Cups to Quart Converter
Convert cups to quarts for cooking and baking with US customary and metric standards.
The standard US cooking measurement relationship
Conversion Result
📐 Conversion Formulas
US Customary (direct ratio):
Metric Cup (via mL):
Key Relationships:
- 4 US cups = 1 US quart (exactly)
- 1 US cup = 236.588 mL
- 1 US quart = 946.353 mL
- 1 metric cup = 250 mL
📝 Step-by-Step Calculation
Enter a value and convert to see the step-by-step breakdown.
Kitchen Volume Measurement Hierarchy
Understanding how cups, pints, quarts, and gallons relate makes cooking easier:
Each unit is double the previous (cups → pints) or quadruple (cups → quarts)
This means:
- 2 cups = 1 pint
- 4 cups = 1 quart = 2 pints
- 16 cups = 1 gallon = 4 quarts
Understanding Cups and Quarts
US Customary Cup
The US customary cup is 8 fluid ounces or 236.588 mL. It's the standard for American recipes. Four US cups make exactly one US quart, which is 32 fluid ounces or 946.353 mL.
Metric Cup
The metric cup is 250 mL, used in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and other countries. When converting metric cups to US quarts, you need to go through milliliters because the ratio isn't a clean number (4 metric cups = 1.057 US quarts).
Why This Matters in Cooking
Most American recipes use quarts for larger quantities (stocks, soups, punch). Knowing that 4 cups = 1 quart helps you:
- Scale recipes up or down
- Use the right measuring container
- Convert between recipe systems
- Understand pot and container sizes
Quick Reference Table
Common cups to quarts conversions:
| US Cups | US Quarts | Pints | Gallons | mL |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0.25 | 0.5 | 0.0625 | 237 |
| 2 | 0.5 | 1 | 0.125 | 473 |
| 4 | 1 | 2 | 0.25 | 946 |
| 8 | 2 | 4 | 0.5 | 1,893 |
| 12 | 3 | 6 | 0.75 | 2,839 |
| 16 | 4 | 8 | 1 | 3,785 |
Frequently Asked Questions
There are exactly 4 US cups in 1 US quart. This is a fundamental relationship in the US customary system: 1 quart = 2 pints = 4 cups.
Divide the number of cups by 4 to get quarts. For example: 8 cups ÷ 4 = 2 quarts. This works for US customary cups and quarts.
2 cups = 1 pint, and 2 pints = 1 quart. So 4 cups = 1 quart. This doubling pattern continues: 4 quarts = 1 gallon.
There are 4 quarts in 1 gallon. Since 4 cups = 1 quart, this means 16 cups = 1 gallon.
1 metric cup (250 mL) = 0.264 US quarts. 4 metric cups ≈ 1.057 US quarts, slightly more than 1 quart because metric cups are slightly larger than US cups.
The US customary system uses powers of 2: a quart is 2 pints, and a pint is 2 cups. The word "quart" comes from Latin "quartus" meaning fourth, as a quart is one-fourth of a gallon.
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