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Tablespoons in a Cup: Cups to Tablespoons Converter

Conversions

Choose cups to tablespoons or tablespoons to cups and enter the amount. One US cup is 16 tablespoons; you also get teaspoons, fluid ounces and milliliters for the US, label or metric cup, plus two charts below.

Convert
Cup and spoon sizes

US customary: cup 236.59 mL, tablespoon 14.79 mL. US label: cup 240 mL, tablespoon 15 mL. Metric: cup 250 mL, tablespoon 15 mL.

Whole cups only. Add 1/4, 1/3 or another fraction of a cup in the next field, so thirds and sixths stay exact.

The sizes on a set of measuring cups, plus 1/6, 5/8 and 7/8.

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Result: In tablespoons

16

1 cup = 16 tbsp = 48 tsp = 8 fl oz = 236.6 mL. On measuring spoons that is 16 tbsp + 0 tsp.

  • Whole tablespoons: 16
  • Plus teaspoons: 0
  • In teaspoons: 48
  • In fluid ounces: 8
  • In milliliters: 236.6 mL

Cup fractions in tablespoons chart (1/16 to 4 US cups)

Cup fractions in tablespoons
US cupsTablespoonsPlus teaspoonsFluid ouncesMilliliters
1/16100.514.8
1/820129.6
1/6221.3339.4
1/440259.1
1/3512.6778.9
3/860388.7
1/2804118.3
5/81005147.9
2/31025.33157.7
3/41206177.4
7/81407207
11608236.6
1 1/420010295.7
1 1/224012354.9
232016473.2
348024709.8
464032946.4

Tablespoons to cups chart (1 to 32 tbsp)

Tablespoons to cups
TablespoonsUS cups (fraction)US cups (decimal)Fluid ouncesMilliliters
11/160.06250.514.8
21/80.125129.6
33/160.18751.544.4
41/40.25259.1
55/160.31252.573.9
63/80.375388.7
77/160.43753.5103.5
81/20.54118.3
99/160.56254.5133.1
105/80.6255147.9
1111/160.68755.5162.7
123/40.756177.4
1313/160.81256.5192.2
147/80.8757207
1515/160.93757.5221.8
16118236.6
181 1/81.1259266.2
201 1/41.2510295.7
241 1/21.512354.9
281 3/41.7514414
301 7/81.87515443.6
322216473.2

Step by step

1 × 236.5882365 / 14.78676478125 = 16

  1. One cup of this kind holds 236.5882365 mL and one tablespoon 14.78676478125 mL, so a cup is 16 tablespoons.
  2. Multiply 1 cup by the cup size and divide by the spoon size: 1 × 236.5882365 / 14.78676478125 = 16 tbsp.
  3. A tablespoon is 3 teaspoons: 48 tsp in all. On measuring spoons that is 16 tbsp + 0 tsp.

Formula

tbsp = cups × cup mL / tbsp mL
US cup = 16 tbsp = 48 tsp = 8 fl oz = 236.5882365 mL
Label: cup 240 mL, tbsp 15 mL, tsp 5 mL, fl oz 30 mL
Metric: cup 250 mL, tbsp 15 mL, tsp 5 mL, fl oz 29.5735295625 mL
tsp = tbsp × 3, fl oz = mL / mL per fl oz
cup mL
size of the cup in milliliters: 236.5882365, 240 or 250
tbsp mL
size of the tablespoon in milliliters: 14.78676478125 for the US customary spoon, 15 for the label and metric spoon
tbsp, tsp
tablespoons and teaspoons; a tablespoon is exactly 3 teaspoons in all three systems
fl oz
a US fluid ounce is 29.5735295625 mL in the US customary and metric settings and 30 mL in the label setting

How it works

In the US customary system one cup is 16 tablespoons, whether it holds water, oil, flour or sugar. A tablespoon is 3 teaspoons, so a cup is also 48 teaspoons, and 2 tablespoons make 1 fluid ounce, so a cup is 8 fluid ounces. To go from cups to tablespoons, multiply by 16; to go from tablespoons to cups, divide by 16. That gives the pairs most recipes need: 1/8 cup is 2 tablespoons, 1/4 cup is 4, 1/2 cup is 8, 3/4 cup is 12 and a full cup is 16.

The thirds are the ones that trip people up, because 16 does not divide evenly by 3. 1/3 cup is 5 1/3 tablespoons, which on measuring spoons is 5 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon, and 2/3 cup is 10 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons. The same goes for 1/6 cup, which is 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons. This converter works out the whole tablespoons and the leftover teaspoons for you, and the cup menu keeps thirds and sixths exact instead of asking you to type 0.333.

Not every cup and spoon is the same size. The US customary cup is 236.5882365 mL and the tablespoon 14.78676478125 mL. US nutrition labels round them to 240 mL and 15 mL, which still makes 16 tablespoons per cup. A metric cup of 250 mL with a 15 mL tablespoon holds 16 2/3 tablespoons: choose Metric cup above to convert with those sizes, and US customary or US label for the first two. Australia uses a 20 mL tablespoon, so a 250 mL cup holds only 12.5 of them, but that spoon is not one of the three settings. For fluid ounces in more detail see the cups to ounces converter, for ounces of weight the ounces to pounds converter, and to scale a recipe by 2/3 or 1 1/2 the fraction calculator.

The formula

The US cup comes from the US liquid gallon, which is defined as 231 cubic inches. Because an inch is exactly 2.54 cm, a gallon is exactly 3,785.411784 mL, a fluid ounce a 128th of it (29.5735295625 mL) and a cup 8 fluid ounces. A tablespoon is half a fluid ounce and a teaspoon a sixth of one. The converter changes your amount to milliliters first and divides by the spoon or cup size afterwards, so nothing is rounded along the way.

The fraction of a cup shown for tablespoons is exact: tablespoons / 16 for the US and label cup, reduced to lowest terms, so 20 tablespoons are 5/4, shown as 1 1/4 cups. For other amounts it uses your number rounded to 0.001 tablespoon. Spoons are only as precise as the way you fill them: level a dry spoonful with a straight edge.

Example

How many tablespoons are in 2/3 cup?

  1. A US cup is 48 teaspoons, so 2/3 cup is 32 teaspoons.
  2. Divide by 3 teaspoons per tablespoon: 10.6667 tablespoons, which is 10 tablespoons and 2 teaspoons on measuring spoons.

2/3 cup = 10.6667 tbsp = 32 tsp = 5.333 fl oz = 157.7 mL. On measuring spoons that is 10 tbsp + 2 tsp.

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Frequently asked questions

How many tablespoons are in a cup?

There are 16 tablespoons in one US cup. That is also 48 teaspoons, 8 fluid ounces or 236.59 mL. It is the same for liquids and dry ingredients, because a cup and a tablespoon both measure volume.

Does 16 tbsp make 1 cup?

Yes. 16 tablespoons make exactly 1 US cup, and 16 tablespoons of 15 mL make exactly the 240 mL cup used on nutrition labels. Only a 250 mL metric cup differs: it holds 16 2/3 tablespoons of 15 mL.

Is 2 tbsp 1/4 cup?

No. 2 tablespoons are 1/8 cup, which is also 1 fluid ounce. A quarter cup is 4 tablespoons, a third of a cup is 5 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon and a half cup is 8 tablespoons.

How many tablespoons are in 1/2 cup, 1/3 cup, 1/4 cup and 1/8 cup?

1/2 cup is 8 tablespoons, 1/3 cup is 5 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon (5 1/3 tablespoons), 1/4 cup is 4 tablespoons and 1/8 cup is 2 tablespoons. 2/3 cup is 10 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons, and 3/4 cup is 12 tablespoons.

How many tablespoons are in 1/16 cup, 1/6 cup and 3/8 cup?

1/16 cup is exactly 1 tablespoon. 1/6 cup is 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons (2 2/3 tablespoons), and 3/8 cup is 6 tablespoons. 5/8 cup is 10 tablespoons and 7/8 cup is 14 tablespoons.

How many cups are 5, 10, 15 or 20 tablespoons?

Divide by 16: 5 tablespoons are 5/16 cup, 10 are 5/8 cup, 15 are 15/16 cup and 20 are 1 1/4 cups. Also 7 are 7/16 cup, 14 are 7/8 cup, 24 are 1 1/2 cups, 30 are 1 7/8 cups and 32 are exactly 2 cups.

How many teaspoons are in a cup?

A US cup holds 48 teaspoons, because it holds 16 tablespoons and each tablespoon is 3 teaspoons. A half cup is 24 teaspoons, a quarter cup is 12 and a sixteenth of a cup is 3.

How much is 5 ounces in a measuring cup?

If you mean fluid ounces, 5 fl oz is 5/8 cup, between the 1/2 and 3/4 marks, or 10 tablespoons (about 148 mL). Ounces of weight depend on the ingredient: 5 oz of water is about 0.6 cup, while 5 oz of flour is more than a cup.

Is a UK tablespoon the same as a US tablespoon?

Almost. The UK now uses a 15 mL metric tablespoon, which matches the US label tablespoon. The US customary tablespoon is 14.79 mL, about 1.4% smaller, and the Australian tablespoon is 20 mL, a third larger. For recipes the first two are interchangeable.

How many tablespoons are in a stick of butter?

A US stick of butter is 8 tablespoons, which is 1/2 cup or 4 ounces by weight. Two sticks make 16 tablespoons, one cup. Wrappers print tablespoon marks on the paper so you can cut off the amount you need.

What do T, t, tbsp and tsp mean in a recipe?

Tbsp, Tbs and a capital T all stand for tablespoon, while tsp and a lowercase t stand for teaspoon. So 3 t equal 1 T, and 16 T equal 1 cup. When a recipe only says T or t, check the case before you measure.

Does the metric cup change the answer?

Yes. A 250 mL metric cup holds 16 2/3 tablespoons of 15 mL, and Metric cup above converts with exactly those sizes. With the 20 mL tablespoon used in Australia the same cup holds 12.5, but that spoon is not one of the settings here. US recipes written for a 236.59 mL or 240 mL cup use 16.

Last updated: Responsible editor: Jared Alan
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