Tablespoons to Cups Converter
16 tablespoons in a cup — and what to do about the awkward thirds
There are 16 tablespoons in 1 US cup. Half a cup is 8 tablespoons and a quarter cup is 4 tablespoons.
Sixteen tablespoons make one US cup. That single number covers most of what anyone needs: half a cup is 8 tablespoons, a quarter cup is 4, and an eighth of a cup is 2.
The measurement is worth knowing because tablespoons are often more accurate than cups for dry ingredients. A tablespoon is small enough that you cannot pack it badly by much, while a cup of flour can vary by 30% depending on how you scoop it.
Reference table
| tablespoons | cups | teaspoons | millilitres |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 tbsp | 0.06 cup | 3 tsp | 14.79 ml |
| 2 tbsp | ⅛ cup | 6 tsp | 29.57 ml |
| 3 tbsp | 0.19 cup | 9 tsp | 44.36 ml |
| 4 tbsp | ¼ cup | 12 tsp | 59.15 ml |
| 5 tbsp | ⅓ cup | 15 tsp | 73.93 ml |
| 6 tbsp | ⅜ cup | 18 tsp | 88.72 ml |
| 8 tbsp | ½ cup | 24 tsp | 118.3 ml |
| 10 tbsp | ⅝ cup | 30 tsp | 147.9 ml |
| 12 tbsp | ¾ cup | 36 tsp | 177.4 ml |
| 14 tbsp | ⅞ cup | 42 tsp | 207 ml |
| 16 tbsp | 1 cup | 48 tsp | 236.6 ml |
| 24 tbsp | 1½ cup | 72 tsp | 354.9 ml |
| 32 tbsp | 2 cup | 96 tsp | 473.2 ml |
The full tablespoon-to-cup ladder
Thirds do not divide evenly into tablespoons, which is the one thing that trips people up. A third of 16 is 5.33, so ⅓ cup is 5 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon. Rounding it to 5 tablespoons loses about 6% of the ingredient; rounding up to 6 loses accuracy in the other direction by more.
- 16 tablespoons = 1 cup
- 12 tablespoons = ¾ cup
- 10 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons = ⅔ cup
- 8 tablespoons = ½ cup
- 5 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon = ⅓ cup
- 4 tablespoons = ¼ cup
- 2 tablespoons = ⅛ cup
- 1 tablespoon = 3 teaspoons
When to measure in tablespoons instead of cups
Tablespoons win whenever the amount is small or the ingredient is powerful. Two extra grams of salt in a loaf of bread is noticeable; two extra grams of flour is not.
They also win for sticky ingredients. Scraping a tablespoon of peanut butter clean is realistic. Scraping a full cup clean is not, and whatever stays in the cup is ingredient your recipe never got.
- Leaveners — baking powder, baking soda, yeast
- Salt, spices and extracts
- Oil, honey, molasses and other sticky liquids
- Any ingredient under about a quarter cup
Tablespoon sizes are not universal either
The US tablespoon is 14.79 ml, near enough to 15 ml that the metric world simply uses 15 ml and nobody suffers. Australia is the exception: an Australian tablespoon is 20 ml, a full four teaspoons rather than three.
If you are cooking from an Australian recipe with US spoons, use 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon wherever it says one tablespoon. For baking powder and bicarbonate of soda, that difference is worth honouring.
| Region | Tablespoon | Teaspoons per tablespoon |
|---|---|---|
| United States | 14.79 ml | 3 |
| Metric / Europe | 15 ml | 3 |
| United Kingdom | 15 ml | 3 |
| Australia | 20 ml | 4 |
Grams per tablespoon for common ingredients
Because a tablespoon is a volume, its weight changes with the ingredient. These are the figures the site's converters use.
| Ingredient | Grams per tbsp |
|---|---|
| All-purpose flour | 7.8 g |
| Granulated sugar | 12.5 g |
| Brown sugar (packed) | 13.8 g |
| Butter | 14.2 g |
| Honey | 21.3 g |
| Cocoa powder | 5.3 g |
| Table salt | 17.1 g |
| Water | 14.8 g |
Frequently asked questions
How many tablespoons are in a cup?
There are 16 tablespoons in one US cup.
How many tablespoons are in ⅓ cup?
A third of a cup is 5 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon. It does not divide into whole tablespoons.
How many tablespoons are in ¾ cup?
Three quarters of a cup is 12 tablespoons, or 6 fluid ounces.
Is a tablespoon 15 ml or 20 ml?
A US tablespoon is 14.79 ml and most of the metric world rounds to 15 ml. Australia is the outlier with a 20 ml tablespoon.
How many tablespoons are in a stick of butter?
One US stick of butter is 8 tablespoons — half a cup, 4 ounces, or about 113 grams.