500 Grams of Powdered Sugar to Cups
4⅛ cups in a US cup — and what that looks like with a measuring spoon
500 grams of powdered sugar is 4⅛ cups in a US cup. In the kitchen that is 4 cups, 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons.
Grams weigh and cups fill, so the answer only exists once you say what is in the cup. A US cup of powdered sugar weighs 120 g, and every figure on this page comes from that one number.
It also depends on whose cup you mean. In a 250 ml metric cup — the standard in the UK, Australia, New Zealand and Canada — 500 g of powdered sugar is 3.94 cups, because that cup holds about 5.7% more than the 236.6 ml US cup.
Round to the nearest measure in a standard cup set — 4¼ cups — and you are 10 g over, about 2% of the amount.
500 g of powdered sugar in each cup standard
| Cup standard | Size | Grams per cup | Cups |
|---|---|---|---|
| US customary | 236.6 ml | 120 g | 4⅛ |
| Metric (UK, AU, NZ, CA) | 250 ml | 127 g | 3.94 |
| Imperial (older UK) | 284 ml | 144 g | 3½ |
A recipe that says "cups" without saying which one is almost always American. If it came from a British, Australian or New Zealand source, use the metric row.
How to measure 500 g of powdered sugar without scales
Powdered sugar clumps. Sift it, then spoon it into the cup and level it. Scooping straight from the bag packs the lumps in and overshoots.
Powdered sugar, icing sugar and confectioners' sugar are the same thing, at 120 g per cup. Sifted before measuring it can be lighter still, which is why frosting recipes usually say to sift first.
- Build it as 4 cups, 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons rather than guessing at 4⅛ of a cup.
- 500 g is 66.67 tablespoons of powdered sugar, at 7.5 g per tablespoon.
- A digital scale removes the question entirely, and costs less than the ingredients it saves.
Nearby amounts of powdered sugar
| Grams | US cups | Metric cups | Tablespoons |
|---|---|---|---|
| 100 g | ⅞ | ¾ | 13.33 |
| 150 g | 1¼ | 1⅛ | 20 |
| 200 g | 1⅔ | 1⅝ | 26.67 |
| 250 g | 2⅛ | 2 | 33.33 |
| 300 g | 2½ | 2⅜ | 40 |
500 g of something else
The same 500 g is a different number of cups for every ingredient, because they do not weigh the same for their size.
| Ingredient | Grams per US cup | US cups |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 125 g | 4 |
| Sugar | 200 g | 2½ |
| Butter | 227 g | 2¼ |
| Water | 237 g | 2⅛ |
| Rice | 185 g | 2⅔ |
| Milk | 244 g | 2.05 |
500 grams in other units
| Unit | Amount |
|---|---|
| US cups | 4⅛ |
| Tablespoons | 66.67 |
| Teaspoons | 200 |
| Ounces (weight) | 17.64 oz |
| Pounds | 1.10 lb |
| Millilitres (volume it fills) | 986 ml |
Frequently asked questions
How many cups is 500 grams of powdered sugar?
500 grams of powdered sugar is 4⅛ cups in a US cup, based on 120 g per cup. A 250 ml metric cup gives 3.94 cups.
What is the easiest way to measure 500 g of powdered sugar?
4 cups, 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons — built from a standard cup and spoon set. Powdered sugar clumps. Sift it, then spoon it into the cup and level it. Scooping straight from the bag packs the lumps in and overshoots.
Is 500 g of powdered sugar the same in cups in the UK?
No. A UK, Australian, New Zealand or Canadian metric cup is 250 ml against the US cup's 236.6 ml, so 500 g of powdered sugar is 3.94 cups there and 4⅛ cups in the US.
Can I just use 4¼ cups instead?
4¼ cups of powdered sugar weighs about 510 g, so you would be 10 g over. For a sauce or a soup that is fine; for a cake, where the flour-to-liquid ratio sets the crumb, weigh it.
How many ounces is 500 grams?
500 grams is 17.64 ounces by weight. Unlike cups, that answer is the same whatever you are measuring — ounces weigh, fluid ounces fill, and they are not the same unit.