Calories in granulated sugar.
387 kcal per 100 g.
Sugar is pure carbohydrate at just under 4 kcal per gram: a teaspoon is 16 kcal, a tablespoon 48. Two sugars in each of four coffees is about 130 kcal a day that rarely gets logged.
Sugars, granulated · SR Legacy (2018-04) · USDA FDC 169655
Nutrition for your portion
| Nutrient | Per 100 g | 100 g |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | 387 kcal | 387 kcal |
| Protein | 0 g | 0 g |
| Carbohydrates | 100 g | 100 g |
| Fat | 0 g | 0 g |
| Fibre | 0 g | 0 g |
| Sugars | 99.8 g | 99.8 g |
| Saturated fat | 0 g | 0 g |
| Sodium | 1 mg | 1 mg |
| Salt (calculated from sodium) | 0.0025 g | 0.0025 g |
| Vitamin A (RAE) | 0 ug | 0 ug |
| Vitamin D (D2 + D3) | 0 ug | 0 ug |
| Vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol) | 0 mg | 0 mg |
| Vitamin K (phylloquinone) | 0 ug | 0 ug |
| Vitamin C | 0 mg | 0 mg |
| Thiamin | 0 mg | 0 mg |
| Riboflavin | 0.02 mg | 0.02 mg |
| Niacin | 0 mg | 0 mg |
| Vitamin B6 | 0 mg | 0 mg |
| Folate, total | 0 ug | 0 ug |
| Vitamin B12 | 0 ug | 0 ug |
| Potassium | 2 mg | 2 mg |
| Calcium | 1 mg | 1 mg |
| Phosphorus | 0 mg | 0 mg |
| Magnesium | 0 mg | 0 mg |
| Iron | 0.05 mg | 0.05 mg |
| Zinc | 0.01 mg | 0.01 mg |
| Selenium | 0.6 ug | 0.6 ug |
| Iodine | Unknown | Unknown |
| Copper | 0.007 mg | 0.007 mg |
Energy comes from USDA nutrient 1008. Salt is calculated as sodium × 2.5, with unit conversion to grams. It is not a separately measured salt value.
Preparation
Sugar does not change in cooking except by caramelising, and caramel has the same calories as the sugar it came from. Dissolved into coffee, tea or a sauce it disappears from view but not from the count — a tablespoon in a marinade is still 48 kcal, spread over whatever the marinade coats.
Logging this food
The teaspoon is the unit that gets forgotten: 4 g, 16 kcal, and three of them a day in coffee is 175 kcal a week. A heaped teaspoon is closer to 6 g. A "packet" is 3 g (12 kcal), a sugar cube 2 g (8 kcal). Log it as its own line rather than folding it into "coffee".
Swaps and alternatives
Honey is not a lighter option — 304 kcal per 100 g against sugar's 387, but it is denser, so a tablespoon of honey (21 g, 64 kcal) beats a tablespoon of sugar (12 g, 48 kcal). Zero-calorie sweeteners are the only swap that removes the calories; using less sugar removes them proportionally.