Tablespoons to Cups Converter: Fractions and Remainders

Divide tablespoons by 16 to get US cups. So 16 tbsp is 1 cup, 8 tbsp is ½ cup, 4 tbsp is ¼ cup, and 5 tbsp plus 1 tsp is ⅓ cup.

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Amount

Type 2, 0.75 or a fraction such as 1 1⁄2.

From

Ingredient (optional, to also see weight)

Cups and tablespoons never depend on the ingredient. Choose one only if you want grams and ounces as well.

Rounding

Exact keeps the real value. Kitchen rounds to what a measuring cup, spoon or scale can show.

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The result and every table below use the scaled amount.

Your result

10 US tablespoons equals

0.625 US cups

Kitchen rounding: ⅝ US cup

10 US tablespoons equals 0.625 US cups. In kitchen terms that is about ⅝ US cup.

In kitchen steps: 10 tbsp (US cup, US tablespoon).

US fluid ounces

5 fl oz

Kitchen: 5 fl oz

milliliters

147.868 mL

Kitchen: 150 mL

US teaspoons

30 tsp

Kitchen: 30 tsp

US butter sticks

1.25 sticks

Kitchen: 1 ¼ sticks (1 stick = 8 tbsp = ½ cup = 113 g)

Conversion factor

1 US tablespoon = 0.0625 US cups
1 US cup = 16 US tablespoons
US tablespoon = 14.7868 mL, one sixteenth of a US cup
US cup = 236.588 mL

Show the steps

Amount: 10 US tablespoons.
To milliliters: 10 × 14.78676478 mL = 147.8676478 mL.
To US cups: 147.8676478 ÷ 236.5882365 mL = 0.625.

Level spoons only. A heaped tablespoon can hold half as much again.

Quick lookup chart: US tablespoons to US cups

Every row is calculated live from the same factor shown above.

US tablespoons	US cups	US fluid ounces	milliliters
1	0.0625 cupKitchen: 1⁄16 US cup	0.5 fl ozKitchen: ½ fl oz	14.787 mLKitchen: 15 mL
2	0.125 cupKitchen: ⅛ US cup	1 fl ozKitchen: 1 fl oz	29.574 mLKitchen: 30 mL
3	0.1875 cupKitchen: ⅛ US cup	1.5 fl ozKitchen: 1 ½ fl oz	44.36 mLKitchen: 45 mL
4	0.25 cupKitchen: ¼ US cup	2 fl ozKitchen: 2 fl oz	59.147 mLKitchen: 60 mL
5	0.3125 cupKitchen: ⅓ US cup	2.5 fl ozKitchen: 2 ½ fl oz	73.934 mLKitchen: 75 mL
6	0.375 cupKitchen: ⅜ US cup	3 fl ozKitchen: 3 fl oz	88.721 mLKitchen: 90 mL
8	0.5 cupKitchen: ½ US cup	4 fl ozKitchen: 4 fl oz	118.29 mLKitchen: 120 mL
10	0.625 cupKitchen: ⅝ US cup	5 fl ozKitchen: 5 fl oz	147.87 mLKitchen: 150 mL
12	0.75 cupKitchen: ¾ US cup	6 fl ozKitchen: 6 fl oz	177.44 mLKitchen: 180 mL
16	1 cupKitchen: 1 US cup	8 fl ozKitchen: 8 fl oz	236.59 mLKitchen: 240 mL
24	1.5 cupKitchen: 1 ½ US cups	12 fl ozKitchen: 12 fl oz	354.88 mLKitchen: 350 mL
32	2 cupKitchen: 2 US cups	16 fl ozKitchen: 16 fl oz	473.18 mLKitchen: 470 mL

Common fractions of a cup in tablespoons

The thirds are the awkward ones: ⅓ cup is 5 tbsp plus 1 tsp, and ⅔ cup is 10 tbsp plus 2 tsp.

Recipe amount (US cup)	US tablespoons	US teaspoons	US fluid ounces	milliliters
⅛	2 tbspKitchen: 2 tbsp	6 tspKitchen: 6 tsp	1 fl ozKitchen: 1 fl oz	29.574 mLKitchen: 30 mL
¼	4 tbspKitchen: 4 tbsp	12 tspKitchen: 12 tsp	2 fl ozKitchen: 2 fl oz	59.147 mLKitchen: 60 mL
⅓	5.3333 tbspKitchen: 5 tbsp 1 tsp	16 tspKitchen: 16 tsp	2.6667 fl ozKitchen: 2 ¾ fl oz	78.863 mLKitchen: 80 mL
⅜	6 tbspKitchen: 6 tbsp	18 tspKitchen: 18 tsp	3 fl ozKitchen: 3 fl oz	88.721 mLKitchen: 90 mL
½	8 tbspKitchen: 8 tbsp	24 tspKitchen: 24 tsp	4 fl ozKitchen: 4 fl oz	118.29 mLKitchen: 120 mL
⅝	10 tbspKitchen: 10 tbsp	30 tspKitchen: 30 tsp	5 fl ozKitchen: 5 fl oz	147.87 mLKitchen: 150 mL
⅔	10.667 tbspKitchen: 10 tbsp 2 tsp	32 tspKitchen: 32 tsp	5.3333 fl ozKitchen: 5 ¼ fl oz	157.73 mLKitchen: 160 mL
¾	12 tbspKitchen: 12 tbsp	36 tspKitchen: 36 tsp	6 fl ozKitchen: 6 fl oz	177.44 mLKitchen: 180 mL
⅞	14 tbspKitchen: 14 tbsp	42 tspKitchen: 42 tsp	7 fl ozKitchen: 7 fl oz	207.01 mLKitchen: 210 mL
1	16 tbspKitchen: 16 tbsp	48 tspKitchen: 48 tsp	8 fl ozKitchen: 8 fl oz	236.59 mLKitchen: 240 mL

Teaspoons, tablespoons and cups by country

The teaspoon is about 5 mL almost everywhere. The tablespoon is not, and that changes how many teaspoons it holds.

System	Teaspoon	Tablespoon	Teaspoons per tablespoon	Tablespoons per cup
US (cooking)	4.9289 mL	14.7868 mL	3	16 (US cup)
US nutrition label	5 mL	15 mL	3	16 (US legal cup)
Metric and UK (modern)	5 mL	15 mL	3	16.67 (metric cup)
Australia	5 mL	20 mL	4	12.5 (metric cup)

Sources: NIST SP 811 Appendix B.8 for the US units, 21 CFR 101.9(b)(5)(viii) for the label sizes, and the metric definitions used by the UK, Canada, New Zealand and Australia.

Tablespoons to cups: the 16 rule

A US cup holds exactly 16 US tablespoons, so the conversion is one division: tablespoons divided by 16. Four tablespoons make a quarter cup, eight make half a cup and twelve make three quarters. The result box also shows the answer the way you actually measure it, as whole cups plus leftover tablespoons and teaspoons.

How to use it

Enter the tablespoons. Decimals and fractions both work.
Leave the spoon on US tablespoon, or choose metric (15 mL) or Australian (20 mL) if your recipe comes from there.
Pick the cup you measure with. The default is the US customary cup.
Read the exact decimal, the kitchen answer and the "cups plus tablespoons" line.

Butter sticks

In the United States a stick of butter is 8 tablespoons, which is half a cup or 113 grams. The converter shows the number of sticks for any tablespoon amount, so 6 tablespoons is three quarters of a stick.

Why the answer changes with the spoon and the cup

A US tablespoon is 14.79 mL and a US cup is 236.59 mL, which gives exactly 16.
The nutrition label rounds them to 15 mL and 240 mL, which also gives exactly 16.
A metric cup of 250 mL holds 16⅔ metric tablespoons (15 mL) and 12½ Australian tablespoons (20 mL).

Practice questions

Test yourself with 6 multiple-choice questions on this topic. Choose an answer and press Submit to see if you are right and why.

Sources

Quick check: test yourself

Question 1. How many tablespoons are in ¼ cup?

Question 2. How many cups is 12 tablespoons?

Question 3. What is ⅓ cup in tablespoons?

Common questions

How many tablespoons are in a cup?

A US cup holds 16 tablespoons. A metric cup (250 mL) holds 16⅔ metric tablespoons of 15 mL, and 12½ Australian tablespoons of 20 mL.

How many tablespoons are in ⅓ cup?

5 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon, which is 5.33 tablespoons. Many cooks use 5 tablespoons and add a teaspoon.

How many tablespoons are in ½ cup, ¼ cup and ¾ cup?

8 tablespoons in ½ cup, 4 in ¼ cup and 12 in ¾ cup.

How many tablespoons of butter are in a stick?

A US stick of butter is 8 tablespoons, or ½ cup, which weighs 113 grams.

Is a tablespoon the same everywhere?

No. The US tablespoon is 14.79 mL, the nutrition-label and modern UK tablespoon is 15 mL, and the Australian tablespoon is 20 mL.

What is 1 tablespoon in cups?

1 tablespoon is 0.0625 cups, which is one sixteenth of a US cup.

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Tablespoons to Cups Converter

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