1 cup brown sugar in grams
Brown sugar (light, packed) cups to grams converter
One cup of light brown sugar weighs 213 grams when packed firmly into the cup — the standard convention every recipe assumes unless it says otherwise. Loosely spooned brown sugar can weigh as little as 145 g per cup, ~32% less than packed, so always pack unless the recipe explicitly says 'do not pack'. Dark brown sugar (more molasses) weighs about the same as light brown sugar when packed to the same density.
Tool · Converter
Convert brown sugar (light, packed) between cups and grams
Quick reference
Brown sugar (light, packed) cups to grams chart
| Brown sugar (light, packed) | in grams |
|---|---|
| 1/4 cup | 53 g |
| 1/3 cup | 71 g |
| 1/2 cup | 106 g |
| 2/3 cup | 142 g |
| 3/4 cup | 160 g |
| 1 cup | 213 g |
| 2 cups | 426 g |
| 1 tbsp | 13 g |
| 1 tsp | 4 g |
Values rounded to the nearest gram for amounts ≥ 1 g. Sources: King Arthur Baking ingredient weight chart; Doves Farm cups-to-grams table.
Convention
Two numbers? Here's why
Why two numbers? The cup-to-gram convention
Brown sugar is sticky enough that it holds the shape of whatever you press it into — so cup measurements depend entirely on how firmly you pack the cup. King Arthur Baking's chart lists 1 cup brown sugar (packed) = 213 g; this is the default for almost every recipe in print. Loosely spooned brown sugar weighs about 145 g/cup. The ~32% difference is large enough that recipes assuming 'packed' will fail if you spoon loosely. Doves Farm's chart shows 180 g/cup without specifying packing — between packed and loose.
Printable
Quick-reference card
A one-page quick-reference card (~A6) for fridge or pantry. The card shows every fraction from 1/4 cup through 2 cups, plus tablespoon and teaspoon. Click Print card and the browser's print dialog opens with the card as the only visible element.
Sources
How we cross-checked these numbers
Each density value is cross-referenced against at least two independent published sources. When two sources disagree by more than 5%, both conventions are shown in the "Why two numbers?" block above instead of silently picking one.
- King Arthur Baking Co. — Ingredient Weight Chart (Brown sugar, dark or light, packed)
- Doves Farm — Cups to Grams Conversion Table (Brown Sugar)
Last reviewed: . Density values cross-referenced; see for source discrepancy notes.
Note on accuracy
KAF's chart explicitly notes brown sugar is 'packed' at 213 g/cup -- this is the default any recipe assumes unless it says otherwise. Doves Farm lists 180 g/cup with no packing convention specified; its value sits between KAF's packed (213) and loose (145) figures, suggesting the Doves chart describes lightly-packed brown sugar. The 145 g/cup 'loose' alternate is shown because the difference exceeds the 5% PRD threshold and recipes that say 'do not pack' do exist.
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