About

Measurement errors in baking cause roughly 30% of recipe failures at home. The relationship is fixed: 1 US cup = 16 US tablespoons = 48 US teaspoons. This converter handles fractional cups (¼, ⅓, ⅔, ¾) common in North American recipes and outputs exact tablespoon, teaspoon, fluid ounce, and milliliter equivalents. It uses US customary definitions where 1 US cup = 236.588 mL. Note: Imperial cups (284.131 mL), Australian cups (250 mL), and metric cups differ. This tool assumes US customary unless you select otherwise.

Liquids and dry goods both use the same volumetric cup in US recipes, but density affects weight. This tool converts volume to volume only. If you need weight, you must multiply by the ingredient density. Pro tip: always level dry tablespoons with a straight edge. A heaped tablespoon of flour can hold 50% more than a leveled one.

Formulas

All conversions derive from the base US customary cup definition established by the FDA for nutrition labeling (240 mL rounded) and the traditional culinary definition (236.588 mL exact).

tbsp = cups × 16

tsp = cups × 48

fl oz = cups × 8

mL = cups × 236.588

Where tbsp = US tablespoons (14.787 mL), tsp = US teaspoons (4.929 mL), fl oz = US fluid ounces (29.574 mL), and cups = the input value in US customary cups. For metric cups, replace the factor: 1 metric cup = 250 mL = 16.907 US tbsp. For Imperial cups: 1 Imperial cup = 284.131 mL = 19.215 US tbsp.

Reference Data

Cups (US)	Tablespoons	Teaspoons	Fluid Ounces	Milliliters
1/16	1	3	0.5	14.787
1/8	2	6	1	29.574
1/6	2.667	8	1.333	39.431
1/4	4	12	2	59.147
1/3	5.333	16	2.667	78.863
3/8	6	18	3	88.721
1/2	8	24	4	118.294
5/8	10	30	5	147.868
2/3	10.667	32	5.333	157.725
3/4	12	36	6	177.441
7/8	14	42	7	207.015
1	16	48	8	236.588
1 1/4	20	60	10	295.735
1 1/2	24	72	12	354.882
1 3/4	28	84	14	414.029
2	32	96	16	473.176
2 1/2	40	120	20	591.471
3	48	144	24	709.765
4	64	192	32	946.353
5	80	240	40	1182.941

Frequently Asked Questions

A US customary cup equals 236.588 mL and 16 US tablespoons. A metric cup (used in Australia, New Zealand, and some Canadian recipes) equals exactly 250 mL, which is approximately 16.907 US tablespoons. An Imperial cup (older UK recipes) equals 284.131 mL or about 19.215 US tablespoons. Always verify which standard your recipe uses before converting.

One-third of a cup equals 16 ÷ 3 = 5.333... tablespoons. Since 16 is not evenly divisible by 3, the result is a repeating decimal. In practice, measure 5 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon (since 0.333 tbsp ≈ 1 tsp). Similarly, 2/3 cup = 10 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons.

Yes, for volume-to-volume conversion. A cup of water and a cup of flour occupy the same volume (236.588 mL). However, they have different masses: water weighs about 236.6 g per cup while all-purpose flour weighs approximately 125 g per cup. This tool converts volume units only. For weight, you must multiply by the specific ingredient density.

A standard US tablespoon is defined as exactly 14.7868 mL. Actual tablespoon utensils from consumer sets can vary by ±10% depending on manufacturer. For precision baking (macarons, bread), a digital kitchen scale measuring in grams is more reliable. For everyday cooking, leveled tablespoon measurements are sufficient within practical tolerance.

The FDA defines a reference cup as exactly 240 mL for nutrition labeling purposes (21 CFR 101.12). The traditional US customary cup used in cooking is 236.588 mL (8 US fluid ounces). The difference is about 1.4%. This converter uses the traditional 236.588 mL definition since it is the standard in recipe books. If you are calculating nutrition label servings, use 240 mL instead.

Divide the number of tablespoons by 16. For example, 24 tablespoons ÷ 16 = 1.5 cups. This converter supports bidirectional conversion. Select the reverse direction in the tool to input tablespoons and receive cup equivalents.