You’re halfway through a double batch of birthday cookies, your hands are covered in butter, and you suddenly realize the recipe calls for two pounds of sugar. You look at your half-empty bag. Then you look at your measuring cups. You’re stuck.
How many cups of sugar in a pound of sugar anyway?
The short answer is four. But honestly, if you just scoop four cups and move on, your cake might turn out like a brick or a puddle. Measuring dry ingredients by volume is a nightmare for accuracy. A "pound" is a measurement of weight, specifically 16 ounces. A "cup" is a measurement of volume. Because different types of sugar have different densities—think about the airy fluff of powdered sugar versus the dense, wet sand texture of dark brown sugar—that "four cup" rule of thumb changes constantly.
Why the "Four Cup" Rule is Kinda Wrong
Standard white granulated sugar is the benchmark. For most home bakers, a 1-pound box or bag of granulated sugar contains approximately 2 ¼ cups.
Wait, didn't I just say four? That’s the most common myth floating around. People get confused because a pint is a pound the world around, right? Not in baking. Water follows that rule; sugar doesn't.
If you're using a standard U.S. measuring cup, 1 cup of granulated sugar weighs about 7 ounces (roughly 200 grams). If you do the math—$16 / 7$—you get about 2.28 cups.
This is where things get messy. If you pack that sugar into the cup, you’re fitting more crystals into the same space. If you pour it loosely, you’re getting more air. King Arthur Baking, one of the most respected authorities in the industry, actually suggests that a cup of sugar should weigh 198 grams. If you follow their professional standard, a pound of sugar is actually closer to 2.3 cups.
It’s a tiny difference. But in a big recipe? It matters.
The Brown Sugar Variable: Packing Matters
Brown sugar is a whole different beast. It’s basically white sugar coated in molasses. That molasses makes the crystals sticky. They don't slide past each other; they clump.
🔗 Read more: Dating for 5 Years: Why the Five-Year Itch is Real (and How to Fix It)
If you are measuring brown sugar, the "how many cups" question depends entirely on how hard you push.
- Lightly Packed: If you just scoop it, a pound is about 3 to 3 ¼ cups.
- Firmly Packed: This is what most recipes want. When you press it down until it holds the shape of the cup, a pound is almost exactly 2 cups.
Basically, brown sugar is twice as dense as white sugar when you really cram it in there. If a recipe says "1 cup brown sugar" and doesn't specify "packed," most pros assume it's packed. If you just sprinkle it in loosely, you’re only getting about half the sugar the developer intended. Your cookies won't spread, and they won't have that chewy, caramelized edge.
Powdered Sugar: The Great Inflator
Then we have powdered sugar, also known as confectioners' sugar. This stuff is just granulated sugar that’s been pulverized into a fine dust and mixed with a little cornstarch to prevent clumping.
It is incredibly light.
If you take a 1-pound box of powdered sugar (the standard size in most grocery stores), you are looking at roughly 3 ½ to 4 cups.
But wait. Have you sifted it?
Sifting incorporates air. If you sift your powdered sugar before measuring—which you should do if you’re making buttercream—that one pound can expand to nearly 4 ½ or 5 cups. This is why frosting recipes are notoriously finicky. If you measure by the cup, you might end up with a runny mess one day and a stiff, chalky paste the next.
Quick Cheat Sheet for a 1-Pound Bag
To make your life easier next time you're standing in the pantry, here is the rough breakdown:
💡 You might also like: Creative and Meaningful Will You Be My Maid of Honour Ideas That Actually Feel Personal
- Granulated White Sugar: 2 ¼ cups.
- Brown Sugar (Packed): 2 cups.
- Brown Sugar (Loose): 3 - 3 ½ cups.
- Powdered Sugar (Un-sifted): 3 ½ - 4 cups.
- Powdered Sugar (Sifted): 4 ½ cups.
The Science of Density in Your Kitchen
Why does this happen? It comes down to interstitial space.
Granulated sugar crystals are like tiny bricks. They stack relatively well, but there is still air between them. Powdered sugar is like feathers; the particles are so small they can trap a huge amount of air, but they are also easily compressed.
Professional bakers like Stella Parks or the team at America’s Test Kitchen almost never talk in cups. They talk in grams. Why? Because 454 grams is always a pound. It doesn't matter if you sifted it, packed it, or let it sit in a humid cupboard for three months. 454 grams of sugar is 454 grams of sugar.
If you’re serious about your sourdough or your soufflés, buy a digital scale. They cost twenty bucks. It’ll change your life. You’ll stop washing measuring cups, for one thing. You just put your bowl on the scale, tare it to zero, and pour until you hit the weight. Done.
Humidity and Storage: The Silent Saboteurs
Ever noticed how your sugar gets "heavy" in the summer?
Sugar is hygroscopic. That’s a fancy way of saying it sucks moisture out of the air. In a humid environment, those sugar crystals grab onto water molecules. This adds weight but doesn't necessarily add volume.
If you live in a swampy climate like Florida, your "cup" of sugar might actually weigh more than a cup of sugar in the high deserts of New Mexico. This is another reason why the "how many cups of sugar in a pound of sugar" answer is always "it depends."
Keep your sugar in airtight containers. For brown sugar, use a terra cotta "sugar saver" disk. You soak it in water for 15 minutes, pat it dry, and toss it in the container. It keeps the molasses from drying out, which keeps your sugar soft and your measurements consistent.
📖 Related: Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Waldorf: What Most People Get Wrong About This Local Staple
What About Alternative Sugars?
We aren't just using white and brown anymore. Coconut sugar has become a pantry staple for many.
Coconut sugar has a grain size similar to granulated sugar but it’s slightly less dense. You can usually swap it 1:1 by volume, but if you’re weighing it, you’ll find that a pound of coconut sugar gives you a little more than 2 ¼ cups—usually closer to 2 ½ cups.
Superfine sugar (caster sugar) is the opposite. Because the crystals are so small, they pack together more tightly than regular granulated sugar. A pound of caster sugar is often slightly less than 2 ¼ cups. It’s dense. It melts faster, which is why it’s great for meringues, but it can catch you off guard if you’re measuring by weight.
Actionable Tips for Better Baking
Stop guessing. If you are stuck without a scale and need to be as accurate as possible, use the "Spoon and Level" method.
Don't dip the cup into the bag. This compresses the sugar. Instead, use a large spoon to fluff the sugar in the container, then spoon it into the measuring cup until it overflows. Use the back of a butter knife to sweep the excess off the top.
This gets you the closest to the "ideal" volume weight used by recipe developers.
If you are working with a recipe from the UK or Europe, they almost certainly wrote it in grams. Do not try to convert those to cups using an online calculator. Those calculators use averages, and as we've seen, sugar isn't average. Use the weight.
Next time you’re at the store, remember that a standard 4-pound bag of granulated sugar contains about 9 cups. If your recipe calls for a pound, you’re pouring out a quarter of that bag.
Your Next Steps
- Check your bag size: Most "standard" bags used to be 5 pounds, but many brands have quietly shrunk to 4 pounds. Don't assume your bag is the weight it used to be.
- Visual Check: 1 pound of granulated sugar is roughly the size of two baseballs held together.
- Invest in a scale: If you bake more than once a month, a digital scale is the only way to guarantee your "pound" is actually a pound.
- Label your canisters: Write the weight-to-volume conversion on a piece of masking tape and stick it to your sugar bin. (e.g., "1 cup = 200g"). It saves you a Google search every single time you cook.