Cooking converter · USDA gram weights

Brown Sugar Cups to Grams

Quick answer

1 cup of brown sugar weighs 220 g (7.76 oz). 1 tablespoon is 13.8 g and 1 teaspoon is 4.6 g.

1 cup: 220g; 7.76 oz
1 tablespoon: 13.8g
1 teaspoon: 4.6g
100 g: 0.45cups; of a US cup

Brown sugar is white sugar with molasses, and it clumps, so recipes ask for it packed into the cup. USDA lists a packed cup and an unpacked cup, and the gap between them is the biggest reason baked goods come out different from one cook to the next.

Convert any amount of brown sugar

Starts at 1 cup of brown sugar in grams (220 g); change the units to go from grams back to cups.

Amount of brown sugarFromTo

1 cup of brown sugar is 220 grams

Cups: 1
Tablespoons: 16
Teaspoons: 47.83
Grams: 220
Ounces: 7.76

Brown Sugar: cups to grams and ounces

Cups of brown sugar in grams and ounces
Cups	Grams	Ounces
1/4 cup	55	1.94
1/3 cup	73.3	2.59
1/2 cup	110	3.88
2/3 cup	146.7	5.17
3/4 cup	165	5.82
1 cup	220	7.76
1 1/2 cups	330	11.64
2 cups	440	15.52
3 cups	660	23.28
4 cups	880	31.04

Tablespoons and teaspoons of brown sugar in grams and ounces
Spoons	Grams	Ounces
1/2 tablespoon	6.9	0.24
1 tablespoon	13.8	0.49
2 tablespoons	27.5	0.97
3 tablespoons	41.3	1.46
4 tablespoons	55	1.94
6 tablespoons	82.5	2.91
8 tablespoons	110	3.88
1/4 teaspoon	1.2	0.04
1/2 teaspoon	2.3	0.08
3/4 teaspoon	3.4	0.12
1 teaspoon	4.6	0.16
2 teaspoons	9.2	0.32
3 teaspoons	13.8	0.49

Brown Sugar: grams and ounces to cups

For a recipe written in grams or ounces, here is how much of a US cup each weight of brown sugar fills.

Grams of brown sugar in cups, tablespoons and ounces
Grams	Cups	Tablespoons	Ounces
25 g	0.11	1.82	0.88
50 g	0.23	3.64	1.76
100 g	0.45	7.27	3.53
125 g	0.57	9.09	4.41
150 g	0.68	10.91	5.29
200 g	0.91	14.55	7.05
250 g	1.14	18.18	8.82
300 g	1.36	21.82	10.58
400 g	1.82	29.09	14.11
500 g	2.27	36.36	17.64

Ounces of brown sugar in grams, cups and tablespoons
Ounces (weight)	Grams	Cups	Tablespoons
1 oz	28.3	0.13	2.06
2 oz	56.7	0.26	4.12
3 oz	85	0.39	6.19
4 oz	113.4	0.52	8.25
6 oz	170.1	0.77	12.37
8 oz	226.8	1.03	16.49
12 oz	340.2	1.55	24.74
16 oz	453.6	2.06	32.99

What a cup of brown sugar weighs, and why it can differ

USDA’s weight for “1 cup packed” is 220 g. Next to a cup of water, which holds about 236.6 g, that is 93% of the weight of a cup of water, so it weighs about the same as the same volume of water. The same cup works out at 0.93 g per millilitre.

Depending on how it is prepared, a cup of brown sugar ranges from 145 g (unpacked) to 220 g (packed) in USDA’s own entry: 75 g apart, and the heavier cup holds 1.52 times the lighter.

For a recipe that asks for 2 cups, that is a difference of 150 g between the lightest and the heaviest way to fill them, which is why the safest route is to weigh brown sugar instead.

Other USDA cup measures for brown sugar
USDA measure	Grams	Ounces
1 cup packed (used on this page)	220	7.76
1 cup unpacked	145	5.11

USDA lists no tablespoon measure for this entry, so that weight is the cup weight divided by the US ratio (16 tablespoons to the cup).

Counting calories instead of cups? See calories and macros in brown Sugar, per 100 g and per portion.

Frequently asked questions

How many grams are in 1 cup of brown sugar?

USDA measures 1 cup of brown sugar (its portion is listed as “1 cup packed”) at 220 g, which is 7.76 oz.

How many cups is 500 g of brown sugar?

500 g of brown sugar is 2.27 cups, using 220 g per cup of brown sugar. A 1 kg bag of brown sugar would fill 4.55 cups, and a 1 lb pack of brown sugar would fill 2.06.

How much does a part of a cup of brown sugar weigh?

Half a cup of brown sugar is 110 g, a third of a cup of brown sugar is 73.3 g and a quarter cup of brown sugar is 55 g. For small amounts, 1 tablespoon of brown sugar is 13.8 g (0.49 oz) and 2 tablespoons of brown sugar are 27.5 g.

If my recipe uses 250 ml metric cups, how much brown sugar is that?

A 250 ml cup is about 5.7% larger than a US cup, so a metric cup of brown sugar comes to about 232.5 g, going by USDA’s 220 g for a US cup of brown sugar. The weights on this page are for the US cup of about 237 ml.

Why does a cup of brown sugar weigh different amounts?

Depending on how it is prepared, a cup of brown sugar ranges from 145 g (unpacked) to 220 g (packed) in USDA’s own entry: 75 g apart, and the heavier cup holds 1.52 times the lighter. Scooping, packing and preparing it change the weight, and the figure used on this page is the “1 cup packed” measure.

What weighs about the same as a cup of brown sugar?

Among these converters, mayonnaise (220 g per cup) and canola oil (218 g per cup) come closest to 220 g. Same volume, different ingredient: the weights are close, but the foods are not interchangeable.

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Weights are USDA averages for the entry named below. Packing, sifting, brand and moisture change the weight of a real cup, so treat them as a good starting point, not a lab measurement.

USDA describes this entry as “Sugars, brown” (FoodData Central SR Legacy 2018-04).

Source: USDA FoodData Central, FDC 168833, retrieved October 22, 2026. How we calculate.