Granulated sugar: cups to grams
Regular white sugar is the easy one. Its crystals don't compress much, so a cup weighs close to the same whether you scoop it or spoon it.
| Cups | Grams | Ounces | Tablespoons |
|---|---|---|---|
| ⅛ cup | 25 g | 0.87 oz | 2 |
| ¼ cup | 50 g | 1.75 oz | 4 |
| ⅓ cup | 66 g | 2.33 oz | 5.3 |
| ½ cup | 99 g | 3.49 oz | 8 |
| ⅔ cup | 132 g | 4.66 oz | 10.7 |
| ¾ cup | 149 g | 5.24 oz | 12 |
| 1 cup | 198 g | 6.98 oz | 16 |
| 1 ½ cups | 297 g | 10.48 oz | 24 |
| 2 cups | 396 g | 13.97 oz | 32 |
| 3 cups | 594 g | 20.95 oz | 48 |
Grams of sugar to cups
| Grams | Cups (decimal) | In the kitchen |
|---|---|---|
| 25 g | 0.13 | 2 tbsp |
| 50 g | 0.25 | ¼ cup |
| 100 g | 0.51 | ½ cup |
| 125 g | 0.63 | ½ cup + 2 tbsp + ½ tsp |
| 150 g | 0.76 | ¾ cup + ½ tsp |
| 200 g | 1.01 | 1 cup + ½ tsp |
| 250 g | 1.26 | 1 ¼ cups + ½ tsp |
| 300 g | 1.52 | 1 ½ cups + ½ tsp |
| 500 g | 2.53 | 2 ½ cups + 1 tsp |
Brown sugar, powdered sugar and the rest
Different sugars weigh very different amounts per cup, which is why it pays to look up the right one rather than using a single number for all of them.
| Ingredient | 1 cup | ½ cup | ¼ cup | 1 tbsp |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Granulated sugar | 198 g | 99 g | 50 g | 12 g |
| Brown sugar (packed) | 213 g | 107 g | 53 g | 13 g |
| Powdered sugar | 113 g | 57 g | 28 g | 7.1 g |
| Superfine (caster) sugar | 190 g | 95 g | 48 g | 12 g |
Brown sugar: pack it
Brown sugar is the one ingredient where American recipes expect you to press it down. Unless the recipe says otherwise, "1 cup brown sugar" means firmly packed, so it holds its shape when you tip it out, like a sandcastle. That is why it weighs more per cup than white sugar: about 213 grams. Light and dark brown sugar weigh the same; dark simply has more molasses.
If your brown sugar has gone hard, weighing it is easier than trying to pack lumps into a cup. Pop the lumps into the bowl on a scale and soften them in the batter.
Powdered sugar: much lighter
Powdered (confectioners') sugar is ground so fine that it is mostly air in the cup. One unsifted cup weighs about 113 grams, a little over half the weight of granulated. Sifting makes it lighter still, so if a frosting recipe says "sifted," sift before you measure.
This is also why you can't trade powdered sugar for granulated by the cup. Do that and you end up with roughly 43% less sugar, plus the cornstarch that most powdered sugar contains.
Superfine (caster) sugar
Superfine sugar has smaller crystals that dissolve quickly, which makes it popular for meringues and cocktails. It weighs about 190 grams per cup. If you're working by weight you can swap it for granulated gram for gram. In a pinch, pulse granulated sugar in a food processor for 30 seconds or so to make your own.
Why bakers weigh sugar
Sugar does far more than sweeten. It keeps cakes tender, helps cookies spread and brown, and stabilizes whipped egg whites. Being off by a few spoonfuls rarely ruins a recipe, but in meringues, macarons and candy, small differences show. Weighing also makes it easy to cut sugar in a recipe by a precise amount: to reduce it by a quarter, multiply the grams by 0.75.
Frequently asked questions
How many grams is 1 cup of sugar?
One cup of granulated white sugar weighs about 198 grams. Packed brown sugar is about 213 grams and unsifted powdered sugar about 113 grams.
How many grams is ½ cup of sugar?
Half a cup of granulated sugar is about 99 grams. A quarter cup is about 50 grams.
How many cups is 100 grams of sugar?
100 grams of granulated sugar is about 0.51 cups, which is ½ cup.
How many grams is a tablespoon of sugar?
A level tablespoon of granulated sugar weighs about 12 grams, and a teaspoon about 4.1 grams.
Why is brown sugar heavier than white sugar per cup?
Because it's packed. Recipes expect brown sugar to be pressed firmly into the cup, which squeezes out the air. A packed cup weighs about 213 grams, compared with 198 grams for white sugar.
Can I use powdered sugar instead of granulated?
Not cup for cup. A cup of powdered sugar weighs about 113 grams versus 198 grams for granulated, and it contains cornstarch. It works well in frostings and glazes, but in cakes and cookies it changes the texture.