MeasureMint

Tablespoons to cups

16 tablespoons = 1 cup; 3 teaspoons = 1 tablespoon.

  • Ingredient weights: King Arthur Baking chart
  • Updated Oct 23, 2026
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Fractions of a cup

The numbers

There are 16 tablespoons in a US cup and 3 teaspoons in a tablespoon. A US tablespoon is 14.79 mL. So 4 tablespoons = ¼ cup, 5 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon = ⅓ cup and 8 tablespoons = ½ cup.

Other countries

An Australian tablespoon is 20 mL (4 teaspoons), and a metric cup is 250 mL, so Australian recipes differ slightly. UK recipes mostly use a 15 mL tablespoon, very close to the US one.

Frequently asked questions

How many tablespoons in a cup?

16.

How many tablespoons are in ⅓ cup?

5 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon.

Is a tablespoon of butter 14 g?

About 14 g; one US stick of butter is 8 tablespoons, or 113 g.