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How Many Tablespoons in a Cup – A List of Measurement Conversions

Written by the YesChef staff

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Nancy Silverton
Teaches her California Cuisine
Have you ever read a recipe and wanted to halve it to get just what you need? Or even double the recipe for a party? Or perhaps you want to know how many teaspoons are in a tablespoon? Now figuring that out is easy when you can calculate measurement conversions. Since home chefs throughout the world are accustomed to the tools they grew up with in their kitchens, we thought it only necessary to share a few handy conversions.
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Nancy Silverton
Teaches her California Cuisine

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How many tablespoons are in a cup?

There are 16 tablespoons in one US standard cup.

How many tablespoons are in a half a cup?

There are 8 tablespoons in one half cup.

How many tablespoons are in a quarter cup?

There are 4 tablespoons in one quarter cup.

How many tablespoons are in an ounce?

There are 2 tablespoons in 1 US ounce.

How many teaspoons in a half cup?

There are 24 teaspoons in half a cup.

Abbreviations

The following are a list of common abbreviations you might encounter in different recipes:  
  • Teaspoon: tsp, t, ts, or tspn
  • Tablespoon: Tbsp, tbsp, T, Tb, Tbs, or Tbls
  Sometimes you’ll notice ‘tablespoon’ capitalized in recipes, and other times it appears in lowercase.  Teaspoon generally appears as lowercase. Pay special attention when reading through the recipe to decipher between the two measurements.

How many tsp in a quarter cup?

There are 12 teaspoons in one quarter cup.

How many tsp are in an ounce?

There are 6 teaspoons in one US ounce.

How many teaspoons are in a tablespoon?

There are 3 teaspoons in a tablespoon (3 tsp per tbsp).

Knowing this makes it easy to bake decadent dessert recipes such as chef Nancy Silverton’s apple pie.

Teaspoons to tablespoons conversions

For a few more culinary conversions, use this list as a friendly guide:

 

¾ teaspoon = ¼ tablespoon

1 ½ teaspoons = ½ tablespoon

3 teaspoons = 1 tablespoon = ½ fluid ounce

6 teaspoons = 2 tablespoons = ⅛ cup = 1 fluid ounce

12 teaspoons = 4 tablespoons = ¼ cup = 2 fluid ounces

16 teaspoons = 5 ⅓ tablespoons = ⅓ cup = 2 ⅓ fluid ounces

24 teaspoons = 8 tablespoons = ½ cup = 4 fluid ounces

36 teaspoons = 12 tablespoons = ¾ cup = 6 fluid ounces

48 teaspoons = 16 tablespoons = 1 cup = 8 fluid ounces

96 teaspoons = 32 tablespoons = 2 cups = 16 fluid ounces = 1 pint

192 teaspoons = 64 tablespoons = 4 cups = 32 fluid ounces = 1 quart

768 teaspoons = 256 tablespoons = 16 cups = 128 fluid ounces = 1 gallon

Imperial vs metric

Imperial, or the US customary/standard system, is based on the old British imperial system of ounces, pounds, cups, pints, quarts, and gallons. The metric system is a decimal system based on the meter, liter, and gram.

 

While the United States (along with Myanmar and Liberia) use the imperial system, the rest of the world uses the metric system. This is why when you are reading a recipe from another country, the ingredients may be listed in liters or grams.

Global variances

Unit measurements for teaspoons and tablespoons are not the same globally, as listed below.

 

Teaspoon:

  • United States imperial teaspoon = 4.93 ml
  • Metric teaspoon = 5 ml

Tablespoon:

  • United States imperial tablespoon = 14.79 ml
  • Metric tablespoon = 15 ml

 

Since the imperial and metric units are so close, you can use a one-for-one swap and it will not impact the recipe. The only exception to this rule is the Australian tablespoon, which is 20 ml (4 teaspoons in 1 Australian tablespoon).

What is a dessert spoon?

In recipes from the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, you may come across a volume measurement called a dessert spoon. A dessert spoon is 10 ml, or just between a teaspoon and tablespoon.

Mom's Apple Pie

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Ingredients

Recipe

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YesChef-Nancy-Silverton-Desktop

Nancy Silverton

James Beard Award-winning chef, best-selling cookbook author, and the restaurateur behind Michelin-starred Mozza, Nancy Silverton takes viewers on a journey from her home in Panicale, Italy, to her home in Los Angeles. Viewers learn a range of Nancy’s renowned dishes, including her signature Caesar Salad, Chi Spacca Pepper Steak, 10+ vegetarian dishes, Mom’s Apple Pie, and more.

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