One cup of packed brown sugar is 0.48501698 pounds, so converting cups of packed brown sugar to pounds means multiplying by 0.48501698. That factor is specific to this ingredient — it comes from its density, not from any relationship between the two units.
Put next to water — 1 g per mL exactly — packed brown sugar measures 0.92989 g per mL. That ratio, 92.99%, is what separates this page from every other ingredient in the same units, and it is measured rather than defined.
A cup of packed brown sugar is 220 g when it is measured the standard way, but how it gets into the cup changes the answer: between about 198 g and 264 g covers the range from lightly spooned to firmly packed. That 20% spread is larger than most of the adjustments recipes fuss over, and it disappears entirely the moment the ingredient is weighed instead.
Pounds are how packed brown sugar is bought rather than cooked, so this is the bag-size arithmetic: one pound is 2.062 cups, a 2 lb pack is 4.124 cups and a 5 lb sack is 10.31. That last figure is the one worth knowing before a large bake — it tells you whether one bag covers the recipe.
How the figure is arrived at: Firmly packed, which is the US recipe convention. Spooned in loosely it is closer to 145 g per cup.
The formula
cups- The amount of packed brown sugar you are converting, in cups
0.485016976807- Pounds per cup for packed brown sugar, from its density of 0.92989 g/mL
pounds- The equivalent quantity in pounds
How it works, step by step
- Enter the quantity in cups.
- It is multiplied by 0.485016976807, the pounds-per-cup figure for packed brown sugar.
- The result appears in pounds, with a second reading in g beneath it.
- Use the measure table if you want a standard recipe quantity rather than a number you type in.
Worked examples
1/3 cup of packed brown sugar in pounds
Take 1/3 cup of packed brown sugar: 0.333333 × 0.48501698 gives 0.161672 pounds. Doubling the batch takes it to 0.323345 pounds, because the relationship is a straight proportion once the density is known.
3/4 cup of packed brown sugar in pounds
Take 3/4 cup of packed brown sugar: 0.75 × 0.48501698 gives 0.363763 pounds. Doubling the batch takes it to 0.727525 pounds, because the relationship is a straight proportion once the density is known.
3 cup of packed brown sugar in pounds
A recipe calling for 3 cup of packed brown sugar needs 1.45505 pounds on the scale. The arithmetic is 3 × 0.48501698 = 1.4550509, and halving the recipe halves the weight to 0.727525 pounds.
How to read your score
Frequently asked questions
How many pounds are in 1 cup of packed brown sugar?
One cup of packed brown sugar is 0.48501698 pounds. Half that quantity is 0.242508 pounds and double it is 0.970034 pounds, so the figure scales straight up and down — there is no offset in this conversion, only the factor.
Why is a cup of packed brown sugar not 236 g like water?
Because weight per cup depends on what is in the cup. Packed brown sugar has a density of 0.92989 g per mL where water has 1.00, so a cup of it weighs 220 g rather than 236.6 g. That is a difference of 16.6 g per cup, and it is the reason a single volume-to-weight factor cannot be applied to every ingredient.
Does how I measure it change the weight?
Yes, and by more than most people expect. Handling changes the weight of a cup of packed brown sugar by roughly 20% — about 22 g either side of 220 g — because firmly packed, which is the US recipe convention. Weighing removes the question entirely.
Is a fluid ounce of packed brown sugar the same as an ounce?
No. A fluid ounce is a volume — one eighth of a US cup, 29.57 mL — and an ounce is a weight. One fluid ounce of packed brown sugar weighs 0.97 oz, so the two readings differ by 3%. They coincide only for something with the density of water, and then only roughly.
Is this a US cup or a metric cup?
US customary: 236.59 mL, which is the cup every US recipe means. A metric cup is 250 mL, so the same cup of packed brown sugar would weigh 232.47 g instead of 220 g — 12.5 g more, or 5.67%. Australian and some European recipes use the metric cup, and the difference is large enough to matter in baking.
Do I need a scale for this, or will measuring cups do?
A scale, if the result matters. Volume measuring carries a spread of about 20% for packed brown sugar — roughly 44 g on a 220 g cup — while a domestic scale is accurate to a gram or two. For anything where the ratio of ingredients drives the outcome, bread and pastry above all, weigh it.
How many cups of packed brown sugar is 1 lb?
1 lb of packed brown sugar is 2.0618 cups — 2.06178 cups to one pound, so 1 × 2.06178 = 2.0618. Going that way is a division by 0.485017, or a multiplication by 2.06178 if you prefer.
Packed brown sugar in cups and pounds
| Cups | Pounds | Unrounded |
|---|---|---|
| 1/8 cup | 0.0606271 lb | 0.0606271221 |
| 1/4 cup | 0.121254 lb | 0.1212542442 |
| 1/3 cup | 0.161672 lb | 0.1616723256 |
| 1/2 cup | 0.242508 lb | 0.2425084884 |
| 2/3 cup | 0.323345 lb | 0.3233446512 |
| 3/4 cup | 0.363763 lb | 0.3637627326 |
| 1 cup | 0.485017 lb | 0.4850169768 |
| 1 1/2 cup | 0.727525 lb | 0.7275254652 |
| 2 cup | 0.970034 lb | 0.9700339536 |
| 3 cup | 1.45505 lb | 1.45505093 |
| 4 cup | 1.94007 lb | 1.940067907 |
Based on 220 g per cup of packed brown sugar. One cup of packed brown sugar is 0.48501698 pounds.
| Measure | Grams | Ounces | Millilitres |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 cup | 220 g | 7.76 oz | 236.6 mL |
| 3/4 cup | 165 g | 5.82 oz | 177.4 mL |
| 2/3 cup | 146.7 g | 5.17 oz | 157.7 mL |
| 1/2 cup | 110 g | 3.88 oz | 118.3 mL |
| 1/3 cup | 73.33 g | 2.59 oz | 78.86 mL |
| 1/4 cup | 55 g | 1.94 oz | 59.15 mL |
| 1 tbsp | 13.75 g | 0.485 oz | 14.79 mL |
| 1 tsp | 4.583 g | 0.162 oz | 4.929 mL |
US customary measures: 1 cup = 236.59 mL, 1 tbsp = 14.79 mL, 1 tsp = 4.93 mL.
| Ingredient | Grams per cup | Ounces per cup | Density (g/mL) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Uncooked white rice | 185 g | 6.526 oz | 0.7819 |
| Uncooked brown rice | 190 g | 6.702 oz | 0.8031 |
| Dried lentils | 192 g | 6.773 oz | 0.8115 |
| Granulated sugar | 200 g | 7.055 oz | 0.8454 |
| Arborio rice | 200 g | 7.055 oz | 0.8454 |
| Dried chickpeas | 200 g | 7.055 oz | 0.8454 |
| Packed brown sugar (this page) | 220 g | 7.76 oz | 0.9299 |
Ordered by weight. The spread across this group is why a single generic cups-to-grams factor cannot work.