Cups of Brown Sugar to Grams

Cups to grams — quick reference

The formula

Cups of packed brown sugar to grams is one multiply by 213 grams per packed cup:

grams = cups × 213

Worked example: 1 cup × 213 = 213 g; ½ cup ≈ 107 g; 2 cups = 426 g. The quick table covers ¼ through 2 cups.

This assumes packed brown sugar, the recipe standard. Loosely spooned, a cup weighs far less and varies a lot — which is why brown sugar is the one sugar you’re meant to compress.

How to use the cups of brown sugar to grams

A packed cup of brown sugar is 213 grams — and “packed” is doing real work in that sentence. Enter cups for grams, or swap to turn grams back into cups.

Brown sugar is granulated sugar coated in molasses, and that thin film of molasses makes the crystals cling together. Left loose, a cup traps air pockets and weighs much less and inconsistently; pressed down, it holds a dense, even amount. Because almost every recipe is written for packed brown sugar, that’s the standard this page uses — and the only way to measure it reliably by volume.

To pack it correctly, spoon brown sugar into a dry measuring cup and press it down firmly with the back of the spoon or your fingers, adding more and pressing until the cup is full and level. Done right, the sugar holds the cup’s shape when you turn it out — like a sandcastle. That little molded dome is the visual confirmation you packed it the way the recipe expects.

Light and dark brown sugar weigh about the same per packed cup; the difference is molasses content and flavor, not density. Brown sugar also dries out and hardens in the bag, which changes how it packs — soften a hardened brick before measuring, or weigh it, since the gram figure doesn’t care about clumps. These values use the 240 ml US cup.

Frequently asked questions