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US quarts to US cups

Multiply US quarts by 4 to get US cups.

1 qt = 4 cupNIST HB 44
qt
16cup

4 qt = 16 cup

How to convert US quarts to US cups

The US cup is a US customary cup, one sixteenth of a gallon (236.5882365 millilitres). The US quart is one quarter of a US gallon (0.946352946 litres).

Worked example — 4 qt: 4 × 4 = 16 cup.

US quarts to US cups table

Common conversions.
US quartsUS cups
0.5 qt2 cup
1 qt4 cup
2 qt8 cup
3 qt12 cup
4 qt16 cup
5 qt20 cup
6 qt24 cup
8 qt32 cup
10 qt40 cup

Reverse and related

About US quarts and US cups

US quart (qt)

1 qt = 4 cup

Definition. One quarter of a US gallon (0.946352946 litres)

History and origin

The quart is literally a quarter of a gallon, a division used in English measure for centuries. The US quart is one quarter of the US gallon, about 0.946 litres.

Current use

Quarts are used in the United States for milk, juice and cooking stock, and as a handy kitchen measure.

Source: NIST Handbook 44, Appendix C §2 (U.S. Customary Units) and §5 (Tables of Equivalents)

US cup (cup)

1 cup = 0.25 qt

Definition. A US customary cup, one sixteenth of a gallon (236.5882365 millilitres)

History and origin

The US customary cup was standardised as a cooking measure at one sixteenth of a gallon, about 237 millilitres. It became popular through American recipe books in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

Current use

The cup is the dominant volume measure in US home cooking and baking; metric recipes usually give millilitres or grams instead.

Source: NIST Handbook 44, Appendix C §2 (U.S. Customary Units) and §5 (Tables of Equivalents)

Where people use this

US quarts: milk and juice, cooking stock. US cups: recipes, baking. 1 US quart is exactly 4 cups.

How we know this is right
The factor is fixed by the standards that define the units, not chosen — so it is exact, not a measurement:
1 cup = 0.25 qt, so 1 qt = 1 ÷ 0.25 = 4 cup.

Every value is carried to full double precision; the display is rounded.

Both units are defined in NIST Handbook 44, Appendix C §2 (U.S. Customary Units) and §5 (Tables of Equivalents).

Questions people ask

How many cups in a quart?

One US quart is exactly 4 cups.

How many cups is 2 quarts?

2 US quarts is 8 cups.

How many cups is half a quart?

Half a US quart is 2 cups.

All US quart conversions