To convert ounces of sunflower seeds into cups, multiply by 0.20249659: one ounce comes to 0.20249659 cups. Every ingredient has its own figure here, because the units are measuring different things and only the density links them.
Water is the yardstick: 1 mL of it weighs 1 g. Sunflower seeds comes in at 0.59175 g per mL, or 59.17% of water, which is why a cup of it is 140 g rather than 236.6 g. Volume and weight only line up for water, and only in metric.
A cup of sunflower seeds is 140 g when it is measured the standard way, but how it gets into the cup changes the answer: between about 131.6 g and 156.8 g covers the range from lightly spooned to firmly packed. That 12% spread is larger than most of the adjustments recipes fuss over, and it disappears entirely the moment the ingredient is weighed instead.
One cup of sunflower seeds is 4.938 oz. US kitchen scales usually step in eighths of an ounce, which is 3.54 g — around 2.53% of a cup of this ingredient, so the scale is precise enough for a full cup and coarse for a spoonful. That is why recipes mix the two systems: ounces for the bulk, spoons for the small amounts.
How the figure is arrived at: Hulled kernels, not the striped whole seeds sold as bird food — the whole seed is mostly hull and weighs far less per cup, which is the difference that trips up bulk-bin shopping.
The formula
ounces- The amount of sunflower seeds you are converting, in ounces
0.20249659375- Cups per ounce for sunflower seeds, from its density of 0.59175 g/mL
cups- The equivalent quantity in cups
How it works, step by step
- Enter the quantity in ounces.
- It is multiplied by 0.20249659375, the cups-per-ounce figure for sunflower seeds.
- The result appears in cups, with a second reading in tbsp beneath it.
- Use the measure table if you want a standard recipe quantity rather than a number you type in.
Worked examples
2 oz of sunflower seeds in cups
Take 2 oz of sunflower seeds: 2 × 0.20249659 gives 0.404993 cups. Doubling the batch takes it to 0.809986 cups, because the relationship is a straight proportion once the density is known.
4 oz of sunflower seeds in cups
Take 4 oz of sunflower seeds: 4 × 0.20249659 gives 0.809986 cups. Doubling the batch takes it to 1.61997 cups, because the relationship is a straight proportion once the density is known.
12 oz of sunflower seeds in cups
Take 12 oz of sunflower seeds: 12 × 0.20249659 gives 2.42996 cups. Doubling the batch takes it to 4.85992 cups, because the relationship is a straight proportion once the density is known.
How to read your score
Frequently asked questions
How many cups are in 1 oz of sunflower seeds?
One ounce of sunflower seeds is 0.20249659 cups. Half that quantity is 0.101248 cups and double it is 0.404993 cups, so the figure scales straight up and down — there is no offset in this conversion, only the factor.
Why is a cup of sunflower seeds not 236 g like water?
Because weight per cup depends on what is in the cup. Sunflower seeds has a density of 0.59175 g per mL where water has 1.00, so a cup of it weighs 140 g rather than 236.6 g. That is a difference of 96.6 g per cup, and it is the reason a single volume-to-weight factor cannot be applied to every ingredient.
Does how I measure it change the weight?
Yes, and by more than most people expect. Handling changes the weight of a cup of sunflower seeds by roughly 12% — about 8.4 g either side of 140 g — because hulled kernels, not the striped whole seeds sold as bird food — the whole seed is mostly hull and weighs far less per cup, which is the difference that trips up bulk-bin shopping. Weighing removes the question entirely.
Is a fluid ounce of sunflower seeds the same as an ounce?
No. A fluid ounce is a volume — one eighth of a US cup, 29.57 mL — and an ounce is a weight. One fluid ounce of sunflower seeds weighs 0.6173 oz, so the two readings differ by 38.3%. They coincide only for something with the density of water, and then only roughly.
Is this a US cup or a metric cup?
US customary: 236.59 mL, which is the cup every US recipe means. A metric cup is 250 mL, so the same cup of sunflower seeds would weigh 147.94 g instead of 140 g — 7.94 g more, or 5.67%. Australian and some European recipes use the metric cup, and the difference is large enough to matter in baking.
Do I need a scale for this, or will measuring cups do?
A scale, if the result matters. Volume measuring carries a spread of about 12% for sunflower seeds — roughly 16.8 g on a 140 g cup — while a domestic scale is accurate to a gram or two. For anything where the ratio of ingredients drives the outcome, bread and pastry above all, weigh it.
How much does 2 cup of sunflower seeds weigh?
2 cup of sunflower seeds comes to 280 g, or 9.8767 ounces. This page runs that calculation in reverse — enter a weight and it returns the volume — and the cups-to-ounces page does it in the direction the question is usually asked.
Sunflower seeds in ounces and cups
| Ounces | Cups | Unrounded |
|---|---|---|
| 1/2 oz | 0.101248 cup | 0.1012482969 |
| 1 oz | 0.202497 cup | 0.2024965938 |
| 2 oz | 0.404993 cup | 0.4049931875 |
| 3 oz | 0.60749 cup | 0.6074897812 |
| 4 oz | 0.809986 cup | 0.809986375 |
| 6 oz | 1.21498 cup | 1.214979562 |
| 8 oz | 1.61997 cup | 1.61997275 |
| 12 oz | 2.42996 cup | 2.429959125 |
| 16 oz | 3.23995 cup | 3.2399455 |
Based on 140 g per cup of sunflower seeds. One ounce of sunflower seeds is 0.20249659 cups.
| Measure | Grams | Ounces | Millilitres |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 cup | 140 g | 4.94 oz | 236.6 mL |
| 3/4 cup | 105 g | 3.7 oz | 177.4 mL |
| 2/3 cup | 93.33 g | 3.29 oz | 157.7 mL |
| 1/2 cup | 70 g | 2.47 oz | 118.3 mL |
| 1/3 cup | 46.67 g | 1.65 oz | 78.86 mL |
| 1/4 cup | 35 g | 1.23 oz | 59.15 mL |
| 1 tbsp | 8.75 g | 0.309 oz | 14.79 mL |
| 1 tsp | 2.917 g | 0.103 oz | 4.929 mL |
US customary measures: 1 cup = 236.59 mL, 1 tbsp = 14.79 mL, 1 tsp = 4.93 mL.
| Ingredient | Grams per cup | Ounces per cup | Density (g/mL) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pumpkin seeds | 130 g | 4.586 oz | 0.5495 |
| Frozen peas | 135 g | 4.762 oz | 0.5706 |
| Cashews | 140 g | 4.938 oz | 0.5917 |
| Sunflower seeds (this page) | 140 g | 4.938 oz | 0.5917 |
| Whole almonds | 142 g | 5.009 oz | 0.6002 |
| Sesame seeds | 144 g | 5.079 oz | 0.6087 |
| Raisins | 145 g | 5.115 oz | 0.6129 |
Ordered by weight. The spread across this group is why a single generic cups-to-grams factor cannot work.