What this calculator does
A US liquid quart is exactly 4 US cups, a fixed ratio rather than an approximation, so 1 quart to cups always works out to 4 cups regardless of what is being measured. The name itself is the clue: quart comes from quarter, as in a quarter of a gallon, and a gallon is 16 cups, so a quart is a quarter of that: 4 cups.
This calculator converts quart to cups or cups to quarts in either direction, and also shows the equivalent in millilitres and litres so a US recipe can be checked against metric kitchen measures without a separate lookup.
The formula
Multiply quarts by 4 to get cups, or divide cups by 4 to get quarts. Both directions use the same fixed US measure: 1 US gallon = 4 quarts = 16 cups = 128 fluid ounces, so a quart sits exactly a quarter of the way through that ladder.
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Quart | A US liquid measure equal to a quarter of a gallon, or 4 cups, or 32 US fluid ounces. |
| Cup | A US measure equal to 8 US fluid ounces, or 236.588 mL. |
| US liquid measure | These figures use the US customary cup and quart. A UK/Imperial quart is a different, larger volume (about 1.136 litres) and is not what this calculator converts. |
The inputs explained
| Field | What to enter |
|---|---|
| Value | The amount to convert, in the unit selected below. |
| Convert | Choose whether the value entered is in quarts or in cups. |
When to use it
Scaling a recipe written in quarts
US recipes for stocks, soups and preserves are often written in quarts. Converting to cups makes the amount easier to measure out with standard kitchen cup measures, especially for a partial quart such as three-quarters of a quart.
Checking a recipe against metric measuring jugs
A cook working with a millilitre or litre measuring jug can convert a quart figure straight to millilitres here, rather than converting to cups first and then to millilitres separately.
Working out how many quart containers are needed
Converting a total number of cups needed, for example for a batch of soup or a canning project, into quarts shows how many quart-sized jars or containers to have on hand.
Worked examples
Every figure in the tables below is produced by this page’s own calculator at build time, so the numbers and the tool always agree. Select any row to load that scenario.
How many cups is 1 quart, and other common quart amounts?
A range of quart amounts converted to cups, millilitres and litres.
| Quarts | Cups | In millilitres | In litres |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.25 | 1.00 | 236.6 mL | 0.237 L |
| 0.50 | 2.00 | 473.2 mL | 0.473 L |
| 1.00 | 4.00 | 946.4 mL | 0.946 L |
| 2.00 | 8.00 | 1,892.7 mL | 1.893 L |
| 3.00 | 12.00 | 2,839.1 mL | 2.839 L |
| 4.00 | 16.00 | 3,785.4 mL | 3.785 L |
How many quarts is a given number of cups?
A range of cup amounts converted to quarts, millilitres and litres.
| Cups | Quarts | In millilitres | In litres |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0.250 | 236.6 mL | 0.237 L |
| 2 | 0.500 | 473.2 mL | 0.473 L |
| 4 | 1.000 | 946.4 mL | 0.946 L |
| 8 | 2.000 | 1,892.7 mL | 1.893 L |
| 12 | 3.000 | 2,839.1 mL | 2.839 L |
| 16 | 4.000 | 3,785.4 mL | 3.785 L |
Questions
What is 1 quart to cups?
1 quart is exactly 4 US cups. This is a fixed definitional ratio, not a rounded approximation, so the answer is the same 4 cups every time for a US liquid quart.
Is a UK quart the same as a US quart?
No. This calculator uses the US liquid quart (4 US cups, about 946 mL). A UK/Imperial quart is larger, about 1.136 litres, because the Imperial and US gallon are different sizes. Check which system a recipe or container is using before converting.
What is quart in cups for a half quart?
Half a quart is 2 cups, following the same 4-cups-per-quart ratio. A quarter of a quart is 1 cup.
How many quarts are in a gallon?
There are 4 quarts in a US gallon, and since 1 quart is 4 cups, a gallon is 16 cups in total.
For converting to and from millilitres directly, including metric and UK/Imperial cup sizes, see the cup to mL converter. For fluid ounces rather than quarts, see the fluid ounces to cups converter.