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

There are 16 tablespoons in one US standard cup.

There are 8 tablespoons in one half cup.

There are 4 tablespoons in one quarter cup.

There are 2 tablespoons in 1 US ounce.

There are 24 teaspoons in half a cup.

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.

There are 12 teaspoons in one quarter cup.

There are 6 teaspoons in one US ounce.

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.

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, 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.

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).

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.