Guides /Volume Conversions
Tablespoons to cups.
Full table.
1 cup = 16 tablespoons. Here's every common amount from 1 tablespoon to 2 cups, with teaspoons and milliliters alongside.
| Tablespoons | Cups | Teaspoons | ml |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 tbsp | 1/16 | 3 tsp | 15 ml |
| 2 tbsp | ⅛ | 6 tsp | 30 ml |
| 4 tbsp | ¼ | 12 tsp | 60 ml |
| 5⅓ tbsp | ⅓ | 16 tsp | 79 ml |
| 8 tbsp | ½ | 24 tsp | 118 ml |
| 10⅔ tbsp | ⅔ | 32 tsp | 158 ml |
| 12 tbsp | ¾ | 36 tsp | 177 ml |
| 16 tbsp | 1 | 48 tsp | 237 ml |
| 24 tbsp | 1½ | 72 tsp | 355 ml |
| 32 tbsp | 2 | 96 tsp | 473 ml |
1 cup = 16 tbsp = 48 tsp = 237 ml · 1 tbsp = 3 tsp = 15 ml
Quick reference: the most common conversions
- —¼ cup = 4 tablespoons = 12 teaspoons = 60 ml
- —⅓ cup = 5 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon = 79 ml
- —½ cup = 8 tablespoons = 118 ml
- —¾ cup = 12 tablespoons = 177 ml
Why ⅓ cup is the awkward one
⅓ cup = 5 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon. There's no whole-tablespoon equivalent, which is why halved recipes that involve ⅓ cup (giving ⅙ cup = 2 tbsp + 2 tsp) get complicated quickly. For accuracy, use a liquid measuring cup with ⅓ cup marked, or weigh the ingredient instead.
Dry vs liquid tablespoon measures
A tablespoon is a tablespoon whether you're measuring water or flour — the unit is volume, not mass. But how you fill the spoon matters. For liquids, fill to the brim. For dry ingredients like flour, cocoa powder, or sugar, spoon the ingredient into the tablespoon and level it off with a straight edge. Scooping dry ingredients packs them in and can add 10–20% more than the recipe intends. This is the single most common source of error when baking by volume.
International tablespoon sizes
US and UK tablespoons are 15 ml. Australian tablespoons are 20 ml — four teaspoons, not three. Canadian tablespoons follow the US standard at 15 ml. If a recipe from an Australian source calls for 2 tablespoons of butter, that's 40 ml — about 13% more than 2 US tablespoons (30 ml). For small amounts this gap is negligible, but in pastry recipes or for leavening agents it adds up noticeably. Always check the source country when a tablespoon amount seems unusual.
Improvising without measuring cups
If you don't have a measuring cup, tablespoons cover you completely. A standard US measuring spoon set gives you 1 tablespoon = 15 ml, so you can build any cup fraction: ¼ cup is 4 tablespoons, ½ cup is 8, ¾ cup is 12, and 1 cup is 16. For a recipe needing ⅓ cup, use 5 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon (5 tbsp + 1 tsp = 79 ml). It takes a few more steps, but the measurement is precise and doesn't require any special equipment beyond a standard spoon set.
Scaling tablespoon amounts in recipes
When scaling a recipe up or down, tablespoon amounts can produce awkward fractions. Doubling a recipe that needs 5 tablespoons gives 10 tablespoons, which simplifies to ⅝ cup — a measurement most cup sets don't include. The cleaner approach is to convert to millilitres first (5 tbsp × 15 ml = 75 ml), scale (× 2 = 150 ml), then re-express as cups and spoons (½ cup + 2 tbsp). A recipe converter tool does this automatically and surfaces the most practical measurement for whatever scale you set.
Frequently asked questions
- How many tablespoons are in 1 cup?
- 16 tablespoons = 1 cup = 48 teaspoons = 237 ml.
- How many tablespoons are in ¼ cup?
- 4 tablespoons = ¼ cup = 60 ml.
- How many tablespoons are in ⅓ cup?
- 5 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon = ⅓ cup. There is no whole-tablespoon equivalent for ⅓ cup.
- How many tablespoons are in ½ cup?
- 8 tablespoons = ½ cup = 118 ml.
- Are US and Australian tablespoons the same size?
- No. A US tablespoon is 15 ml (3 teaspoons). An Australian tablespoon is 20 ml (4 teaspoons) — one-third larger. When following Australian recipes, each tablespoon measures about 33% more than a US tablespoon.
Scale a recipe and get clean fractions
Paste your ingredient list and set your scale factor — awkward fractions like 5⅓ tablespoons are automatically simplified to the nearest practical measure.