Cups to teaspoons converter, for small measures.

To convert cups to teaspoons, multiply the cups by 48. One US cup is 48 US teaspoons, so a half cup is 24, a quarter cup is 12 and 2 cups is 96. The number holds for every kind of US cup and spoon that follows the standard sizes, because the cup is 16 tablespoons and each tablespoon is 3 teaspoons. This page is for the times a recipe gives cups and only spoons are within reach.

How to use the converter

1. Type the amount 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 teaspoons (tsp). The cards give tablespoons, US fluid ounces and milliliters.
3. The last card, "As nutrition label cups (240 mL) in label teaspoons (5 mL)", reads your number as label cups and shows label teaspoons. It is there so you can compare the two systems.
4. Type teaspoons in the second box to go the other way, or open Cups to tablespoons for the middle step.
5. Click a row in Common values to load it. Copy result, Copy link, Copy table and Print chart keep the answer.

Where 48 comes from

NIST Handbook 44 (2026), Appendix C lists the measuring cup as 8 fluid ounces exactly, the tablespoon as half a fluid ounce exactly and as 3 teaspoons exactly. A cup is then 8 ÷ 0.5 = 16 tablespoons, and 16 × 3 = 48 teaspoons. All three ratios are exact, so the answer has no rounding at all. The same table gives the teaspoon as 5 milliliters, but it says the tablespoon and teaspoon are imprecise units and rounds them to the nearest milliliter. The unrounded teaspoon is one third of 14.7868 mL, which is 4.9289 mL. NIST SP 811, Appendix B.8 gives the same 4.929 mL. Pages checked 19 Oct 2026.

The label rule: 5 mL teaspoon, 240 mL cup

US nutrition labels use rounded sizes. 21 CFR 101.9(b)(5)(viii) says that for labelling a teaspoon means 5 mL and a cup means 240 mL. Divide one by the other and you get 240 ÷ 5 = 48 again, so the count is the same. What changes is how much liquid is in the cup. A US cup holds 236.588 mL and a label cup holds 240 mL, which is 1.44 percent more. Checked 19 Oct 2026.

The label teaspoon of 5 mL is 1.44 percent larger than the true US teaspoon. Over a single teaspoon you will not see it. Over 48 teaspoons it adds up to the difference between the two cups: 3.41 mL.

Worked examples

• 1/4 cup of sugar. 0.25 × 48 = 12 teaspoons, which is 4 tablespoons.
• 1/3 cup of honey. 48 ÷ 3 = 16 teaspoons, which is 5 tbsp + 1 tsp.
• 3/4 cup of oil. 0.75 × 48 = 36 teaspoons, or 12 tablespoons.
• 1/8 cup of vinegar. 48 ÷ 8 = 6 teaspoons, which is 2 tablespoons.
• 1 1/2 cups of milk. 1.5 × 48 = 72 teaspoons. Counting that many is error prone, so use 24 tablespoons instead.
• 1/16 cup. 48 ÷ 16 = 3 teaspoons, which is exactly 1 tablespoon.

Cup fractions in teaspoons and tablespoons

Each row is exact for the US system. The tablespoon column is rounded to three decimals where the answer is not whole.

Shortcuts for counting spoons

Do not count 48 level teaspoons into a bowl. A slip of one is easy and you will not notice. Use the table's last column: turn the cup into tablespoons first, then only the leftover into teaspoons. The odd fractions are the thirds. A third of a cup is 5 tablespoons and 1 teaspoon, and two thirds is 10 tablespoons and 2 teaspoons. Every other common cup fraction lands on whole tablespoons. A quick check is that 3 teaspoons always make a tablespoon.

Mistakes to avoid

The first is using a heaped spoon. The sizes above are for level spoons. The second is mixing the two systems in one recipe, for example a label cup of 240 mL with true teaspoons. That would put the ratio at 48.69 instead of 48. The third is using a spoon from the cutlery drawer, which is not a measuring spoon. Handbook 44 notes that the tablespoon and teaspoon are imprecise units, so a measuring set is the safer choice. If your recipe is in grams, skip spoons and use the Ounces to grams page with a scale.

For bigger amounts see Cups to ounces and Tablespoons to cups. For milliliters use ML to oz.