1/4 Cup Granulated Sugar in Grams
1/4 cup of granulated sugar weighs 49.5 g (spooned and levelled, King Arthur Baking). Refined white cane or beet sugar; the default sugar in most recipes. All the figures on this page are approximate conversions based on the King Arthur Baking value of 198 g per cup, so when a recipe really matters, verify with a kitchen scale.
Why a quarter cup is worth weighing
A quarter cup is a small measure, and small measures are where cup errors hurt most. A 5 g mistake in a full cup of granulated sugar is a rounding error; the same 5 g on a quarter cup is a 17 percent swing on 49.5 g, and in a small batch that swing can change the result. Recipes that call for a quarter cup are usually small, precise or both — a mug cake, a glaze, a roux, a single-serve bake — and there is no large batch to absorb the error. Weighing 49.5 g takes five seconds and removes the problem entirely.
Spooned and levelled is the method behind the number, and it matters. Granulated Sugar is used for sweetening drinks, baking, preserving and candy-making. That range of uses is part of why the conversion comes up so often: the same ingredient appears in everyday cooking and in precise baking, and the two situations demand different levels of accuracy. Grams cut through all of that: 49.5 g of granulated sugar is 49.5 g whatever the brand, the humidity or the size of your measuring cup.
Granulated Sugar cups to grams conversion table
| Cups | Grams | Tablespoons |
|---|---|---|
| 1/4 cup | 49.5 g | 4 |
| 1/3 cup | 66 g | 5.3 |
| 1/2 cup | 99 g | 8 |
| 2/3 cup | 132 g | 10.7 |
| 3/4 cup | 148.5 g | 12 |
| 1 cup | 198 g | 16 |
| 1 1/2 cups | 297 g | 24 |
| 2 cups | 396 g | 32 |
The tablespoon column shows how many tablespoons each amount equals: a quarter cup is 4 tablespoons, and one tablespoon of granulated sugar weighs about 12.4 g. A cup is 16 tablespoons, so the numbers in the table are just the cup weight divided by 16, rounded to one decimal place. For small amounts a scale that reads to the gram is far more reliable than a spoon, because a heaped tablespoon can weigh half as much again as a level one. Read the table from the 1/4-cup row outwards: every other row is a multiple of 49.5 g, so scaling a recipe up or down is simple multiplication.
How the weight was measured
Spooned and levelled means the ingredient is measured the way King Arthur Baking measures it: spooned and levelled. For granulated sugar, that gives 198 g per cup, and a quarter of that is 49.5 g. The source for the figure is King Arthur Baking, and the confidence in the value is high. King Arthur Baking publishes a standard ingredient weight chart that recipe developers use as a reference, and this page follows it exactly rather than averaging across sources, because an average of two different measuring methods is a number that matches nobody's cup.
A note on disputed figures. King Arthur lists 198 g per cup; USDA FoodData Central rounds granulated sugar to 200 g per cup. The 2 g difference is rounding, not a real disagreement. That is why this page uses the King Arthur Baking value of 198 g per cup as its single, stated source, rather than averaging across charts. An average of two different measuring methods is a number that matches nobody's cup, so we pick one method, name it, and stick to it.
Worked examples
Sweetening a small batch of jam
A small pot of jam made from a punnet of berries needs roughly 1/4 cup of granulated sugar per cup of fruit, depending on how tart the fruit is. That is 49.5 g, and weighing it matters because sugar is doing two jobs at once: sweetening and helping the jam set. A cup measure of granulated sugar can vary by several grams depending on how it was scooped, and in a small pot that variation is a large share of the total.
A single-serve mug cake
A mug cake that serves one person usually needs about 1/4 cup of granulated sugar — 49.5 g — and because the cake is a single serving, the sweetness has nowhere to hide. Too much sugar and the cake is cloying and sinks in the middle; too little and it tastes flat. Weigh 49.5 g, stir it into the batter, and the result is the same every time you make it, which is the whole point of writing the recipe down in grams.
A meringue for two pavlovas
Two small pavlovas need about 1/4 cup of granulated sugar whisked into the egg whites — 49.5 g, added a spoonful at a time. Meringue is a ratio recipe: the sugar must dissolve fully into the whites or the finished meringue weeps syrup. Weighing 49.5 g and adding it slowly gives the whites time to take it up, and the pavlovas come out crisp outside and marshmallowy inside.
Sugar is hygroscopic
Sugar pulls moisture from the air, and granulated sugar is no exception. A bag left open in a humid kitchen weighs more per cup than a fresh bag, because some of that weight is water. Store it sealed, and if it has clumped, break it up before measuring — a clump in a quarter cup can throw the weight off by several grams and leave a hard lump in the finished bake.
Scaling a quarter cup up and down
Once you know that 1/4 cup of granulated sugar is 49.5 g, the rest is arithmetic. Half a cup is 99 g, three quarters is 148.5 g, and a full cup is 198 g. Doubling a recipe that calls for 1/4 cup means weighing 99 g; halving it means 24.8 g, which is 2 tablespoons. Writing the recipe in grams at this point is worth doing: the next time you make it, you weigh 49.5 g straight into the bowl and skip the measuring cup altogether. If you are scaling a recipe for a different tin size, convert every ingredient to grams first and then multiply — scaling by volume compounds the error on every ingredient at once, while scaling by weight keeps each one exact.
Common mistakes with granulated sugar
- Packing when the recipe says spooned. Brown sugar is packed, but granulated sugar is spooned and levelled. Packing a spooned sugar adds grams the recipe did not ask for.
- Measuring sticky sugar in a dry cup. Sticky sugars cling to the cup and leave some behind. Weigh 49.5 g straight into the bowl instead.
- Swapping sugars cup for cup. Different sugars weigh different amounts per cup — granulated sugar is 198 g per cup, and another sugar may be far lighter or heavier. Convert by weight, not by volume.
- Forgetting that sugar is also liquid. Liquid sugars like syrups and honey add moisture as well as sweetness. Swapping them for a dry sugar changes the batter, not just the taste.
Storage and handling
Airtight container, cool and dry, indefinitely. Keeping granulated sugar stored properly also keeps its weight per cup stable: an ingredient that has absorbed moisture from the air weighs more per cup than a dry one, so a sealed container is not just about freshness, it is about measurement accuracy too. If a bag has been open for months in a humid kitchen, the first thing to do before a precise bake is to weigh the ingredient rather than trusting the cup. Label the container with the conversion — 1/4 cup is 49.5 g — and the next person to bake with it will thank you.
Frequently asked questions
How many grams is 1/4 cup of granulated sugar?
1/4 cup of granulated sugar weighs 49.5 g, measured spooned and levelled according to King Arthur Baking. That is one quarter of the full-cup weight of 198 g, and it is the figure to use when converting a recipe from cups to grams. All the figures on this page are approximate, so when a recipe really matters, verify with a kitchen scale.
How do I measure 1/4 cup of granulated sugar without a scale?
Granulated Sugar is measured spooned and levelled, according to King Arthur Baking. Spooned and levelled it into a 1/4-cup measure, level the top with the back of a knife, and you will be close to 49.5 g. That is the best you can do without a scale — but be honest with yourself that it is an estimate. A basic digital kitchen scale costs less than a bag of good flour and removes the guesswork from every recipe, not just this one.
Can I use the same conversion for a different brand of granulated sugar?
Yes, as a starting point. The 49.5 g figure is a standard average for granulated sugar, and most brands sit within a few grams of it. If you bake with one brand all the time, weigh a quarter cup of it once and note the number on the bag, and you will have a conversion tuned to your own kitchen.
What is granulated sugar used for?
Sweetening drinks, baking, preserving and candy-making. Refined white cane or beet sugar; the default sugar in most recipes. A quarter cup — 49.5 g — is a common amount in small batches, glazes, sauces and test bakes, which is why this conversion comes up so often.
How should I store granulated sugar?
Airtight container, cool and dry, indefinitely. Good storage keeps the ingredient fresh and keeps its weight per cup consistent, because moisture absorbed from the air adds grams that the recipe did not ask for.
Why do different charts give different weights for granulated sugar?
King Arthur lists 198 g per cup; USDA FoodData Central rounds granulated sugar to 200 g per cup. The 2 g difference is rounding, not a real disagreement. We use the King Arthur Baking figure of 198 g per cup, measured spooned and levelled, so a quarter cup is 49.5 g. If a recipe you trust uses a different figure, follow that recipe's chart for that recipe — but do not mix charts inside one recipe.
Related conversions
Use the cups to grams converter sugar substitute converter recipe scaler for instant answers, or browse the cups to grams hub for the full ingredient list. Related pages: 1 cup of granulated sugar in grams, 1/2 cup of granulated sugar in grams, 198 g of granulated sugar in cups, tablespoons of granulated sugar in grams, 1/4 cup of brown sugar in grams, 1/4 cup of powdered sugar in grams. See also our disclaimer about approximate conversions.