100 grams of granulated sugar is about 8.1 tablespoons. One tablespoon of granulated sugar weighs about 12.4 g, and one teaspoon is about 4.1 g. It is the sugar almost every recipe means when it just says sugar, and it is also the one most often measured wrong, because a scooped cup can hold 20 g more than a spooned and levelled one.
All figures on this page are approximate, and they come from King Arthur Baking, measured spooned and levelled. Refined white cane or beet sugar; the default sugar in most recipes. Sweetening drinks, baking, preserving and candy-making. When a recipe has to work the first time, verify with a kitchen scale.
How the measurement works
The figure on this page comes from King Arthur Baking, measured spooned and levelled. One US cup is 16 tablespoons, so every figure here is the cup weight of 198 g divided by 16, rounded to one decimal place. Refined white cane or beet sugar; the default sugar in most recipes. Sweetening drinks, baking, preserving and candy-making.
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.
All results on this page are approximate. Ingredient weights vary with brand, humidity, temperature and how firmly you pack the spoon, so when a recipe has to work the first time, weigh the ingredient on a kitchen scale and use the numbers here as a guide.
Conversion table
| Amount | Grams of granulated sugar |
|---|---|
| 1 teaspoon | 4.1 g |
| 1 tablespoon | 12.4 g |
| 2 tablespoons | 24.8 g |
| 3 tablespoons | 37.1 g |
| 4 tablespoons | 49.5 g |
| 5 tablespoons | 61.9 g |
| 6 tablespoons | 74.2 g |
| 8 tablespoons | 99 g |
| 10 tablespoons | 123.8 g |
| 12 tablespoons | 148.5 g |
| 1 cup (16 tablespoons) | 198 g |
| 100 g | 8.1 tablespoons |
One tablespoon is one sixteenth of a cup, so every figure above is simply the cup weight divided by 16, rounded to one decimal place. The last row is the headline figure for this page: 100 g of granulated sugar is about 8.1 tablespoons. All figures are approximate; verify with a kitchen scale when it matters.
Three real kitchen examples
Sweetening a big pot of iced tea
A jug of iced tea for a summer lunch takes about 8 tablespoons of granulated sugar, roughly 99 g, stirred in while the tea is still hot so every crystal dissolves. Because the tea is served cold, undissolved sugar would sink to the bottom of the jug and the first glasses would taste weak while the last ones were syrupy. Measuring the sugar by weight means the sweetness is the same every time you make the jug, whichever brand of sugar is in the cupboard.
A tray of shortbread fingers
Shortbread is a recipe where sugar does structural work, not just sweetening: 6 tablespoons of granulated sugar, about 74.2 g, creamed with the butter gives the biscuits their sandy, melt-in-the-mouth crumb. Add much more and the fingers spread and turn hard; add much less and they taste flat and crumbly. Weighing the sugar matters here because shortbread has so few ingredients that every gram shows in the finished biscuit.
Halving a sponge cake recipe
Halving a sponge that asks for 8 tablespoons of sugar leaves 4 tablespoons, about 49.5 g. Halving by spoons is fairly safe with granulated sugar because the crystals pour evenly, but it is still worth checking the weight: a heaped tablespoon can hold half as much again as a level one, and across 4 spoonfuls that error is enough to make the sponge heavy. Level each spoon with the back of a knife, or weigh the sugar and be done with it.
Getting it right in your kitchen
Granulated sugar is the backbone of most baking, and its weight matters because sugar controls far more than sweetness. In a cake it holds moisture, helps the crust brown, and keeps the crumb tender; in cookies it decides how much the dough spreads. A recipe that calls for 100 g of sugar needs just over 8 tablespoons, and if you scoop the sugar instead of spooning and levelling it, you can easily add 10 to 15 g extra without noticing. That is enough to make a cake sink in the middle or a cookie spread into a thin crisp. In drinks and sauces the stakes are lower, and a spoonful either way will not ruin anything, but in baking the scale is the honest measure.
Scaling with tablespoons is easy once you know the weight of one spoon. To measure 100 g of granulated sugar, count out about 8.1 tablespoons, and for 50 g, about 4 tablespoons. Halving a recipe that calls for 100 g means using 50 g, and doubling it means 200 g, or about 16.2 tablespoons. The key is to scale every ingredient by the same factor, because changing one ingredient without changing the others throws the recipe out of balance. For large amounts, switch to a cup measure or a scale: counting out more than 16 tablespoons is slow and error-prone, and a cup is faster and more accurate.
Storage. Airtight container, cool and dry, indefinitely.
- Spoon the sugar into the tablespoon and level it with a knife, never scoop from the bag.
- For baking, weigh 100 g on a scale instead of counting 8 spoonfuls.
- Keep sugar in a sealed jar so it stays dry and free-flowing.
Frequently asked questions
How many tablespoons is 100 grams of granulated sugar?
100 grams of granulated sugar is about 8.1 tablespoons, spooned and levelled, using the King Arthur Baking value of 198 g per cup. One tablespoon weighs about 12.4 g, so 8 level tablespoons is roughly 99 g and a ninth spoonful takes you just past 100 g. The figure is approximate, so verify with a kitchen scale when the recipe matters.
How many grams is 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar?
One level tablespoon of granulated sugar weighs about 12.4 g, and one teaspoon is about 4.1 g. These figures come from King Arthur Baking, measured spooned and levelled. A heaped tablespoon can weigh 18 g or more, so always level the spoon for baking.
How many cups is 100 grams of granulated sugar?
100 grams of granulated sugar is about 0.51 of a cup, or just over half a cup. A full cup weighs 198 g, so half a cup is 99 g, which is near enough to 100 g for most recipes. For baking, weigh the sugar rather than relying on the cup.
Is 100 g of sugar the same as 100 g of brown sugar in tablespoons?
No. Brown sugar is packed and heavier, at 213 g per cup, so 100 g of brown sugar is only about 7.5 tablespoons against 8.1 tablespoons of granulated sugar. Swapping the two spoon-for-spoon changes the weight by about 8 g per 100 g, and brown sugar also adds moisture and a molasses flavour.
Can I measure 100 g of sugar without a scale?
Yes, near enough: count out 8 level tablespoons and add a small pinch more, which is about 99 g. Spoon the sugar into the tablespoon and level each spoonful with a knife, because scooped or heaped spoons pack in extra sugar. For cakes and candy, where the exact amount matters, a scale is still the safer choice.
Common mistakes to avoid
The most common mistake is scooping the sugar straight from the bag with the tablespoon, which packs the crystals and adds weight with every spoonful. The second is using a heaped spoon and calling it a tablespoon: a heaped tablespoon of granulated sugar can weigh 18 g or more instead of 12.4 g, so a recipe needing 8 spoonfuls ends up with a quarter-cup of extra sugar. The third mistake is swapping granulated sugar for another sugar spoon-for-spoon without adjusting: a tablespoon of powdered sugar weighs only about 7 g, so the same number of spoonfuls gives barely half the sweetness. Finally, do not store sugar in a damp cupboard in an open bag, because it absorbs moisture and sets into hard lumps that are impossible to measure evenly.