Brown sugar in grams
220 grams
1 US cup = 236.6 ml
At a glance
| Amount | packed | loosely packed |
|---|---|---|
| 1 US teaspoon (4.9 ml) | 4.6 grams | 3 grams |
| 1 US tablespoon (14.8 ml) | 14 grams | 9.1 grams |
| 1 US cup (236.6 ml) | 220 grams | 145 grams |
| 1 metric cup (250 ml) | 232 grams | 153 grams |
| 100 milliliters | 93 grams | 61 grams |
Other ingredients
Questions
How many grams is a cup of brown sugar?
A firmly packed US cup (236.6 ml) of brown sugar weighs 220 g. A loosely packed cup weighs 145 g.
Should brown sugar be packed into the cup?
If a recipe says “packed” or “firmly packed”, yes: press it down. If it says nothing, packed is still the American convention. Choose the “loosely packed” option above only when a recipe says so.
How many grams is a tablespoon of brown sugar?
A 15 ml tablespoon holds about 14 g of packed brown sugar and a teaspoon (5 ml) about 4.6 g. Loosely packed, the tablespoon holds about 9.2 g.
What is the French equivalent of brown sugar?
French “cassonade” is a light brown cane sugar. “Vergeoise”, the soft, moist brown sugar of northern France and Belgium, is closer to American brown sugar. Soft brown sugar is also called muscovado in the UK.
Can I replace brown sugar with white sugar?
In most recipes, yes, gram for gram, but the result will be less moist and have less caramel flavour.
A US cup of brown sugar weighs 220 g when firmly packed and 145 g when loosely packed, according to the USDA. That is a difference of about a third.
American recipes mean packed brown sugar unless they say otherwise. Press the sugar into the cup until it holds its shape when turned out.
USDA FoodData Central #168833 (SR Legacy, checked 2026-10-19)