How to Use This Converter
Enter an amount, choose your starting unit, and the converter shows the equivalent in cups, tablespoons, teaspoons, and milliliters instantly. Works in both directions — convert cups to tablespoons or tablespoons back to cups.
How Many Tablespoons in a Cup?
There are 16 tablespoons in 1 US cup. This is one of the most useful kitchen conversions for scaling recipes when you're missing the right measuring cup. Quarter cup is 4 tablespoons, third cup is 5 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon, and half cup is 8 tablespoons.
Why ⅓ Cup Is an Odd Number of Tablespoons
Most cup fractions divide evenly into tablespoons — except ⅓ cup. Because 16 tablespoons doesn't divide evenly by 3, one third of a cup equals 5 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon (5.333 tablespoons). Similarly, ⅔ cup = 10 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons. This is why recipes sometimes list ⅓ cup rather than trying to express it in tablespoons.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many tablespoons is ¼ cup?
¼ cup equals exactly 4 tablespoons. This is one of the most useful conversions to memorize — it comes up frequently in recipes that call for a small amount of butter, oil, or liquid that you'd rather measure with a tablespoon than a quarter-cup measure.
How many tablespoons is ½ cup?
½ cup equals 8 tablespoons. Half of 16 is 8, making this one of the easier conversions. For butter, ½ cup is also 1 stick of US butter (113g).
How many tablespoons is ¾ cup?
¾ cup equals 12 tablespoons. Three-quarters of 16 is 12. In teaspoons, that's 36 teaspoons — but at that volume it's more practical to use tablespoons or the ¾ cup measure directly.
Are cups and tablespoons the same in all countries?
No. This converter uses US measurements: 1 US cup = 240ml, 1 US tablespoon = 15ml, so 1 cup = 16 tablespoons. Australian tablespoons are 20ml, making 1 cup about 12 Australian tablespoons. UK and Canadian cups are also slightly different. For international recipes, check which country's measurements the recipe uses.