How many grams are in a cup of brown sugar?

Brown sugar cups to grams: quick conversion table

Our conversions use 213g per US cup of packed brown sugar, rounded to the nearest gram.

These figures apply to packed soft brown sugar, not loosely filled cups or coarse sugars such as demerara.

If your recipe supplies its own gram measurements, use those first. Otherwise, our table is a practical starting point.

What does packed brown sugar actually mean?

Packed means pressing the sugar down into the measuring cup so there are fewer gaps between the grains.

Brown sugar is often slightly moist and clumps together. If you simply spoon it loosely into a cup, you could end up with considerably less sugar than the recipe intended.

To measure a packed cup:

1. Spoon some brown sugar into your measuring cup.
2. Press it down firmly with the back of the spoon.
3. Add more sugar and press again.
4. Continue until the cup is full, then level the top.

When you tip it out, the sugar will often hold the shape of the cup.

But there's a simpler way if you have kitchen scales: weigh out 213g for each packed US cup.

Once you're weighing the sugar, there's no need to pack it first. The scales measure the amount regardless of how tightly it's pressed together.

What if the recipe just says brown sugar without saying packed?

In American baking recipes, brown sugar is generally measured packed, even when the word isn't specifically included.

So if you're making American cookies and the recipe simply says 1 cup brown sugar, we'd normally start with 213g.

However, some recipe authors use their own measuring conventions. If they provide a gram weight or specific instructions, follow those instead.

The important distinction is whether the recipe means soft brown sugar measured firmly into a cup, rather than a loosely filled cup of a different type of sugar.

Which brown sugar should I buy in the UK?

For an American recipe calling for light brown sugar, UK light brown soft sugar is usually the closest everyday choice.

For dark brown sugar, look for dark brown soft sugar.

The UK supermarket shelf can be confusing because several different sugars are brown. Here's a practical guide:

These are close practical equivalents rather than guarantees that every brand has exactly the same ingredients.

What about the other brown sugars?

• Muscovado sugar: Moist and rich, with a more pronounced treacle-like flavour. It can work in some recipes, but it may give a stronger flavour than ordinary soft brown sugar.
• Demerara sugar: Has larger, crunchier crystals. It's excellent for toppings but isn't a direct replacement for the soft brown sugar used in many American cakes and cookies.

For everyday American cookies, brownies and similar bakes, soft brown sugar is usually the one to reach for.

Is light brown sugar the same as dark brown sugar?

They're similar, but the flavour isn't quite the same.

Light brown sugar has a milder, caramel-like flavour. Dark brown sugar contains more molasses, giving it a deeper colour and stronger taste.

You can often swap light and dark soft brown sugar in baking, particularly if that's what you already have in the cupboard.

The finished cake or biscuits may be slightly darker or taste richer, but the substitution is usually straightforward.

At Cupstograms, we use the same 213g packed-cup conversion for both types.

Why do some conversion charts say 200g or 220g?

Because a cup measures volume rather than weight, and brown sugar can be packed more or less firmly.

Different published references use figures such as 200g, 213g and 220g for a packed cup.

The amount can vary with the sugar's texture, moisture and how the measuring cup is filled.

That doesn't necessarily mean the other conversion charts are wrong. They're using different reference amounts.

Cupstograms uses 213g per packed US cup so our calculators and tables give consistent results.

If your recipe says 1 cup brown sugar (200g), use the recipe's 200g rather than replacing it with our standard.

Can I use white sugar instead of brown sugar?

Sometimes, but it can change the result.

Brown sugar has molasses, which gives it a deeper flavour and contributes to the texture of baked goods.

White granulated sugar doesn't behave in exactly the same way. Swapping it into a cookie recipe may change the flavour, softness or spread of the cookies.

There's also a difference in our cup conversions:

• 1 US cup packed brown sugar = 213g
• 1 US cup white granulated sugar = 198g

For a recipe where brown sugar is important to the flavour or texture, we'd recommend using the brown sugar specified.

If you only have white sugar, a substitution may work in some recipes, but don't assume the result will be identical.

Where our figures come from

Cupstograms uses 213g for one US cup of packed light or dark brown sugar. This is our consistent reference for the calculator and conversion tables.

Our research includes:

• King Arthur Baking's ingredient weight chart (opens in a new tab), which supports the 213g reference.
• Quaker Oats' measuring guide (opens in a new tab), which illustrates a different 200g packed-cup convention.
• C&H Sugar's measuring instructions (opens in a new tab), explaining how to pack brown sugar into a cup.
• BBC Good Food's sugar guide (opens in a new tab) and Leiths' baking sugar guide (opens in a new tab), covering the different sugars available in UK kitchens.

For other quantities, use our Cups to Grams converter and choose Brown sugar.

If you're also dealing with American powdered sugar, see our icing sugar conversion guide.

The important thing to remember: when an American recipe asks for one cup of packed brown sugar, Cupstograms recommends weighing 213g. Choose soft brown sugar, and use the recipe's own gram measurement if it provides one.