Cups to tablespoons converter, for scaling a recipe.

To convert cups to tablespoons, multiply the cups by 16. One cup is 16 tablespoons, half a cup is 8, a quarter cup is 4 and three quarters of a cup is 12. A third of a cup is the odd one: 5.3333 tablespoons, which is 5 tbsp + 1 tsp. You can type any of these as a fraction in the box.

How to use the converter

1. Type the cups in the US cups (cup) box. Fractions work: 1/3, 3/4, or a mixed number such as 1 1/2.
2. The big result shows US tablespoons (tbsp). The cards give teaspoons, US fluid ounces, milliliters and nutrition label cups.
3. Type tablespoons in the second box to go the other way, or open the Tablespoons to cups page.
4. Click a fraction in Common values to load it. Use the arrow keys to add one cup at a time.
5. Press Copy result or Copy link to keep the answer, or Print chart for a sheet to stick on the cupboard.

Where 16 comes from

The sizes are fixed by one table. NIST Handbook 44 (2026), Appendix C lists the measuring cup as 8 fluid ounces exactly, and the tablespoon as half a fluid ounce and as 3 teaspoons, both exactly. Eight divided by a half is 16, so a cup holds exactly 16 tablespoons and 48 teaspoons. Page checked 18 Oct 2026. In milliliters, the US cup is 236.588 mL and the tablespoon is 14.787 mL, but the ratio is 16 whatever unit you use.

US nutrition labels round the sizes instead. 21 CFR 101.9(b)(5)(viii) says a teaspoon means 5 mL, a tablespoon means 15 mL and a cup means 240 mL for labelling. That also gives 240 ÷ 15 = 16. So both systems agree on 16, which is why recipes say 16.

A shortcut: double four times

Because 16 is 2 × 2 × 2 × 2, you can double the cups four times. For 2 1/2 cups: 5, then 10, then 20, then 40 tablespoons. This is exact, with no error at all, as long as you use US sizes. Going down is as easy: half a cup is 8, a quarter is 4 and an eighth is 2 tablespoons. A third is the one that does not fit the pattern. 16 ÷ 3 is 5.3333, so a third of a cup is 5 tablespoons and 1 teaspoon. Using 5 tablespoons alone is 6.25 percent short, which is one teaspoon missing from the third of a cup.

Worked examples

• 1/4 cup of oil. 0.25 × 16 = 4 tablespoons, and 12 teaspoons.
• 1/3 cup of sugar. 5.3333 tablespoons, which is 5 tbsp + 1 tsp. In teaspoons that is 16.
• 3/4 cup of milk. 0.75 × 16 = 12 tablespoons, or 6 fluid ounces.
• 1 1/2 cups of flour. 1.5 × 16 = 24 tablespoons.
• 2 1/4 cups of stock. 2.25 × 16 = 36 tablespoons, or 532.3 mL.

Cup fractions as tablespoons and teaspoons

This is the table most cooks want when the measuring cup they need is dirty or missing. Each row is exact.

Note that 3/8 cup is 6 tablespoons and that 2/3 cup is 10 tablespoons and 2 teaspoons. A measuring set with a 1/3 cup is simpler than counting 5 tablespoons and 1 teaspoon, but when you only have spoons, this is how to do it.

Mistakes that are specific to cups

The first is the 16.23 you may see on some sites. It comes from mixing two systems: a label cup of 240 mL against a true tablespoon of 14.787 mL gives 16.231. Use cup and tablespoon from the same system and the answer is 16. The second is the metric cup. A recipe that uses a 250 mL cup, and a tablespoon of 15 mL, would have 16.67 tablespoons to the cup, not 16, so a cup of 250 mL is 16.907 US tablespoons. That is 5.67 percent more than a US cup, which shows up in a cake. The third is mixing up volume and weight. A cup of flour and a cup of honey hold the same volume and 16 tablespoons each, but they do not weigh the same. For weights see the Grams to ounces converter.

Who uses cups to tablespoons

Cooks who have lost their measuring cup, or halve and double recipes. Bakers working from a US recipe in a kitchen with a spoon set. Parents measuring oil or syrup for a small batch. If you also need milliliters, the cards give them. For cups from fluid ounces see Ounces to cups converter.