Cayenne Pepper (Ground)

One US cup of cayenne pepper (ground) weighs between 84.8 and 100.9 grams, depending on how the cup is filled and which source measured it. That range is the answer; a single number would not be. Every figure behind it is below, with the method each source used.

Also called cayenne pepper, cayenne, ground cayenne, ground cayenne pepper, cayenne powder, ground red pepper.

A US cup of ground cayenne pepper weighs between 85 and 101 grams, and ExactCups publishes that range rather than a single figure because USDA's reference weight and an independent foodservice measurement differ by 19%, beyond the 10% tolerance held for spices.

Cayenne is a hot variety of Capsicum annuum, the same species as paprika, typically rated around 30,000 to 50,000 Scoville units. The ground spice sold as cayenne is less uniform than the name suggests. Commercial cayenne powder may be a blend of several hot pepper varieties, sometimes containing little actual cayenne, and it may be milled with or without the seeds. USDA's own record reflects this, cataloguing the spice as red or cayenne pepper rather than as a single cultivar. In US recipes, ground red pepper and cayenne are used interchangeably.

USDA's SR Legacy record lists 5.3 grams per tablespoon and 1.8 grams per teaspoon, which scale to 85 and 86 grams per cup. A foodservice conversion table built from measurements across several vendors lists cayenne at 3.56 ounces per cup, or 101 grams, with its tablespoon and teaspoon columns agreeing. The same page's rule of thumb of 0.45 teaspoons per gram works out to 107, slightly above its own table.

The variation in product identity is the most plausible driver of the spread. USDA composition shows about 17% fat, noticeably more than paprika's 13%. Pepper seeds are oil-rich, so a high fat figure is consistent with seeds milled into the powder, and a powder with seeds is a different particle mix from one milled from pod walls alone. Neither source states whether its product included seeds, which is why the range is published rather than resolved.

Three nearby products are easy to confuse with cayenne and measure very differently. Crushed red pepper flakes are coarse pieces of dried pod and seed; the same foodservice table puts them at about 80 grams per cup, lighter because irregular flakes trap air. Chili powder is a blend of ground chiles with cumin, garlic, and oregano, measured in that table at about 107 grams per cup, and it is far milder. Paprika is the same species milled from sweeter, thinner-fleshed varieties and weighs about 109 grams per cup. None of these substitutes for cayenne by volume without changing both heat and weight.

In practice, a teaspoon of ground cayenne weighs 1.8 to 2.1 grams and a tablespoon 5.3 to 6.3 grams. Most recipes use cayenne by the pinch or quarter teaspoon, where heat varies from jar to jar far more than weight does, so taste as you go rather than relying on the figure. For hot sauces, rubs, and spice blends made in quantity, weigh it. Spoon it into the measure and level without pressing, avoid breathing the dust, and keep the jar tightly closed.