How Many Tablespoons Are in a Cup?
The number of times I ask myself how many somethings are in something else in the kitchen is uncountable. Most of the time I’m trying to scale a recipe up or down, that’s when conversions are the most useful.
If you’re only curious of how many tablespoons make up exactly 1 cup, the answer is 16 tablespoons.
However, I’ve compiled a chart below of other common tablespoon to cup measurements if you need to scale.
So if you’re like me and struggle with conversions, then this chart should be perfect! I’ve put together a list of common conversions between tablespoons and cups to help scaling or converting in your recipe in the paragraphs below.
Different Measurements From Around The Globe
Are all measurements created equal? Depending on where you are and the standards for measurement, a cup might not be the same as somewhere else.
For example, the 1 US Legal Cup doesn’t even equal 1 US Cup. They’re in the same country but still two separate standards are used in regards to measurement.
The differences are below and while they aren’t drastically different, if you were baking the measurement differences would matter.
The US Customary System (USCS)
- 1 US Cup = 236.588 mL
- 1 US Cup = 16 US tablespoons (tablespoon)
- 1 US Cup = 15.77 metric tablespoons (UK, international)
The US Legal Cup (used for nutrition labeling per FDA)
- 1 US Legal Cup = 240 mL
- 1 US Legal Cup = 16.2307 US tablespoons (tablespoon)
- 1 US Legal Cup = 16 metric tablespoons (UK, international)
Metric Cup & Imperial Cup
- 1 metric cup (international) = 250 mL
- 1 imperial cup = 284.131 mL
- 1 metric cup (Australia) = 12 Australian tablespoons
Tablespoon to Cup Conversion Table
The following conversions are for the most used cup measurements including tablespoons to 1, 3/4, 2/3, 1/2, 1/3, 1/4, 1/6, 1/8, and 1/16 cups!
Tablespoon Cups 16 tablespoons 1 cup 12 tablespoons 3/4 cup 10 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons 2/3 cup 8 tablespoons 1/2 cup 5 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon 1/3 cup 4 tablespoons 1/4 cup 2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons 1/6 cup 2 tablespoons 1/8 cup 1 tablespoons 1/16 cup
Measuring Liquids
Measurements for liquids is different than measuring solids. You should always opt for cups or liters when measuring liquids.
The reason why it’s also easy to rely on volume as a measurement for liquids is because there isn’t much discrepancy. A liquid will always fill up 1 cup worth of itself the same.
The alternative is solids which don’t always conform the same way. Take a substance like sugar, even though it’s a fine substance, there will still always be small gaps between each individual grain. The differences between each time you measure may not be a lot, but it will differ greatly for something like almonds. Another issue is that sometimes a solid may be “packed” or “unpacked” inside the measuring container, making it harder to keep a reliable standard.
Measuring Solids
Taking the measure of a solid is much different than a liquid, and a measurement such as grams or weight should be preferred over volume.
I mentioned above why, but to reiterate, solids can have gaps between the particles in the measuring cup. The only way to ensure the same measurement of ingredient each time, is to use weight or mass (grams).
Summary
To sum up, there are 16 tablespoons in a cup. However, I hope the chart helps if you need to scale your recipe or have other measurement conversions.
