How Many Grams Are in a Teaspoon of Sugar?

How many grams are in 1 teaspoon of each sugar type?

According to King Arthur Baking's ingredient weight chart, different sugars weigh different amounts per US teaspoon (5 ml). Granulated white sugar weighs 4 g per teaspoon. Brown sugar (packed) weighs 4.5 g per teaspoon. Powdered sugar weighs 2.5 g per teaspoon (lighter due to fine particles trapping air). Coconut sugar weighs 3 g per teaspoon. Turbinado sugar weighs 4 g per teaspoon. Demerara sugar weighs 4 g per teaspoon. Date sugar weighs 2 g per teaspoon. Maple sugar weighs 3.5 g per teaspoon. Stevia powder weighs 0.1 g per teaspoon (essentially negligible, since stevia is hundreds of times sweeter than sugar by weight). These weights assume properly filled teaspoons: scooped and leveled for granulated and crystalline sugars, packed for brown sugar.

Why does sugar weight per teaspoon vary by type?

The same density factors that affect cup measurements also affect teaspoon measurements, just on a smaller scale. Granulated sugar has uniform crystals that pack densely; powdered sugar is ground finer and traps more air. Brown sugar contains molasses that adds moisture and weight while causing the particles to compact when packed. Coconut sugar and turbinado have larger crystals that trap more air. Date sugar's fibrous structure weighs less per volume. Stevia's extreme sweetness concentration means very little is needed per recipe, so the per-teaspoon weight is misleadingly small. For nutrition tracking and recipe scaling, knowing the specific sugar type matters more than for general cooking; substituting brown sugar for white at the same teaspoon volume gives slightly more sweetness due to the extra moisture and molasses.

How does sugar per teaspoon scale to tablespoons and cups?

For granulated sugar: 1 tsp is 4 g, 3 tsp (1 tbsp) is 12.5 g, 12 tsp (1/4 cup) is 50 g, 24 tsp (1/2 cup) is 100 g, and 48 tsp (1 cup) is 200 g. For brown sugar: 1 tsp is 4.5 g, 1 tbsp is 13 g, and 1 cup is 213 g. For powdered sugar: 1 tsp is 2.5 g, 1 tbsp is 7.5 g, and 1 cup is 113 g. The 3-to-1 ratio (3 teaspoons per tablespoon) holds for all sugars, but the gram weights vary based on sugar type. For coffee and tea sweetening, the standard '1 teaspoon of sugar' is about 4 g (16 calories), useful for nutrition tracking when adding multiple teaspoons across a day.

When does sugar teaspoon-to-gram math matter most?

Nutrition tracking is the biggest case. Diabetes management apps use grams for carbohydrate counting; converting teaspoons to grams gives accurate carb counts. A standard tracking conversion: 1 teaspoon of granulated sugar is 4 g of carbohydrates (16 calories). Baking precision benefits when working with small recipe amounts; weighing in grams beats teaspoon measurements for accuracy. International recipes universally use grams, so converting from US teaspoons requires the conversion. For everyday sweetening of beverages, the 4 g per teaspoon shortcut helps with calorie awareness; 2 teaspoons in coffee adds 8 g of sugar (32 calories), and 4 daily cups with 2 teaspoons each adds up to 32 g of sugar (128 calories) per day from beverages alone.