Learn how many cups in a 12-ounce chocolate chip bag. Discover simple conversions, plus tips to make your baking better.
You have your bag of chocolate chips. You have your chocolate chip cookie recipe. Just one problem. The chocolate chip bag label reads 12 ounces and your recipe has measurements in cups. To make the recipe, you need to know 12 ounces of chocolate chips equals how many cups?
Weight is the most effective way to measure ingredients. Especially when you are baking. A good baking recipe will always include each ingredient’s weight.
But if you do not have a kitchen scale, you may need to know how many cups 12 ounces of chocolate fills. A bag with 12 ounces chocolate chips equals 2 cups. This means 1 cup of chocolate chips equals 6 ounces.
You may also be interested in how many chocolate chips in an ounce, number of chocolate chips in a tablespoon, and how many chocolate chips in a cup. And if you are wondering, there really is the right way to measure chocolate chips.
Chocolate Chip Brands
Most major chocolate chip manufacturers produce a 12-ounce bag of chocolate chips. This is a bag of semi-sweet, regular size chocolate chips.
Nestle Toll House, Hershey’s, Guittard, Ghirardelli, and Kroger brand sell 12-ounce bags of semi-sweet chocolate chips. Rip the bag open for a quick, easy two cups of chocolate chips.
Package weight is sometimes based on the size of the chocolate chips (standard, mini, or chunk). Package weight is often smaller than 12 ounces when the chocolate chip is smaller than the standard sized chip. Twelve ounces is 340 grams of chocolate chips. The weight unit is listed on each bag of chocolate chips.
For example, Nestle Toll House sells a 12 oz package of semi-sweet chocolate chip morsels. But their mini chocolate chips come in a 10 oz package. What about chocolate chunks? They come in a 11.5 oz package.
Ghirardelli has a 12 oz package of standard chocolate chips, but a 10 oz package of mini chocolate chips.
I’m sure the number of ounces in a package is all about the cost to produce the item and nothing to do with the volume.
What About Different Types of Chocolate?
Nestle Toll House sells dark chocolate in 10 oz, milk chocolate in 11.5 oz, and white chocolate in 12 oz.
Guittard sells unsweetened cacao chips in 8.5 oz bags. Milk chocolate and extra dark chocolate chips come in 11.5 oz bags.
Ghirardelli had similar variations in the weight of packages with different types of chocolate. Ghirardelli milk chocolate chips come in 11.5 oz bags, white chocolate chips in 11 oz bags, bittersweet chocolate chips come in 10 oz bags, and unsweetened chocolate chips are sold in 8.5 oz bags.
Hershey’s was the only brand I found that sold mini chocolate chips, semi-sweet, and special dark chocolate in 12-ounce bags. The only difference was Hershey’s milk chocolate. It was packaged in 11.5 ounces.
Will 2 ounces make a difference in your recipe?
With bags of chocolate chips fluctuating in weight between ½ to 2 ounces, will you notice a difference in your recipe?
If you are measuring by volume (measuring cup), you will probably see that each chocolate chip package has about 2 US cups of chocolate chips.
And two cups are one of the most common recipe requirements for chocolate chip cookies. In fact, most recipes for chocolate chip cookies printed on the chocolate chip bag will just call for the whole bag.
Bottom line – you will probably not notice a difference in your recipe. If it calls for two cups (12 oz) of chocolate chips and you use a whole bag of Ghirardelli chocolate chips (11.5 oz), you will not notice anything amiss in the cookie.
However, melted chocolate is an exception. You may need to adjust the amount of moisture in the recipe if you do not use the correct weight of chocolate.
Unless that recipe is fudge. Slight variations in chocolate ounces did not make a difference in homemade chocolate chip fudge.
How Many Cups of Chocolate Chips in 6 oz? 24 oz? 36 oz? 72 oz?
In addition to 12 oz packages of semi-sweet chocolate chips, Nestle Toll House sells other sized bags too. Standard size chocolate chips come in 6 oz, 24 oz, 36 oz, and 72 oz. So how many cups are in each of these bags? Let’s break it down.
- 6 oz = 1 cup of chocolate chips
- 12 oz = 2 cups of chocolate chips
- 24 oz = 4 cups of chocolate chips
- 36 oz = 6 cups of chocolate chips
- 72 oz = 12 cups of chocolate chips
| Oz of Chocolate Chips (Weight) | Cups of Chocolate Chips (Volume) |
|---|---|
| 6 oz | 1 cup chocolate chips |
| 12 oz | 2 cups chocolate chips |
| 24 oz | 4 cups chocolate chips |
| 36 oz | 6 cups chocolate chips |
| 72 oz | 12 cups chocolate chips |
How Many Cups Dark Chocolate Chips in Different Size Packages
Nestle Toll House Dark chocolate chips come in 10, 20, and 40 oz packages. But how many cups in each of these packages?
- 10 oz = 13/5 cups dark chocolate
- 20 oz = 1¼ cups dark chocolate
- 40 oz = 2½ cups dark chocolate
See all the melted chocolate chips recipes. You will love the variety.
12 Ounces Chocolate Chips Equals How Many Cups?
Twelve ounces of chocolate chips equals 2 cups. The chocolate chips may be large, medium, or small. But when they weigh 12 ounce, rest assured you have two cups.
Here are some more chocolate chip conversions:
- 6 ounces chocolate chips = 1 cup
- 3 ounces chocolate chips = ½ cup
- 1½ ounces chocolate chips = ¼ cup
Is 8 oz of chocolate chips one cup?
There are only 6 ounces of chocolate chips in one cup. This may be confusing because 8 US fluid ounces equals 1 fluid cup. A dry cup measure and a liquid cup measure have different weights.
With dry ingredients, volume (the amount of space the item takes up) is an important part of the weight. The volume of one cup of chocolate chips does not weigh the same as a cup of other ingredients.
Chocolate chips, oats, brown sugar, and flour are good examples of food that do not weigh the same amount, even if their volume is the same. The density of these substances differs.
Because of the variations in the weight of dry ingredients, it is even more crucial to use a kitchen scale to weigh exact amounts. Especially if you are baking a new recipe.
How much is 8 ounces of chocolate?
Eight ounces of chocolate is 1⅓ cups. If a recipe calls for 8 ounces of chocolate, you can use chocolate chips or baking chocolate bars.
Chocolate bars come in different varieties. Unsweetened baking chocolate, bittersweet chocolate, semi-sweet chocolate, milk chocolate, sweet German chocolate, and white chocolate are some of the baking chocolate varieties. A square of chocolate is usually ½ ounce. Two squares of chocolate equal 1 ounce.
Baking chocolate found in grocery stores usually comes in 4 ounces. To get a full pound of chocolate, you will need four 4-ounce bars of baking chocolate.
When a recipe calls for chocolate by weight, you can use baking chocolate or chocolate chips. Just be aware of the variety of chip flavor the recipe calls for.
For example, unsweetened cacao baking chips or unsweetened cocoa powder are possible substitutes for unsweetened baking chocolate.
Substitute 1-ounce milk chocolate baking bar for any recipe calling for milk chocolate chips.
If you use baking chocolate in place of chocolate chips, break the chocolate bar into small pieces. This is especially important if you plan to melt the chocolate in the microwave.
How do I Measure 8 Ounces of Chocolate?
The best and easiest way to measure 8 ounces of chocolate is to use a kitchen scale. You will always be precise when you use a kitchen scale.
However, you may prefer to measure by volume. Eight ounces of chocolate equals approximately 1⅓ cups of chocolate chips.
How to Use a Pound Block of Chocolate in Baking?
Now that you know 12 ounces of chocolate equals two cups, it is easy to use a block of chocolate. First, break the chocolate block into small pieces (around the size of chocolate chips). Measure a cup of these small chipped pieces to get 6 ounces. Or measure 2 cups to get 12 ounces.
If the chocolate block is thick and hard to chop, consider grating the chocolate. Use a box grater and grate the chocolate on the smallest holes.
You can also use a handheld grater or a microplane grater for an even finer grate.
I always recommend weighing the chocolate, if possible. Any volume measurements will be approximations. Weighing will be more precise.
Chocolate pieces or grated chocolate are important when you melt chocolate in the microwave. Grated chocolate will melt much quicker than larger pieces of chocolate.
When melting grated chocolate in the microwave, set the power to 50% and heat at 15-second intervals. Stir between each heating interval.
Are Unit Measurements for the Cup the Same Around the World?
We’ve talked a lot about cups and ounces. But are the unit measurements the same around the world? Unfortunately, no.
The United States measuring cups are not equal to the cup measurements used in other countries. This can lead to problems when you use a recipe from one country with the measuring equipment from another country.
Just to give you an idea of how cups differ around the world …
| Volume | Weight |
|---|---|
| 1 US legal cup | 240 mL |
| 1 US standard cup | 236.588 mL |
| 1 international metric cup | 250 mL |
| 1 imperial cup | 284.131 mL |
A recipe from the US will use the US standard cup measurement if the recipe measures ingredients by volume.
However, the best recipes will measure ingredients by weight. Especially baking recipes, which often need more precision than cooking recipes. A few extra carrot slices will not affect your soup the way a few extra ounces of flour will affect your cookies.
This is one of the reasons I recommend using a kitchen scale. Especially when you bake. If you are interested in learning more, check out my post on how using a kitchen scale will improve your baking.
More Ways to Improve Your Baking
In addition to using a kitchen scale, there are other tips to follow for even more success in the kitchen.
IDENTIFY common baking conversions.
- Learn how many teaspoons in a tablespoon. Teaspoons and tablespoons are sometimes too small to weigh on a kitchen scale.
- Know how many tablespoons in a cup of butter or in general how many teaspoons in a cup or tablespoons in a cup.
Conversions are important when baking. But there are some other tips to follow for even more success in the kitchen.
UNDERSTAND essential food safety rules to prevent the spread of foodborne illness.
KNOW your oven, its true temperature, and hot spots. Learn how to calibrate an oven for more precise recipe results.
LEARN the common food substitutions in case you are out of a recipe ingredient.
READ each recipe all the way through before you start baking. Avoid surprises.
DISCOVER the best ways to work with chocolate, including how to melt chocolate chips on the stove or in the microwave. Melting white chocolate differs from regular chocolate.
COMPARE white vs. milk chocolate or dark vs. white chocolate. Or contrast almond bark vs. white chocolate or candy melts vs. white chocolate.
This article shared lots of conversions from ounces to cups. You now know how many cups 12 ounces chocolate chips equals. But I hope you have learned more about how to be a better baker too.
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