with dry ingredients though: a cup of flour is 8 fluid ounces by volume but only about 4¼ ounces by weight, because flour is light.
Is a dry cup the same as a liquid cup?
Same volume, different tool. Both hold 8 fluid ounces. Liquid cups have a spout and headroom so you can read them at eye level without spilling; dry cups are filled to the brim and leveled off with a knife.
Are US and UK cups the same?
No, and it matters. A US cup is 237 ml; an imperial cup is 284 ml — about 20% bigger. Every recipe on this site uses US cups, with the gram weight alongside so there is never any doubt.