Powdered Sugar: Cups to Grams
Quick answer: One US cup of powdered sugar weighs about 120 grams (4.2 oz), and one tablespoon about 8 g.
US recipes measure powdered sugar in cups; the rest of the world weighs it. Convert any amount in either direction — and measure it the way the chart assumes: spoon and level, unsifted — then sift after measuring if the recipe asks.
Powdered Sugar conversion chart
| Cups | Grams | Ounces |
|---|
| ¼ cup | 30 g | 1.1 oz |
| ⅓ cup | 40 g | 1.4 oz |
| ½ cup | 60 g | 2.1 oz |
| ⅔ cup | 80 g | 2.8 oz |
| ¾ cup | 90 g | 3.2 oz |
| 1 cup | 120 g | 4.2 oz |
| 1½ cups | 180 g | 6.3 oz |
| 2 cups | 240 g | 8.5 oz |
How it works
Cups measure volume and grams measure weight, so the conversion runs through density: powdered sugar packs about 120 g into a US cup (237 ml). Volume is only as accurate as your technique — spoon and level, unsifted — then sift after measuring if the recipe asks. That variability is exactly why serious baking recipes list grams, and why a $15 kitchen scale upgrades every bake. If your recipe uses metric cups (250 ml), the weights run about 5% higher.
Frequently asked
How many grams are in a cup of powdered sugar?
About 120 grams (4.2 oz) per US cup, measured properly. A tablespoon is about 8 g.
How many cups is 250 g of powdered sugar?
About 2.08 cups. Divide any gram amount by 120 to get cups — or flip the converter above to grams and it does it for you.
Sifted or unsifted — does it matter?
A lot. '1 cup powdered sugar, sifted' (measure, then sift) is ~120 g, but '1 cup sifted powdered sugar' (sift first) is only ~100 g. Word order changes the weight.
Try RecipeBot's free recipe generator — a personalised recipe from your ingredients in seconds, no credit card needed.