Measure Ingredients Without a Scale: The Essential Kitchen Conversion Chart

Need to weigh ingredients precisely to the gram without a kitchen scale? As a home cook with years of experience relying on these tried-and-true methods—passed down from my grandmother—I've perfected recipes even without specialized tools.

Whether your scale is broken or you're missing measuring cups, this reliable reference table uses everyday items like spoons, yogurt pots, and glasses for spot-on results.

Here's the essential chart for measuring any ingredient without a scale. Take a look:

Contents

• What you need
• Hard or melted butter
• Cocoa
• Coffee
• Tomato concentrate
• Jam
• Thick cream or cottage cheese
• Liquid cream
• Water
• Flour and starch
• Fruits & vegetables
• Grated Gruyère cheese
• Oil (olive, rapeseed, sunflower, coconut, etc.)
• Milk
• Lentils
• Yeast
• Liquids
• Maizena
• Honey
• Grated coconut
• Pasta
• Nutella-style spread
• Almond powder
• Raisins
• Rice
• Salt
• Semolina, couscous
• Sugar
• Icing sugar
• Tapioca
• Additional tips
• Result

Click here to print this guide in PDF.

What you need

- 1 teaspoon
- 1 tablespoon
- 1 mustard glass
- 1 pot of yogurt
- 1 cup (or 1 mug)

Hard or melted butter

1 teaspoon = 5g
1 tablespoon = 15g
1 cup = 225g

Cocoa

1 teaspoon = 5g
1 tablespoon = 10g
1 mustard glass = 90g
1 cup = 110g

Coffee

1 teaspoon = 5g
1 tablespoon = 15g

Tomato concentrate

1 tablespoon = 25g

Jam

1 teaspoon = 12g
1 tablespoon = 35g

Heavy cream or cottage cheese

1 teaspoon = 1.5 cl
1 tablespoon = 4.5 cl
1 mustard glass = 20 cl

Liquid cream

1 teaspoon = 0.7 cl
1 tablespoon = 2 cl
1 mustard glass = 10 cl

Water

1 teaspoon = 0.05 cl
1 tablespoon = 1.5 cl
1 cup = 10 cl
1 pot of yogurt = 15 cl
1 mustard glass = 20 cl
1 bowl = 35 cl

Flour and starch

1 teaspoon = 3g
1 tablespoon = 10g
1 pot of yoghurt = 85g
1 cup = 100g

Fruits & vegetables

1 banana = 120g
1 carrot = 100g
1 lemon = 110g
1 onion = 80g
1 grapefruit = 400g
1 apple = 130g
1 tomato = 90g

Grated Gruyère cheese

1 teaspoon = 4g
1 tablespoon = 12g
1 mustard glass = 65g

Oil (olive, rapeseed, sunflower, coconut, etc.)

1 teaspoon = 0.04 cl
1 tablespoon = 1.4 cl
1 glass of mustard = 16 cl

Milk

1 teaspoon = 0.05 cl
1 tablespoon = 1.5 cl
1 cup = 10 cl
1 pot of yogurt = 15 cl
1 mustard glass = 20 cl
1 bowl = 35 cl

Lentils

1 teaspoon = 7g
1 tablespoon = 20g
1 mustard glass = 150g
1 cup = 210g

Yeast

1 teaspoon = 4g

Liquids

1 liqueur glass = 3 cl or 30 ml
1 glass of champagne = 12 to 15 cl or 120 to 150 ml
1 wine glass = 12 to 15 cl or 120 to 150 ml
1 water glass = 20 cl or 200 ml
1 coffee cup = 8 to 10 cl or 80 to 100 ml
1 teaspoon = 0.5 cl or 5 ml
1 tablespoon = 15 cl or 150 ml
1 mustard glass = 20 cl or 200 ml
So 5 mustard glasses = 1 l
1 bowl = 35 cl or 350 ml

Maizena

1 teaspoon = 10g
1 tablespoon = 20g
1 cup = 75g

Honey

1 teaspoon = 10g
1 tablespoon = 30g

Grated coconut

1 tablespoon = 5g
1 cup = 75g

Pasta

1 mustard glass = 120g
1 cup = 150g

Nutella-style spread

1 tablespoon = 40g

Almond powder

1 teaspoon = 6g
1 tablespoon = 15g
1 pot of yoghurt = 50g
1 mustard glass = 75g

Raisins

1 teaspoon = 7g
1 tablespoon = 20g
1 mustard glass = 110g

Rice

1 teaspoon = 7g
1 tablespoon = 20g
1 mustard glass = 150g
1 cup = 210g

Salt

1 teaspoon = 6g
1 tablespoon = 15g
1 pot of yoghurt = 125g
1 mustard glass = 150g
1 cup = 225g
1 bowl = 500g

Semolina, couscous

1 teaspoon = 5g
1 tablespoon = 15g
1 pot of yoghurt = 90g
1 cup = 150g

Sugar

1 teaspoon = 6g
1 tablespoon = 15g
1 pot of yoghurt = 125g
1 mustard glass = 150g
1 cup = 225g
1 bowl = 500g

Icing sugar

1 teaspoon = 4g
1 tablespoon = 10g
1 mustard glass = 110g
1 cup = 150g

Tapioca

1 tablespoon = 15g
1 cup = 100g

Additional tips

1 egg = 50g
1 knob of butter = 5g
1 knob of butter = 15 to 20g

Result

Now you can confidently measure ingredients without a scale—simple, practical, and effective! Nail every recipe with these reliable conversions.

For cup-to-grams conversions, here's the table.