To convert grams of packed brown sugar into tablespoons, multiply by 0.072727273: one gram comes to 0.072727273 tablespoons. Every ingredient has its own figure here, because the units are measuring different things and only the density links them.
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 level tablespoon of packed brown sugar is 13.75 g, which puts a teaspoon at 4.583 g and a tablespoon and a half — the quantity recipes are fondest of — at 20.62 g. Levelling twice is where the error comes from, so the scale is the faster instrument once the quantity passes a couple of spoons.
Grams are the unit this conversion is really for. A domestic scale resolves to a gram, which is 0.455% of a cup of packed brown sugar, so weighing gets an accuracy no measuring cup can reach. A 500 g pack of it is 2.273 cups, and a 1 kg pack 4.545.
What the number depends on: Firmly packed, which is the US recipe convention. Spooned in loosely it is closer to 145 g per cup.
The formula
grams- The amount of packed brown sugar you are converting, in grams
0.0727272727273- Tablespoons per gram for packed brown sugar, from its density of 0.92989 g/mL
tablespoons- The equivalent quantity in tablespoons
How it works, step by step
- Enter the quantity in grams.
- It is multiplied by 0.0727272727273, the tablespoons-per-gram figure for packed brown sugar.
- The result appears in tablespoons, with a second reading in tsp beneath it.
- Use the measure table if you want a standard recipe quantity rather than a number you type in.
Worked examples
50 g of packed brown sugar in tablespoons
Take 50 g of packed brown sugar: 50 × 0.072727273 gives 3.63636 tablespoons. Doubling the batch takes it to 7.27273 tablespoons, because the relationship is a straight proportion once the density is known.
150 g of packed brown sugar in tablespoons
150 g of packed brown sugar weighs out at 10.9091 tablespoons. Divide 10.9091 by 0.072727273 and you get back to 150 g, which is the quickest check that the factor is the right way up.
500 g of packed brown sugar in tablespoons
A recipe calling for 500 g of packed brown sugar needs 36.3636 tablespoons on the scale. The arithmetic is 500 × 0.072727273 = 36.363636, and halving the recipe halves the weight to 18.1818 tablespoons.
How to read your score
Frequently asked questions
How many tablespoons are in 1 g of packed brown sugar?
One gram of packed brown sugar is 0.072727273 tablespoons. Half that quantity is 0.0363636 tablespoons and double it is 0.145455 tablespoons, 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 much does 3 tbsp of packed brown sugar weigh?
3 tbsp of packed brown sugar comes to 41.25 g, or 41.25 grams. This page runs that calculation in reverse — enter a weight and it returns the volume — and the tablespoons-to-grams page does it in the direction the question is usually asked.
Packed brown sugar in grams and tablespoons
| Grams | Tablespoons | Unrounded |
|---|---|---|
| 5 g | 0.363636 tbsp | 0.3636363636 |
| 10 g | 0.727273 tbsp | 0.7272727273 |
| 25 g | 1.81818 tbsp | 1.818181818 |
| 50 g | 3.63636 tbsp | 3.636363636 |
| 100 g | 7.27273 tbsp | 7.272727273 |
| 125 g | 9.09091 tbsp | 9.090909091 |
| 150 g | 10.9091 tbsp | 10.90909091 |
| 200 g | 14.5455 tbsp | 14.54545455 |
| 250 g | 18.1818 tbsp | 18.18181818 |
| 300 g | 21.8182 tbsp | 21.81818182 |
| 500 g | 36.3636 tbsp | 36.36363636 |
| 1000 g | 72.7273 tbsp | 72.72727273 |
Based on 220 g per cup of packed brown sugar. One gram of packed brown sugar is 0.072727273 tablespoons.
| Measure | Grams | Ounces | Millilitres |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 cup | 220 g | 7.76 oz | 236.6 mL |
| 1 tbsp | 13.75 g | 0.485 oz | 14.79 mL |
| 2 tsp | 9.167 g | 0.323 oz | 9.858 mL |
| 1 tsp | 4.583 g | 0.162 oz | 4.929 mL |
| 3/4 tsp | 3.438 g | 0.121 oz | 3.697 mL |
| 1/2 tsp | 2.292 g | 0.0808 oz | 2.464 mL |
| 1/4 tsp | 1.146 g | 0.0404 oz | 1.232 mL |
| 1/8 tsp | 0.5729 g | 0.0202 oz | 0.6161 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.