Powdered Sugar Cups to Grams
Powdered sugar settles easily; this reference is for unsifted confectioners’ sugar spooned and leveled without packing.
Reference measurement
113 grams per US cup
Spoon unsifted sugar into a dry US cup and level without packing.
King Arthur Baking lists 1 cup unsifted confectioners' sugar as 113 g. Source note
Sifting changes the amount that fits in a cup; this value is explicitly unsifted.
Common Powdered Sugar measurements
| US cups | Grams |
|---|---|
| 0.25 US cups | 28.25 grams |
| 0.333 US cups | 37.67 grams |
| 0.5 US cups | 56.5 grams |
| 0.667 US cups | 75.33 grams |
| 0.75 US cups | 84.75 grams |
| 1 US cup | 113 grams |
| 1.5 US cups | 169.5 grams |
| 2 US cups | 226 grams |
Practical examples
- 1/2 US cup = 56.5 grams.
- 1 US tablespoon = 7.063 grams.
- 3 US teaspoons = 7.063 grams.
Measuring note
Spoon unsifted sugar into a dry US cup and level without packing.
Sifting changes the amount that fits in a cup; this value is explicitly unsifted.
The cup reference is specifically unsifted
King Arthur Baking lists unsifted confectioners' sugar at 113 g per US cup. A sample 1½ US cups under that named condition is 169.5 g, approximately 170 g. Sifting changes how loosely the fine powder fills a cup; it does not change a gram amount already weighed on a scale.
If the instructions say to sift before measuring, do not automatically apply an unsifted-cup conversion. Follow the recipe author's gram quantity or a source-specific sifted reference. The wording of the recipe matters more than the generic name icing sugar.
Frosting measurements that stay repeatable
When measuring from cups, use an unsifted portion under this reference, spoon it into a dry cup and level without pressing it down. If you need to remove lumps for a frosting or glaze, do that according to the recipe's instruction rather than guessing that the finished sifted cup still weighs 113 g.
Keep this separate from granulated sugar, which King Arthur lists at 198 g per cup. Choosing the powdered form affects more than a numeric conversion; this page calculates a quantity of the specified ingredient, not a substitute for the others.