1 tablespoon of granulated sugar weighs 12.4 g. A cup of granulated sugar is 198 g spooned and levelled, and a sixteenth of that is 12.4 g. The tablespoon is the natural unit for sweetening a cup of tea, a bowl of oatmeal or a small batch of cookies, and it is also the unit where the difference between a level spoon and a heaped spoon first becomes visible.
All figures on this page are approximate, and they come from King Arthur Baking, measured spooned and levelled. When a recipe has to work the first time, verify with a kitchen scale.
Method and source
The figure on this page comes 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.
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 cup, 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 |
| 1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) | 49.5 g |
| 1/3 cup | 66 g |
| 1/2 cup (8 tablespoons) | 99 g |
| 3/4 cup (12 tablespoons) | 148.5 g |
| 1 cup (16 tablespoons) | 198 g |
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. All figures are approximate; verify with a kitchen scale when it matters.
Three real kitchen examples
Sweetening a cup of tea
A cup of tea takes 1 tablespoon of sugar, 12.4 g, for most people, and 2 tablespoons for a sweet tooth. The sugar dissolves in the hot tea, and the exact amount is a matter of taste. Weighing sugar for tea is unnecessary, but knowing the weight helps if you are tracking your sugar intake.
A small batch of shortbread
A shortbread recipe for a dozen biscuits uses 4 tablespoons of sugar, about 50 g, creamed with butter. The sugar quantity decides the sweetness and the texture: too much and the biscuits spread and brown too fast, too little and they taste bland.
A vinaigrette with a touch of sweetness
A salad dressing uses 1 tablespoon of sugar, 12.4 g, whisked with vinegar and oil to balance the acidity. The sugar is a small part of the dressing, but it rounds out the sharpness of the vinegar. Level the spoon, because a heaped tablespoon can be 16 g.
Getting it right in your kitchen
Granulated sugar is forgiving to measure, but brown sugar is not: it must be packed firmly into the cup, because loosely spooned brown sugar weighs about 170 g per cup instead of 213 g, a gap that will leave cookies flat and sauces thin. Powdered sugar goes the other way: sifted powdered sugar is about 100 g per cup against 113 g unsifted, so always measure it unsifted unless the recipe says otherwise. Honey and syrups should be measured in a lightly oiled cup or jug so they slide out cleanly, and weigh them if you can, because sticky sweeteners cling to every measuring surface.
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 4.0 tablespoons. Halving a recipe that calls for 4 tablespoons means using 2 tablespoons, or 24.8 g, and doubling it means 8 tablespoons, or 99 g. 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 16 tablespoons is slow and error-prone, and a cup is faster and more accurate.
When should you weigh granulated sugar instead of measuring it? Whenever the recipe has to work the first time, and whenever the amount is large. A kitchen scale costs less than a single failed cake, and it removes the biggest source of variation in home cooking: the way ingredients pack into a cup or a spoon. Put the bowl on the scale, press tare, and add the granulated sugar until the display shows the number you need. There is nothing to wash afterwards except the bowl, and the result is the same every time. For small amounts, a level spoon is accurate enough, and for liquids, a jug is fine, but for anything where precision matters, the scale is the tool to reach for.
Storage. Airtight container, cool and dry, indefinitely.
- Level the spoon; a heaped tablespoon can be 16 g.
- A tablespoon of sugar is about 49 calories.
- Honey is nearly twice as heavy per tablespoon as sugar.
Frequently asked questions
How many grams is a tablespoon of sugar?
One level tablespoon of granulated sugar weighs 12.4 g, and one teaspoon is about 4.1 g. These figures are based on the King Arthur value of 198 g per cup.
Is a tablespoon of sugar the same as a tablespoon of honey?
No. A tablespoon of honey weighs 21 g, almost twice as much, because honey is far denser than sugar. A tablespoon of sugar and a tablespoon of honey are not interchangeable by weight, though they are roughly similar in sweetness.
How many calories are in a tablespoon of sugar?
About 49 calories, since sugar has about 4 calories per gram and a tablespoon is 12.4 g. That is useful if you are tracking your intake and your recipe lists sugar in tablespoons.
Does brown sugar weigh the same per tablespoon?
No. A tablespoon of packed brown sugar is 13.3 g, slightly heavier than granulated sugar, because the molasses adds moisture and weight. Loosely spooned brown sugar is lighter, about 10.6 g per tablespoon.
Why do some charts say a tablespoon of sugar is 12.5 g?
Because they use 200 g per cup, the USDA rounded figure, instead of the King Arthur figure of 198 g. The difference is 0.1 g per tablespoon, which is too small to matter in any recipe.
Common mistakes to avoid
The most common mistake with sugar is not packing brown sugar firmly, which leaves a cup that is 40 g light and a batch of cookies that spreads too thin. The second is measuring powdered sugar after sifting it, which makes it lighter and leaves a frosting short on sugar. The third is pouring honey or syrup into a dry cup without oiling it first, so a spoonful of sweetener stays stuck to the cup and never reaches the bowl. The fourth mistake is swapping sweeteners by volume instead of by weight: a tablespoon of honey is 21 g and a tablespoon of sugar is 12.4 g, so a spoon-for-spoon swap changes the recipe significantly. Finally, do not store sugar in a humid cupboard without a sealed container, because it absorbs moisture and clumps into hard lumps that are difficult to measure.