You're standing in the kitchen, flour on your apron, and you realize the recipe calls for 28 ounces of broth, but you only have a measuring cup marked in cups. It happens. Honestly, most of us just eyeball it or try to do mental math while the onions are burning in the pan.
The quick answer is that how many cups is 28 ounces depends entirely on whether you are measuring a liquid or something dry, like flour or sugar. If we're talking about standard liquid measuring cups in the United States, 28 ounces is exactly 3.5 cups.
That’s the "Google snippet" answer. But if you stop there, your cake might sink, or your sauce might turn into a salty sludge. Volume and weight are two different beasts.
Why 28 Ounces Isn't Always 3.5 Cups
Standard US measurements rely on the fluid ounce. A standard cup is 8 fluid ounces. So, the math seems easy: $28 / 8 = 3.5$.
But here is where things get messy.
In the UK or Australia, a cup isn't 8 ounces; it's often 250 milliliters, which is about 8.45 fluid ounces. If you’re using an Imperial pint glass or a metric cup, your "3.5 cups" will actually result in too much liquid. You’ve probably noticed that some measuring cups have "cups" on one side and "mL" on the other. Always check the units.
Dry ingredients change the game completely.
A cup of lead weights weighs more than a cup of feathers. We all know that. Yet, we often forget it applies to the pantry. If you need 28 ounces of all-purpose flour by weight, you aren't looking for 3.5 cups. You’re looking for closer to 6 or 7 cups depending on how tightly you pack that measuring tool.
The Fluid Ounce vs. Dry Ounce Debate
Weight is a measurement of mass. Volume is a measurement of space.
When a recipe says "28 oz," look at the ingredient. If it’s water, milk, or oil, they mean fluid ounces. If it’s chocolate chips or flour, they probably mean weight. Professional bakers, like those at King Arthur Baking or the chefs at America’s Test Kitchen, almost always use grams because it eliminates the "how many cups" headache entirely.
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If you're dealing with a 28-ounce can of crushed tomatoes—a very common size for Sunday gravy—that’s a weight measurement. Luckily, for liquids that have a density similar to water, the volume and weight are close enough that 3.5 cups usually works.
But try that with honey. Honey is heavy. 28 ounces of honey is significantly less than 3.5 cups in volume because it's so dense. You’d end up with a sticky mess if you just filled a 3.5-cup container.
Breaking Down the Math for Common Ingredients
Let's look at how 28 ounces translates for things you actually have in your cupboard.
For water or thin liquids, you’re safe with 3.5 cups.
For granulated sugar, 28 ounces is roughly 4 cups. Sugar is denser than flour but lighter than water.
All-purpose flour is the trickiest. If you sift it, 28 ounces could be nearly 7 cups. If you scoop it straight from the bag and pack it down, it might be 5.5 cups. This is exactly why your cookies sometimes turn out like hockey pucks. You think you're measuring how many cups is 28 ounces correctly, but you’re actually adding way too much flour because of the "pack factor."
The "Imperial" Problem
Did you know the US and the UK had a falling out over the size of a gallon in 1824? The US stuck with the older British wine gallon, while the UK moved to the Imperial gallon.
This means a US fluid ounce is slightly larger than a British one, but a British cup is larger than a US cup. If you are using a recipe from a British site like BBC Food, and it asks for 28 ounces, they might mean Imperial ounces.
- 28 US fluid ounces = 828 mL
- 28 Imperial fluid ounces = 795 mL
That 33 mL difference is enough to ruin a delicate souffle or a precise chemical reaction in bread dough.
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Real-World Scenarios: The 28-Ounce Can
Most people search for this because of a specific product: the 28-ounce can of tomatoes.
If you are making a recipe that calls for "two 15-ounce cans" but you bought the big 28-ounce tin to save money, you’re actually 2 ounces short. It’s a common trap. You see the big can and assume it's double the small one. It isn't.
When converting a 28-ounce can into cups for a soup or stew, you’ll find it fills about 3 and a half cups. Because tomatoes are mostly water, the fluid ounce rule holds up pretty well here.
Why You Should Probably Buy a Scale
If you find yourself constantly searching for conversion charts, do yourself a favor: spend $15 on a digital kitchen scale.
Measuring by volume is inherently flawed. Think about brown sugar. If you pack it "hard," you get way more sugar than if you pack it "light." But 28 ounces is always 28 ounces on a scale.
- Place your bowl on the scale.
- Hit the "Tare" or "Zero" button.
- Pour until the screen says 28.0.
No math. No wondering if your cup is a "legal" cup or a "customary" cup.
The Scientific Nuance of 28 Ounces
In the world of FDA labeling, things get even weirder. The FDA defines a "cup" for nutrition labeling as 240 milliliters. However, a standard US customary cup is technically 236.588 milliliters.
While that 4 mL difference doesn't matter for a pot of chili, it matters for medication or high-level chemistry. If you are measuring 28 ounces of a liquid medication or a specific chemical solution, don't use a kitchen cup. Use a graduated cylinder or a syringe marked in mL.
For the home cook, though, we usually just want to know if our Pyrex is big enough.
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Quick Reference for 28 Ounces
If you’re in a rush, here is the shorthand:
- Water/Milk/Broth: 3.5 Cups
- Dry Pasta (Macaroni): About 7 cups (it’s airy!)
- Butter: 7 sticks (Each stick is 4 oz or 1/2 cup)
- Greek Yogurt: About 3.2 cups (it's denser than water)
- Flour (Spoon and Leveled): Approx. 6.3 cups
Common Misconceptions About Kitchen Conversions
People often think "an ounce is an ounce." It isn't.
I’ve seen people try to measure 28 ounces of chocolate chips by putting them in a liquid measuring jug and stopping at the 3.5-cup line. Because of the air gaps between the chips, you’re actually getting way less than 28 ounces of chocolate.
The same goes for ice. 28 ounces of water makes 28 ounces of ice, but that ice will take up way more than 3.5 cups of space because water expands when it freezes and ice cubes have air between them.
Always ask yourself: Is it a solid or a liquid?
How to Measure 28 Ounces Without a 1-Cup Tool
Maybe you lost your 1-cup measure. It’s probably in the sandbox or at the bottom of the dishwasher.
- You can use a 1/2 cup measure 7 times.
- You can use a 1/4 cup measure 14 times (it's tedious, but it works).
- You can use standard tablespoons. There are 16 tablespoons in a cup. So, you would need 56 tablespoons. (Please don't do this. You will lose count around 20 and get frustrated).
The easiest way is to use a pint glass if you have one. A standard US pint is 16 ounces. Two pints would be 32 ounces. So, fill two pint glasses about 7/8ths of the way full, and you’re hovering right around that 28-ounce mark.
Actionable Steps for Your Kitchen
The next time you need to figure out how many cups is 28 ounces, follow these steps to ensure your dish comes out right:
- Identify the ingredient state. If it’s liquid, proceed with the 3.5-cup rule.
- Check the origin of your recipe. If it’s a European recipe using "ounces," it might be weight-based (avoirdupois ounces) rather than volume-based (fluid ounces).
- Use the right tool. Use clear glass or plastic jugs for liquids so you can see the meniscus (the curve of the liquid) at eye level. Use metal or plastic nesting cups for dry ingredients so you can level them off with a flat edge.
- Account for density. For heavy items like honey, molasses, or thick purees, expect to use slightly less volume than 3.5 cups to reach 28 ounces of weight. For light items like flour or cocoa powder, expect to use significantly more.
- Invest in a scale. Seriously. It's the only way to be 100% sure when a recipe gives you a measurement in ounces.
Understanding the difference between volume and mass is the "secret sauce" that separates a good cook from a great one. 28 ounces might seem like a simple number, but in the world of culinary science, it's all about what you're actually putting in the bowl.