Tahini: How Many Grams in a Cup?

1/2 US cup of tahini weighs approximately 129 grams.

1 US cup of tahini weighs approximately 258 grams.

Based on the converter's density for tahini (1.09 g/mL). Stir the jar first — separated oil can make a cup measure slightly differently.

Tahini cup fractions to grams

Why tahini cup weights vary

Tahini is a ground sesame seed paste, so a cup does not always weigh exactly the same:

• Oil separation. Tahini separates in the jar — a layer of sesame oil rises to the top while the solids settle. A cup taken before stirring can be oilier or denser than average.
• Thick vs runny. Some tahini is thick and stiff, some is pourable. A runnier paste settles and fills a cup more evenly than a stiff one, which traps air pockets.
• Brand and seed. Grind fineness, sesame type (hulled vs unhulled) and added oil differ by brand, so the grams per cup shift a little from one jar to another.
• How you fill the cup. Scraping stiff tahini into a cup is never perfectly even, so the same '1 cup' can carry a few grams more or less.

Stir tahini before measuring

Tahini almost always separates: oil floats on top and the thick paste sinks. If you scoop only the oily layer the cup reads light, and if you dig into the dense bottom it reads heavy — both throw off the conversion. Stir the jar gently until the oil and solids are recombined and smooth, then measure. A stirred, uniform tahini is what the 129 g / 258 g figures assume.

Level cup vs heaped cup

The table uses a level cup — filled and swept flat across the rim. Because tahini is sticky, a heaped cup or one packed by scraping the jar holds noticeably more and weighs above these values. For sensitive recipes, weigh the tahini on a scale instead of trusting a scooped cup.

Common tahini recipe amounts

The amounts recipes call for most, all for stirred tahini at 1.09 g/mL:

• 1 tbsp: ≈ 16 g.
• 2 tbsp: ≈ 32 g.
• 1/4 cup: ≈ 64 g.
• 1/3 cup: ≈ 86 g.
• 1/2 cup: ≈ 129 g.
• 3/4 cup: ≈ 193 g.
• 1 cup: ≈ 258 g.

Tahini cup-to-grams FAQ

How many grams is 1/2 cup of tahini?

About 129 grams for a level US half-cup of stirred tahini (density 1.09 g/mL). A quarter cup is about 64 g and a third of a cup about 86 g.

How many grams is 1/3 cup of tahini?

About 86 grams for a level US 1/3 cup of stirred tahini. For reference, 2/3 cup is about 172 g.

How many grams is 1/4 cup of tahini?

About 64 grams for a level US quarter cup of stirred tahini. That is roughly 4 tablespoons (1 tbsp ≈ 16 g).

How many grams is 1 cup of tahini?

About 258 grams for a level US cup of stirred tahini (density 1.09 g/mL). One and a half cups is about 387 g.

Should I stir tahini before measuring?

Yes. Tahini separates into oil and solids, so an unstirred scoop can be too oily or too dense. Stir until smooth first, then measure — that is what the 129 g and 258 g figures assume.

Why do different websites show different tahini weights?

Grind, sesame type, oil content and brand all shift the density a little, and each source rounds differently. This page uses one consistent density (1.09 g/mL) across the hero, table and FAQ.