How Many Tablespoons in a Cup?
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How many tablespoons are in a cup?
There are 16 tablespoons in one cup.
How many tablespoons are in 1/2 cup?
There are 8 tablespoons in half a cup.
How many tablespoons are in 1/3 cup?
There are 5 tablespoons and 1 teaspoon in 1/3 cup. A teaspoon equates to 1/3 of a tablespoon.
Cup and tablespoon conversions
| Cups | Tablespoons | Fluid Ounces |
|---|---|---|
| 1 cup | 16 tablespoons | 8 fluid ounces |
| 3/4 cup | 12 tablespoons | 6 fluid ounces |
| 2/3 cup | 10 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons | 4 ⅔ fluid ounces |
| 1/2 cup | 8 tablespoons | 4 fluid ounces |
| 1/3 cup | 5 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon | 2 ⅓ fluid ounces |
| 1/4 cup | 4 tablespoons | 2 fluid ounces |
| 1/6 cup | 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons | 1 ⅓ fluid ounce |
| 1/8 cup | 2 tablespoons | 1 fluid ounce |
| 1/16 cup | 1 tablespoon | ½ fluid ounce |
| 1 tablespoon = 3 teaspoons | ||
It's worth noting that usage of the cup in modern recipes is mostly confined to the United States and Canada. The cup hasn't been used as a standard measurement in British recipes since the 1960s. That said, it is still possible to come across a modern recipe that references a cup of flour, sugar or other ingredient. And the fact that we're all online these days means your recipe could come from anywhere!
Cups and tablespoons reference chart
To make things simple, I've created a reference chart for converting one cup, 1/4 cup, 1/2 cup, 1/3 cup, etc, to tablespoons (and teaspoons) and converting the other way: tablespoons to cups. Please feel free to bookmark it or print it, to keep it handy.
Different cup and tablespoon sizes
When you consider all the different variations of cups and tablespoons, converting between them might seem a confusing experience. That's why we created a cups and tablespoons converter for you. You can read all about the variations in cups and tablespoons in our article about cup and tablespoon sizes from around the world. Here are the different sizes in an easy reference table. Note that you can convert cups and pints here.
| Recipe Country | mL | US tablespoons (14.79ml) | Metric tablespoons (15ml) | UK imperial tablespoons (17.76ml) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Customary Cup (recipes) | 236.59 | 16 | 15.77 | 13.32 |
| US Legal Cup (nutrition) | 240 | 16.23 | 16 | 13.51 |
| UK Metric Cup | 250 | 16.91 | 16.67 | 14.08 |
| UK Imperial Cup (old recipes) | 284.13 | 19.22 | 18.94 | 16 |
| Australian Cup | 250 | 16.91 | 16.67 | 14.08 |
| Canadian Cup | 250 | 16.91 | 16.67 | 14.08 |
| South African Cup | 250 | 16.91 | 16.67 | 14.08 |
For any help with converting between cups, teaspoons, grams, etc, give our cooking converter a try.