How Many Tablespoons in a Cup?
There are 16 tablespoons in 1 US cup. That means 8 tablespoons in ½ cup, 4 tablespoons in ¼ cup, and 5 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon in ⅓ cup.
Assumptions
- US cup = 236.6 mL = 16 tablespoons = 48 teaspoons.
- Tablespoon = 3 teaspoons, about 15 mL (14.79 mL exactly in the US).
- Canadian recipes written in cups use the same 16-tablespoon cup unless they specify a 250 mL cup.
Cups to tablespoons
| Cup | Tablespoons | Tablespoons + teaspoons | Teaspoons | mL (US) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1/16 cup | 1 | 1 tbsp | 3 | 15 mL |
| ⅛ cup | 2 | 2 tbsp | 6 | 30 mL |
| ¼ cup | 4 | 4 tbsp | 12 | 59 mL |
| ⅓ cup | 5⅓ | 5 tbsp + 1 tsp | 16 | 79 mL |
| ⅜ cup | 6 | 6 tbsp | 18 | 89 mL |
| ½ cup | 8 | 8 tbsp | 24 | 118 mL |
| ⅝ cup | 10 | 10 tbsp | 30 | 148 mL |
| ⅔ cup | 10⅔ | 10 tbsp + 2 tsp | 32 | 158 mL |
| ¾ cup | 12 | 12 tbsp | 36 | 177 mL |
| ⅞ cup | 14 | 14 tbsp | 42 | 207 mL |
| 1 cup | 16 | 16 tbsp | 48 | 237 mL |
| 1½ cups | 24 | 24 tbsp | 72 | 355 mL |
| 2 cups | 32 | 32 tbsp | 96 | 473 mL |
Tablespoons to cups
| Tablespoons | Cups |
|---|---|
| 2 tbsp | ⅛ cup |
| 3 tbsp | 3/16 cup (just under ¼) |
| 4 tbsp | ¼ cup |
| 5 tbsp | ¼ cup + 1 tbsp |
| 6 tbsp | ⅜ cup (¼ cup + 2 tbsp) |
| 8 tbsp | ½ cup |
| 10 tbsp | ½ cup + 2 tbsp |
| 12 tbsp | ¾ cup |
| 14 tbsp | ¾ cup + 2 tbsp |
| 20 tbsp | 1¼ cups |
Metric and Australian cups
A 250 mL metric cup is a little bigger than a US cup, and Australia uses a bigger tablespoon.
| Cup | 15 mL tablespoons | 20 mL Australian tablespoons |
|---|---|---|
| US cup (236.6 mL) | 16 | about 11.8 |
| Metric cup (250 mL) | about 16⅔ | 12½ |
| Imperial cup (284 mL) | about 19 | about 14.2 |
For everyday cooking, treat a metric cup as 16 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons.
Handy uses for this conversion
- Cutting down a recipe: halving ⅓ cup gives 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons. Quartering ¾ cup gives 3 tablespoons.
- Butter: 1 US stick = 8 tablespoons = ½ cup, and the wrapper is marked in tablespoons. See the butter conversion chart.
- Missing measuring cup: no ⅓ cup? Use 5 tablespoons and 1 teaspoon. No ¾ cup? Use ½ cup plus 4 tablespoons.
- Sauces and dressings: small batches are often easier to measure in tablespoons than in fractions of a cup.
Why the numbers get awkward with thirds
Cups divide neatly into halves and quarters because 16 is a power of two. Thirds don't fit: 16 ÷ 3 = 5.33 tablespoons. The leftover third of a tablespoon is exactly 1 teaspoon, which is where "5 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon" comes from.
Volume isn't weight
Sixteen tablespoons is always a cup by volume, but the weight in that cup depends on the ingredient. A cup of flour is about 125 g; a cup of sugar 200 g; a cup of honey 340 g. For baking accuracy, especially for flour, weigh instead. See cups to grams.
Questions
How many tablespoons are in 1/3 cup?
One-third of a US cup is 5 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon, about 79 mL.
How many tablespoons are in 2/3 cup?
Two-thirds of a cup is 10 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons, about 158 mL.
How many tablespoons are in a 250 mL metric cup?
A 250 mL metric cup holds about 16⅔ tablespoons of 15 mL, or 12½ Australian 20 mL tablespoons.
How many tablespoons of butter are in a cup?
Sixteen, the same as any other ingredient, because tablespoons and cups are both volumes. One cup of butter is two US sticks and weighs 227 g.