Popup calculator Copy a link to this page Print this page Email a link to this page Scroll up to form What does this mean? Remove this row Open/Close content Close content Return to content Copy to clipboard

Grams to Tablespoons

Please choose an ingredient. A density is required for converting between grams and tablespoons. If your ingredient is not on the list, click 'add own'. add own
Convert between grams and tablespoons for sugar, butter, flour and a multitude of other common baking ingredients. Note that tablespoon figures quoted are level tablespoons, not rounded or heaped.

Disclaimer: Whilst every effort has been made in building our calculator tools, we are not to be held liable for any damages or monetary losses arising out of or in connection with their use. Full disclaimer.

On this page:

How many grams are in a tablespoon?

A level tablespoon of sugar measures around 12.5 grams and a level tablespoon of butter measures around 14.2 grams. The conversion of one tablespoon to grams depends on the density of the ingredient being measured.

How to convert grams to tablespoons

To convert grams to tablespoons, you need to divide it by the ingredient density ratio, as follows:


  • To convert 1 gram of granulated sugar to tablespoons, divide your figure by 12.5.
  • To convert 1 gram of butter to tablespoons, divide your figure by 14.2.
  • To convert 1 gram of salt to tablespoons, divide your figure by 17.8.

The gram is a unit of weight and the tablespoon is a unit of volume, just like the cup and teaspoon. So, you can't directly convert between these different units without factoring in the density of the ingredient. As an example, a tablespoon of sugar weighs less than a tablespoon of milk.

Ask any food writer who's worth their salt (pun intended) and they'll tell you to measure your dry ingredients by weight, rather than volume, using a set of kitchen scales. This is the best way to ensure accuracy with your measurements. With that said, we recognise it's not always possible to do this, particularly if you're given an old recipe quoting dry ingredients in tablespoons. You might also reach for your super-high-tech electronic kitchen scales and discover they've run out of batteries. 1

To help you out with converting between grams and tablespoons, we have created both the calculator at the top of the page and the following conversion charts for sugar, butter and other baking ingredients.

Sugar measurements

Let's start by taking a look at gram and tablespoon conversions for granulated and powdered sugar.

How many grams are in 1 tablespoon of sugar?

There are approximately 12.5 grams in a level tablespoon of granulated sugar. If you are using powdered sugar, you'll find a tablespoon holds around 7.5 grams.

grams of sugar = tbsp × 12.5
Grams to tablespoons for sugar
Grams Tablespoons (granulated) Tablespoons (powdered)
5 grams2/5 tbsp2/3 tbsp
10 grams4/5 tbsp1 1/3 tbsp
20 grams1 3/5 tbsp2 2/3 tbsp
30 grams2 2/5 tbsp4 tbsp
40 grams3 1/5 tbsp5 1/3 tbsp
50 grams4 tbsp6 2/3 tbsp
60 grams4 4/5 tbsp8 tbsp
70 grams5 3/5 tbsp9 1/3 tbsp
80 grams6 2/5 tbsp10 2/3 tbsp
90 grams7 1/5 tbsp12 tbsp
100 grams8 tbsp13 1/3 tbsp
Figures are rounded. US tablespoon (level, not heaped).
Tablespoons to grams for sugar
Tablespoons Grams (granulated) Grams (powdered)
1 tbsp12.5 g7.5 g
2 tbsp25 g 15 g
3 tbsp37.5 g 22.5 g
4 tbsp50 g 30 g
5 tbsp62.5 g 37.5 g
6 tbsp75 g 45 g
7 tbsp87.5 g 52.5 g
8 tbsp100 g 60 g
9 tbsp112.5 g 67.5 g
10 tbsp125 g 75 g
Figures are rounded. US tablespoon (level, not heaped).

Butter measurements

Let's now take a look at gram and tablespoon conversions for butter.

How many grams are in 1 tablespoon of butter?

One tablespoon of butter holds approximately 14.2 grams of butter, as a level tablespoon. This figure can vary slightly depending upon the butter brand.

Grams to tablespoons for butter
Grams Tablespoons
10 grams0.7 tbsp
20 grams1.4 tbsp
30 grams2.1 tbsp
40 grams2.8 tbsp
50 grams3.5 tbsp
60 grams4.2 tbsp
70 grams4.9 tbsp
80 grams5.6 tbsp
90 grams6.3 tbsp
100 grams7 tbsp
Figures are rounded. US tablespoon (level, not heaped).
Tablespoons to grams for butter
Tablespoons Grams
1 tbsp14.2 grams
2 tbsp28.4 grams
3 tbsp42.6 grams
4 tbsp56.8 grams
5 tbsp71 grams
6 tbsp85.2 grams
7 tbsp99.4 grams
8 tbsp113.6 grams
9 tbsp127.8 grams
10 tbsp142 grams
Figures are rounded. US tablespoon (level, not heaped).

Other baking ingredients

We've also included a reference list of gram and tablespoon conversions for other common baking ingredients. Note that figures given reference level tablespoons and not heaped tablespoons.

Ingredient Tablespoons Grams
Water 1 tbsp 14.8 grams
Sugar (brown) 1 tbsp 12.2 grams
Sugar (powdered) 1 tbsp 7.5 grams
Flour (all purpose) 1 tbsp 7.8 grams
Salt 1 tbsp 17.8 grams
Peanut butter 1 tbsp 17.7 grams
Honey 1 tbsp 21 grams
Olive Oil 1 tbsp 13.6 grams

How many grams are in 1 tablespoon of coffee?

One tablespoon can hold around 5 grams of level ground coffee. If you're using a standard coffee scoop, you'll find it holds around 2 level tablespoons of ground coffee.

Which tablespoon should I use?

There are 3 main tablespoon sizes in use around the world. These are:

  • The US Tablespoon is commonly referenced in recipes in the US. It measures 14.7868 mL.
  • The Metric Tablespoon is commonly used in the UK, Australia and the Commonwealth. It measures 15mL.
  • The Imperial Tablespoon is an old, imperial tablespoon measurement previously used in the UK (now replaced by the metric tablespoon). It measures 17.7582 mL.

If you find yourself needing to convert any other units for your recipe, give our cooking converter a try.

Calculator created by Alastair Hazell

References

  1. NIST - Office of Weights and Measures. Metric Cooking Resources
  2. Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations. Density Database Version 2.0
  3. Rose Levy Beranbaum. (1988). The Cake Bible