How Many Cups Of Sugar Are In One Pound?

Though we often take it for granted, sugar is an incredibly versatile cooking ingredient. It not only adds sweetness to your favorite recipes, but also acts as a stabilizer, preservative, and it enhances other flavors — and running out of it can easily turn a fun afternoon of baking into a stressful time crunch. Knowing how many cups of sugar are in a pound makes it easier to stock up on the right amount and prevent baking emergencies before they occur.  

If you usually cook with white sugar, you'll find that a 1-pound bag typically contains about 2¼ cups of sugar, which can help you accurately estimate how many bags you'll need for any recipe. For instance, if you're planning to bake three batches of zesty lemon shortbread cookies, and each batch requires 1 cup of granulated sugar, you'll need 3 cups, total. Since each pound of sugar contains a little over 2 cups, you'll need 2 pounds to ensure you have enough sugar for all three batches of cookies.

Of course, measuring your baking ingredients by weight may make this estimation process a little easier since you don't have to calculate the number of cups per bag. This is especially true if you're using brown or powdered sugar instead of white. Each type of sugar has a different density and takes up a different amount of space in a measuring cup.

Measuring out sugar in cups will yield varying quantities depending on the type, texture, and density of the sugar. Unlike white sugar, brown sugar contains molasses, which increases its moisture and density but not necessarily its weight. In fact, white and brown sugar weigh almost the same when they're measured correctly. You can simply scoop white sugar from the container, but most recipes call for brown sugar to be firmly packed into the measuring cup. Using this method, 1 pound of brown sugar contains roughly 2⅓ cups, total.

For raw sugar enthusiasts, it's important to note that raw sugar crystals are usually larger than white sugar crystals. Bigger crystals are heavier than smaller crystals, meaning you'll need fewer of them to achieve a specific weight. For this reason, a pound of raw sugar contains just about 2 cups of volume.

Powdered sugar, on the other hand, contains the smallest granules with the lowest density of all the sugars listed. Its granules are so tiny because it's made from white sugar that's been ground into a fine, soft consistency. Unsifted, 1 pound of powdered sugar yields about 3¼ cups. If your recipe requires sifted powdered sugar, a 1-pound bag will give you about 4 cups, total.