Quart
A US quart is 946 ml, just under a liter, and equals 4 cups or 2 pints. The old British quart is larger. Here is how to convert quarts.
Also called Quarts, qt, Imperial quart.
A quart is a unit of volume used in American recipes. A US quart is 32 fluid ounces, 4 cups or 2 pints, and holds 946 ml, just under a liter. The imperial quart in older British recipes is 1.14 liters. The name means a quarter, because a quart is a quarter of a gallon.
How to do it
To check the size of a pot or dish you are not sure about:
- Fill a 1 liter jug, or a 4 cup measure, with water.
- Pour it into the pot. Count how many times it takes to fill the pot to about 2 cm (1 inch) below the rim.
- Each fill is about a quart.
How to use it
| US measure | Same as | Metric |
|---|---|---|
| 1 gallon | 4 quarts | 3.79 liters |
| 1 quart | 4 cups, 2 pints | 946 ml |
| ½ quart | 2 cups, 1 pint | 473 ml |
| ¼ quart | 1 cup | 237 ml |
For most cooking, you can treat 1 quart and 1 liter as the same. A liter is only about 5 percent more. A 1 liter carton of stock can stand in for a 1 quart one without changing the recipe.
American pots and baking dishes are sold by quart size. A 2 quart saucepan holds about 1.9 liters. A 5 to 6 quart Dutch oven holds about 5 liters. A stockpot is often 8 to 12 quarts, about 7.5 to 11 liters. A 2 quart baking dish is usually 20 x 20 cm (8 x 8 inches) or a bit larger.
Common mistakes
- Using an imperial quart for an American recipe. It is about 20 percent larger.
- Using a pot that is exactly the size of the recipe's volume. Leave room. Soup that makes 3 quarts needs a pot of 4 quarts or more so it does not boil over.
- Mixing up the short forms. Qt is quart and pt is pint, which is half as much.
In recipes
You will see "1 quart chicken stock", "2 quarts water" and "a 4 quart pot". Brining recipes often say "1 gallon water" or "4 quarts water" with a set amount of salt. A dry quart, used for berries in the US, is a little larger than a liquid quart, about 1.1 liters.
Related terms
- PintA US pint is 473 ml and a British pint is 568 ml, a fifth larger. Here is how to tell which one a recipe means and how to convert it.
- CupA US cup is about 240 ml, a metric cup is 250 ml, and a cup of flour weighs far less than a cup of sugar. Here is how to measure and convert.
- Fluid ounceA fluid ounce measures volume, not weight. A US fl oz is 29.6 ml and a British one is 28.4 ml. Here is how they compare to cups and pints.
- MilliliterA milliliter (ml) is a thousandth of a liter, the metric unit for measuring liquids. See how ml converts to teaspoons, cups and fluid ounces.
- StockpotA stockpot is a large, tall pot with two handles for stock, soup, pasta and boiling big batches. Here is what size to get and how to use it well.
- SaucepanA saucepan is a deep, round pan with straight sides and one long handle, for sauces, grains, eggs and reheating. Here is how to pick a size.