How Many Ounces Are in a Quart?
Quick Answer: 32 fluid ounces in 1 US quart · 4 cups · 946 mL
At a glance
- 1 US liquid quart = 32 fluid ounces (4 cups — standard for recipes)
- 1 Imperial (UK) quart ≈ 38.4 US fl oz (40 Imp. fl oz — older UK recipes)
- 1 quart of water ≈ 33 oz by weight (fluid oz ≠ weight oz in general)
A US quart holds exactly 32 fluid ounces (4 cups, 2 pints, 946.35 mL). These are fluid ounces — a volume measurement. Ounces without the word “fluid” measure weight and follow a different scale. For water the two roughly match (1 quart of water weighs about 33 oz), but for honey it’s ~48 oz, and for flour only ~17 oz. When a recipe says “32 oz of broth,” it means 32 fluid ounces = 1 quart. When it says “32 oz of chicken,” it means 32 oz by weight = 2 pounds.
How many ounces in 1 quart?
quart → fluid ounce Quick Converter
Need more features? Try our complete quart to fluid ounce converter.
1 quart on the fluid ounce scale
1 quart = 32 fl oz
Did you know? A US 7-Eleven “Big Gulp” soda cup holds exactly 32 fl oz — one full US quart. The same capacity as the standard quart-size broth carton in US supermarkets.
US recipe conventions actually mix liquid and weight “oz” labels depending on the ingredient. For packaged liquids (broth, cream, milk), “oz” almost always means fluid oz. For solids (meat, cheese, produce), “oz” means weight. This works because no one would write “32 fl oz of chicken” — but for olive oil or honey, the label may be ambiguous.
Formula
Values follow the US customary system as published by NIST (Office of Weights and Measures). 1 US liquid quart is defined as exactly 0.946352946 liters; 1 quart = 32 fl oz follows because 1 fl oz = 29.5735 mL × 32 = 946.35 mL. These relationships are exact by definition in the US customary system.
Quarts to Fluid Ounces Conversion Table
mL values are NIST-exact, rounded to 1 decimal.
| Quarts | Fl oz | Cups | Pints | Milliliters |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ⅛ | 4 | ½ | ¼ | 118.3 |
| ¼ | 8 | 1 | ½ | 236.6 |
| ⅓ | 10⅔ | 1⅓ | ⅔ | 315.4 |
| ⅜ | 12 | 1½ | ¾ | 354.9 |
| ½ (1 pint) | 16 | 2 | 1 | 473.2 |
| ⅝ | 20 | 2½ | 1¼ | 591.5 |
| ⅔ | 21⅓ | 2⅔ | 1⅓ | 630.9 |
| ¾ | 24 | 3 | 1½ | 709.8 |
| 1 | 32 | 4 | 2 | 946.4 |
| 1½ | 48 | 6 | 3 | 1,419.5 |
| 2 (½ gallon) | 64 | 8 | 4 | 1,892.7 |
| 2½ | 80 | 10 | 5 | 2,365.9 |
| 3 | 96 | 12 | 6 | 2,839.1 |
| 4 (1 gallon) | 128 | 16 | 8 | 3,785.4 |
| 8 (2 gallons) | 256 | 32 | 16 | 7,570.8 |
What is a fluid ounce? What is a quart?
Fluid ounce
A fluid ounce (fl oz) is a small volume unit used for liquids. 1 US fl oz = 29.57 mL ≈ 2 tablespoons ≈ ⅛ cup. A standard shot glass is about 1.5 fl oz.
Critically, a fluid ounce measures volume, not weight. “Ounces” (oz) without “fluid” measure weight (28.35 g) — a different unit. For water at room temperature, 1 fl oz of volume happens to weigh about 1 oz, but this equivalence doesn’t hold for anything else.
Quart
A quart (abbreviated qt) is a larger volume unit equal to 32 fluid ounces = 4 cups = 2 pints = 946.35 mL in the US. Four quarts make a gallon. The name comes from the Latin quartus meaning “one fourth” — because a quart is one quarter of a gallon.
Quarts appear most often in dairy containers (milk, buttermilk, yogurt), ice cream packaging, stock/broth cartons, and large-batch recipes.
US Fl Oz vs Imperial Fl Oz vs Label Fl Oz
Confusingly, the fluid ounce has three common definitions, depending on where and why you’re measuring:
- US fluid ounce: exactly 29.5735295625 mL. Used throughout US cooking, bartending, and commerce. This is the one used everywhere else on this page.
- Imperial (UK) fluid ounce: exactly 28.4130625 mL — about 4% smaller than the US fl oz. Historically standard in UK/Ireland but largely replaced by milliliters in modern recipes.
- FDA labeling fluid ounce: defined as exactly 30 mL for US nutrition labels. A rounded simplification used on packaged-food nutrition panels — not for recipes.
The takeaway: 1 fl oz ≈ 30 mL is fine for quick kitchen math. For baking accuracy, use the US customary value (29.57 mL) or just use milliliters directly.
Liquid Quart vs Dry Quart vs Imperial Quart
The word “quart” refers to three distinct volumes depending on context:
- US liquid quart: 946.35 mL = 32 US fl oz = 4 US cups = 2 US pints. The standard for recipes, dairy, broth, and beverages in the US.
- US dry quart: 1,101.22 mL — about 16.4% larger. Used at US farmers markets for dry produce like berries and mushrooms. Not used in recipes.
- Imperial (UK) quart: 1,136.52 mL = 40 Imperial fl oz. About 20% larger than the US liquid quart. Once standard in the UK and Ireland, now largely replaced by liters in recipes.
If a recipe asks for “a quart” in a US cookbook, it means the US liquid quart (4 US cups). If the recipe is British or Irish and pre-1970s, it may mean the Imperial quart — roughly 4.8 US cups. Modern UK and Irish recipes almost always use liters instead.
US Liquid Measurement Hierarchy
1 quart = 2 pints = 4 cups = 32 fl oz = 946 mL
1 pint = 2 cups = 16 fl oz = 473 mL
1 cup = 8 fl oz = 16 tbsp = 48 tsp = 237 mL
1 tablespoon = 3 tsp = ½ fl oz = 15 mL
1 teaspoon = ⅓ tbsp = 5 mL
How to Measure Accurately
Liquid ingredients
- Use a clear liquid measuring cup on a flat surface. Pour in the liquid, then crouch to read the meniscus at eye level. Reading from above can add 5–15% error.
- For sticky liquids (honey, syrup, molasses), lightly oil the cup first — the ingredient slides out cleanly with no residue.
Dry ingredients
- Spoon the ingredient into the cup, then level the top with the flat edge of a knife. Do not pack it down unless the recipe explicitly says so (packed brown sugar is the common exception).
- Flour scooped directly from the bag compacts and adds up to 25% more than intended — the #1 cause of dry, dense baked goods.
Pro tip: for baking, a kitchen scale beats any measuring cup. 1 US cup of all-purpose flour ≈ 120 g, but this varies by brand and technique — weighing eliminates the variance entirely.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many ounces are in a quart?
There are 32 fluid ounces in 1 US quart (4 cups, 2 pints, 946 mL).
How many ounces in half a quart?
16 fluid ounces in ½ US quart — which is exactly 1 pint or 2 cups (473 mL).
How many ounces in 2 quarts?
64 fluid ounces in 2 US quarts — equal to half a gallon or 8 cups (1,893 mL).
Are fluid ounces the same as weight ounces?
No. A fluid ounce (fl oz) measures volume. An ounce without “fluid” measures weight (28.35 g). For water they roughly match, but 1 quart of honey weighs ~48 oz, while 1 quart of flour weighs only ~17 oz. Recipes using “oz” for liquids almost always mean fluid ounces.
Related Cooking Conversions
- How many cups in a quart? — 4 cups
- How many ounces in a cup? — 8 fl oz
- How many cups in a pint? — 2 cups
- How many cups in a gallon? — 16 cups
- How many teaspoons in a tablespoon? — 3 tsp
- How many tablespoons in a cup? — 16 tbsp
- Volume to Weight (ingredients) — how much does 1 quart of honey weigh?
- Weight to Volume (ingredients) — convert 1 kg of broth to quarts
- All Cooking Measurement Tools
All values use US customary measurements. 1 US quart = 946.35 mL = 32 US fl oz. Imperial fl oz (28.41 mL) is 4% smaller than US; FDA labeling fl oz (30 mL) is a rounded value used on nutrition panels. Weight ounces are a different unit (28.35 g).