2 Cups Powdered Sugar in Grams
226 g — that is what 2 cups of powdered sugar weighs, spooned and levelled, per King Arthur Baking. It sounds like a small detail, but in baking and in any recipe written in grams, it is the detail that decides whether the result matches the recipe writer's kitchen. Cups are convenient and grams are accurate, and this page bridges the two for powdered sugar with a full table, practical examples, and the method notes that make the number trustworthy. Treat every figure here as approximate and check it against a scale when the stakes are high.
Why this number is worth knowing
Powdered Sugar shows up in recipes written both ways — cups in American cookbooks, grams in European ones — and translating between them is where most kitchen errors happen. Knowing that 2 cups of powdered sugar is about 226 g means you can follow either kind of recipe without converting on the fly, and you can scale a recipe up or down without the rounding errors that creep in when you convert cup by cup. It also means you can compare recipes: if two recipes for the same dish call for very different amounts of powdered sugar, the gram weights make the difference obvious in a way cups never do. Keep the table below bookmarked and the conversion becomes second nature.
Powdered Sugar cups to grams conversion table
| Cups | Grams | Tablespoons (approx.) |
|---|---|---|
| 1/4 cup | 28.2 g | 1.8 g |
| 1/3 cup | 37.7 g | 2.4 g |
| 1/2 cup | 56.5 g | 3.5 g |
| 2/3 cup | 75.3 g | 4.7 g |
| 3/4 cup | 84.8 g | 5.3 g |
| 1 cup | 113 g | 7.1 g |
| 1 1/2 cups | 169.5 g | 10.6 g |
| 2 cups | 226 g | 14.1 g |
| 3 cups | 339 g | 21.2 g |
| 4 cups | 452 g | 28.2 g |
The tablespoon column is a bonus for recipes that call for a spoonful or two: one tablespoon of powdered sugar weighs about 7.1 g. Remember that a cup is 16 tablespoons, so the numbers in the table are just the cup weight divided by 16, rounded sensibly. 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.
How the weight was measured
Spooned and levelled means the ingredient was measured the way King Arthur Baking measures it: spooned into the measuring cup until heaped, then levelled with a straight edge. Never scoop the cup through the bag or jar, and never tap the cup down, because both pack the ingredient and add weight. The source for the 113 g per cup 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.
There is a dispute worth knowing about. King Arthur lists 113 g unsifted; sifted powdered sugar is about 100 g per cup because sifting adds air. The practical advice is simple: use the value in the table above, measure the way the table describes, and your results will match the recipes this site is built around. If a recipe you are following was written with a different value, follow that recipe's value instead of ours, because consistency within one recipe matters more than which authoritative number you pick.
Worked examples
Scaling a cake recipe for a crowd
A cake that serves eight and uses 1 cup of powdered sugar becomes a cake for sixteen with 2 cups, or 226 g. Scaling sugar by volume compounds the error, and sugar is the ingredient where a 10% error is most noticeable — too little and the cake is dry and pale, too much and it is cloying and sinks. Weigh it, and the doubled cake behaves exactly like the original.
A meringue where every gram counts
Meringue is one of the least forgiving things you can bake: the sugar must dissolve fully and the ratio to egg white must be right. For a meringue using 2 cups of powdered sugar, weigh 226 g rather than trusting a cup. Fine sugar dissolves faster, so if your sugar is coarse, give it an extra minute of whisking and check for grittiness between your fingers before piping.
Sweetening a large batch of iced tea
A big jug of iced tea sweetened with 2 cups of powdered sugar needs 226 g. Dissolve it in a little hot water first to make a syrup, then stir it into the cold tea — it mixes evenly and you can taste and adjust. Weighing the sugar means the same jug tastes the same every time you make it.
Storing powdered sugar so the conversion stays true
Airtight container, cool and dry, indefinitely. Storage matters because the weight of a cup changes when the ingredient changes. Keep powdered sugar in an airtight container in a cool, dry place, and the density stays close to the value on this page. Left open, powdered sugar picks up moisture or dries out, and the cup weight drifts. Buy in sensible quantities, label the container with the date, and replace it when it is past its best. A stale ingredient does not just weigh differently — it tastes different too, and no conversion table can fix that.
Frequently asked questions
How many grams is 2 cups of powdered sugar?
2 cups of powdered sugar weighs approximately 226 g, measured spooned and levelled. The figure comes from the King Arthur Baking value of 113 g per cup. All weights on this page are approximate — verify with a kitchen scale when precision matters.
Does the brand of powdered sugar change the weight?
It can, by a few grams per cup. Different brands mill, grind or process powdered sugar slightly differently, and moisture content varies with storage. The King Arthur Baking value of 113 g per cup is a standard reference, not a measurement of your specific packet — another reason to verify with a scale for important recipes.
What is the easiest way to weigh 2 cups of powdered sugar?
Put your mixing bowl on a digital scale, press tare to zero it, and pour or spoon in powdered sugar until the display reads 226 g. Add other dry ingredients on top, taring between each one, and you can measure a whole recipe in one bowl with no extra washing up.
Can I halve or double this amount?
Yes. Half of 2 cups of powdered sugar is 113 g, and double is 452 g. Weighing makes scaling exact, whereas halving or doubling cups compounds measuring error. Scale the powdered sugar by weight and adjust leavening and seasoning by taste rather than by a straight multiple.
How should I store powdered sugar?
Airtight container, cool and dry, indefinitely. Keeping it sealed and dry also keeps the cup weight close to the 113 g per cup value used on this page.