One cup of granulated sugar weighs 198 g, spooned and levelled, according to King Arthur Baking. Sugar is the most consistent ingredient in the kitchen by weight — unlike flour, it barely compresses, so a cup of sugar weighs almost the same however you measure it. That reliability makes sugar the easiest ingredient to convert between volume and weight, and the gram figure is the one you need when a recipe is written in grams, when you are scaling a batch, or when you are tracking how much sugar is actually in a recipe. All weights on this page are approximate; the difference between the King Arthur figure of 198 g and the USDA figure of 200 g is rounding, not a real disagreement, so verify with a scale when precision matters.
Granulated Sugar: weight and measurement table
The table below gives the weight of granulated sugar in every measure you will use, from a teaspoon up to 2 cups, all derived from the King Arthur Baking figure of 198 g per cup, spooned and levelled. Every figure is approximate — spooned and levelled is a technique, not a machine setting — so when the recipe matters, weigh the ingredient on a kitchen scale instead.
| Amount | Weight (approx.) |
| --- | --- |
| 1 teaspoon | 4.1 g |
| 1 tablespoon | 12.4 g |
| 1/4 cup (4 tbsp) | 49.5 g |
| 1/3 cup | 66 g |
| 1/2 cup (8 tbsp) | 99 g |
| 3/4 cup (12 tbsp) | 148.5 g |
| 1 cup (16 tbsp) | 198 g |
| 2 cups | 396 g |
| 100 g | 0.5 cups |
There are 3 teaspoons in a tablespoon and 16 tablespoons in a cup, so you can move between any of these measures by multiplying or dividing. If a recipe calls for 100 g and you only have measuring cups, that is about 0.5 cups. Keep the cups to grams converter open while you cook and you will never need to do the arithmetic in your head.
What is Granulated Sugar?
Granulated sugar is refined white cane or beet sugar, the default sugar in most recipes. It is made by extracting the juice from sugar cane or sugar beet, purifying it, crystallising it and drying it into the familiar white crystals. Each crystal is pure sucrose, and the uniform crystal size is what makes granulated sugar so reliable by weight — the crystals pack the same way every time, so a cup weighs 198 g whether you spoon it or pour it. It is used for sweetening drinks, baking, preserving and candy-making, and it does far more than add sweetness: in baking, sugar tenderises the crumb by interfering with gluten, helps cakes brown through caramelisation, holds moisture to keep bakes fresh, and stabilises egg foams in meringues. It keeps indefinitely in a dry cupboard, sealed against moisture, and it never truly goes bad — hardened sugar can be broken up or softened with a damp cloth.
How to measure Granulated Sugar correctly
Granulated Sugar is measured spooned and levelled, and the method matters more than most cooks realise. For dry ingredients, spoon the ingredient into the measure with a smaller spoon, letting it fall loosely, then sweep a knife across the top to level it — never dip the measuring cup into the bag, because dipping compresses the ingredient and adds up to 20 percent. For liquids, pour into a liquid measuring jug and read the level at eye height, or weigh directly into the bowl, which is the most accurate method of all. The King Arthur Baking figure used on this page is 198 g per cup, and it is the figure the site's converters use, so the numbers here and the numbers in the tool always agree. Confidence in this figure is high.
A note on the published 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.
Worked examples
A lemon drizzle cake
A lemon drizzle cake uses 1.5 cups of granulated sugar — about 297 g — in a batter with 2 cups of flour and 3 eggs. The weight matters because sugar is doing structural work: it creams with the butter to trap air, which is what gives the cake its lift, and it holds moisture so the cake stays fresh for days. Weighing 297 g keeps the ratio exact — a cup too much and the cake is cloyingly sweet and sinks in the middle, a cup too little and it turns dry and pale. The drizzle on top uses another 100 g of sugar dissolved in lemon juice, and the total sugar in the cake is about 400 g, or 50 g per slice across eight servings.
A jar of strawberry jam
A jam recipe uses 4 cups of granulated sugar — about 792 g — with 1 kg of strawberries. The weight is critical here because jam is chemistry, not cooking: the sugar concentration has to reach about 65 percent for the jam to set and to keep safely, and that concentration is measured by weight, not by volume. Weighing 792 g of sugar against 1 kg of fruit gives a ratio that sets reliably and keeps for a year. A cup-measured batch can be off by 20 g or more, which is enough to make the jam runny or to let it ferment in the jar. The sugar also draws the juice out of the fruit overnight, which is why the fruit is macerated before cooking.
Sweetening a large batch of iced tea
A party jug of iced tea uses 1 cup of granulated sugar — 198 g — dissolved in 2 litres of tea. The weight matters because iced tea is served cold, and sugar dissolves slowly in cold liquid: dissolving 198 g in hot tea before chilling it gives a smooth, evenly sweetened drink, while adding sugar to cold tea leaves grit at the bottom of the jug. Weighing the sugar also lets you adjust the sweetness precisely — a less sweet tea uses 150 g, and a sweeter one uses 250 g — and the gram figure is what lets you reproduce the same jug every time instead of guessing with a scoop.
Sugar's role beyond sweetness
Sugar does far more in baking than make things sweet, and understanding that is what separates a good baker from one who just follows the recipe. In a cake, sugar creams with butter to trap air, and those air pockets expand in the oven to give the cake its lift — a cake made without sugar does not just taste bland, it stays flat. Sugar also tenderises the crumb by competing with flour for water, which limits gluten development and keeps the cake soft rather than tough. It holds moisture, which is why a cake made with sugar stays fresh for days while a sugar-free cake stales overnight. And it browns: sugar caramelises above about 160 C, giving cakes their golden crust and cookies their crisp edges. Reducing the sugar in a recipe by a third is not a harmless health tweak — it changes the texture, the moisture, the browning and the keeping quality all at once. If you want less sugar, reduce it by no more than a quarter, and expect a paler, drier, shorter-lived bake. The gram weight is the tool that lets you make that reduction precisely instead of guessing.
What to use instead
If you run out of granulated sugar, these are the tested substitutes from our substitution data, with the ratio and the case where each one does not work. Use the ratio by weight where it is given, and check the warning before you commit the batter.
Granulated sugar to Brown sugar: 1:1 (moister, more caramel flavour). Do not swap 1:1 in candy-making, meringues or jam, where sugar's exact chemistry matters.
Granulated sugar to Honey: 3/4 cup honey per cup of sugar, minus 1/4 cup other liquid, and 25 F lower oven temperature. Do not swap 1:1 in candy-making, meringues or jam, where sugar's exact chemistry matters.
Granulated sugar to Maple syrup: 3/4 cup per cup of sugar, minus 3 tbsp other liquid. Do not swap 1:1 in candy-making, meringues or jam, where sugar's exact chemistry matters.
Granulated sugar to Molasses: 1 1/4 cups per cup of sugar, minus 5 tbsp other liquid. Do not swap 1:1 in candy-making, meringues or jam, where sugar's exact chemistry matters.
The golden rule for any substitution is to match the job, not just the ingredient: a substitute that works in a sauce may fail in a cake, because the two recipes ask different things of the ingredient. When in doubt, use a recipe written for the substitute rather than adapting one written for the original.
Storage
Airtight container, cool and dry, indefinitely. That is the headline, but the details matter. Store granulated sugar in an airtight container, away from heat, light and strong smells — dry ingredients absorb odours readily, and a bag of flour stored next to the spices will taste of them within a week. Label the container with the date you opened it, so you know how long it has been there, and check it before you bake: if it smells off, tastes bitter, or shows any sign of moisture or insects, discard it. Buying in smaller quantities and using it promptly is better than buying in bulk and storing it for a year, because every ingredient loses flavour with time, even the ones that never truly go bad.
Frequently asked questions
How many grams is 1 cup of granulated sugar?
One cup of granulated sugar weighs 198 g, spooned and levelled, according to King Arthur Baking. The USDA rounds it to 200 g per cup — the 2 g difference is rounding, not a real disagreement. One tablespoon weighs 12.4 g and one teaspoon weighs 4.1 g.
How many cups of sugar are in 1 kg?
There are about 5 cups in 1 kg of granulated sugar (1,000 divided by 198 is 5.05 cups). A standard 1 kg bag holds just over 5 cups, and a 500 g bag holds about 2.5 cups.
Can I use brown sugar instead of granulated sugar?
Yes, 1:1 by weight in most baking. Brown sugar is granulated sugar coated in molasses, so the result will be moister with a caramel flavour. Do not swap 1:1 in candy-making, meringues or jam, where sugar's exact chemistry matters.
Does granulated sugar go bad?
No — granulated sugar keeps indefinitely in an airtight container in a cool, dry place. It can harden into lumps if it absorbs moisture; break the lumps up or place a damp cloth over the container overnight to soften it. Discard it only if it smells off or shows insects.
Can I reduce the sugar in a recipe?
Yes, but by no more than a quarter. Sugar does structural work — it traps air, tenderises the crumb, holds moisture and helps browning. Cutting it by more than a quarter gives a paler, drier cake that stales faster. Reduce it by weight, not by volume, so the change is precise.
Related pages
If you cook with this ingredient regularly, these pages will help: the cups to grams converter for any amount, the ingredient density lookup for the full table of 120 ingredients, the Granulated Sugar cups to grams page for cup conversions, the Granulated Sugar grams to cups page for working backwards from grams, and the Granulated Sugar tablespoons to grams page for spoon measures. You may also want Brown Sugar, Powdered Sugar.