How Many Cups Is One Stick of Butter?

One stick of butter is equal to 1/2 cup. If a full cup of butter is required for a recipe, two full sticks or 16 tablespoons of butter is needed.

Sticks of butter are easy to measure because measurement equivalents are generally marked on the wrapper with clear lines to cut the sticks to the exact measurement needed. If butter is bought by the pound, a cup of butter would be half the block, as a 1-pound block of butter contains 2 cups. When using butter for cooking, be sure to follow the recipe exactly for measurements and the ideal temperature of the butter.

When measuring in pounds, an 8-tablespoon stick of butter weighs 1/4 pound. This means that two sticks weigh 1/2 pound and equal a full cup. If using the metric system, a single stick of butter equates to 113 grams by weight and 125 milliliters by volume. While butter is typically measured in sticks in the United States, other countries sell it in alternate forms. Canadians use volume while Europeans and British sell by weight.