Remembering how many cups are in a gallon, quart, or pint can be tricky, but it doesn’t have to be! We have two handy free printable images, including the famous Gallon Man, to reference as needed while cooking. So the next time you’re making a party punch and wonder, “How many quarts in a gallon?” you’ll be ready. 

A free printable with mason jars showing how many cups are in a gallon, quart, and pint.

Did you know that America is one of only three countries in the world that doesn’t use the metric system?

Instead, we use United States customary units for everyday things like recipes and road signs. The metric system uses increments of 10, while U.S. measurements come with many different conversions. 

All those differences can lead to confusion, especially when you’re cooking. It might leave you wondering, how many cups in a quart? How many cups are in a pint or gallon? 

Luckily, we’re here to make sense of the most common cooking measurement conversions. That way, you can make sure your recipes turn out, even if you don’t have the right measuring cups.

Keep in mind these measurements are meant for liquids. It’s important to first understand the difference between fluid ounces, ounces, and cups, so read How Many Ounces in a Cup first

The Gallon Man

The Gallon Man. A printable graphic for gallons, quarts, pints, and cups. A large G is filled with 4 quarts filled with 2 pints, filled with 2 cups.

The Gallon Man is a fun way to visualize gallons, quarts, pints, and cups. Though I made this printable, which you can download and print, I’m not sure who first came up with it! I know years ago it was taught in home economics class. 

It may look confusing at first glance, but makes the conversions very simple.

  • A Gallon can swallow 4 Quarts. 
  • A Quart can swallow 2 Pints. 
  • A Pint can swallow 2 Cups. 

CLICK HERE FOR THE FIRST PRINTABLE & HERE FOR THE SECOND

How Many Cups in a Gallon 

There are 16 cups in a gallon. This is a helpful conversion when making things like a big batch of our favorite Strawberry Lemonade. If you wanted to make one gallon, to bring to a party, you’d need to triple the recipe. 

How Many Pints in a Gallon

There are 8 pints in a gallon. 

How Many Quarts in a Gallon

There are 4 quarts in a gallon.

 A 32 oz. (1 quart) box of vegetable broth on a kitchen counter to illustrate the size of a quart.

How Many Cups in a Quart?

There are 4 cups in a quart. If you don’t have a quart-sized measuring cup, you can simply measure out 4 1-cup portions. 

Recipes for soup or punch will often call for a quart of liquid, or 32 ounces. Vegetable broth like the one pictured above usually comes in 32 ounce boxes, which is the equivalent of one quart. When making soup that calls for 32 oz. of broth or water, I often measure this using a large mason jar, which is 1 quart. 

Two pint sized mason jars sit next to a larger quart sized mason jar to show that there are 2 pints in a quart.

How Many Pints in a Quart?

One quart contains two pints. Since there are 32 ounces in a quart, that means there are 16 ounces in a pint. 

Small containers of ice cream, heavy cream, and coffee creamer often come in pints. You can also buy a pint’s worth of milk, which is the smallest size available. 

If a recipe calls for a pint, look for the word pint on the label when you’re shopping. If you don’t see it, look for a container that has 16 ounces.

One of the most common canning jar sizes is a pint. I often use these as drinking glasses or for making dressings and chia pudding. In the image above, two of the smaller (pint)  jars are equal to the larger quart sized jar. 

How Many Cups in a Pint?

There are two cups in a pint. If one cup is the equivalent of 8 ounces, that means there are 16 ounces in two cups. Therefore, there are 16 ounces in a pint. 

If a recipe calls for a pint, you can measure out two cups. This comes in handy if you ever need to combine two partially-used containers of heavy whipping cream, for example. 

Liquid measuring cups are on a kitchen counter.

Tips for Measuring Liquid Ingredients

When you measure liquids, you can use either liquid or dry measuring cups. Since liquid naturally levels off, you don’t need to worry about sweeping off the excess like you do with dry ingredients. However, a liquid measuring cup is the easiest and most accurate, as you won’t spill any water when transferring from cup to bowl or pot. 

You can also use measuring spoons to measure both wet and dry ingredients. Learn about converting between Teaspoons and Tablespoons here

Once you fill the measuring cup, make sure to check the amount at eye level. If it matches the line, you’re good to go. 

Get Cooking! Use These Handy Measurement Conversions Today

If you’re new to cooking you might wonder, how many cups in a quart, pint, or gallon? Given the quirks of our U.S. measurements, it can be tough even for seasoned cooks to remember. 

Hopefully, this guide offers you some help with your cooking conversions. The next time you’re making a pot of soup or baking a cake and your quart measuring cup is dirty, you can turn to this guide. 

If you’re looking for more kitchen inspiration, check out my complete collection of plant-based recipes!