Tablespoons to teaspoons converter, one tablespoon is three teaspoons.

To convert tablespoons to teaspoons, multiply by 3. So 1 tablespoon is 3 teaspoons, 2 tablespoons are 6 teaspoons and 4 tablespoons are 12 teaspoons. To count the other way, divide teaspoons by 3. That is the answer to how many teaspoons are in a tablespoon for a US spoon, and it still holds for the 15 mL and 5 mL spoons used on food labels, because 15 ÷ 5 is also 3.

How to use the converter

1. Type the tablespoons in the US tablespoons (tbsp) box. A fraction such as 1/2 or 2 1/4 works, and so does a decimal.
2. The big result shows teaspoons. The cards under it show the same amount in milliliters, label teaspoons, fluid ounces and cups.
3. Type teaspoons in the second box to see how many tablespoons they make. Or press S to swap the two boxes.
4. Click a row under Common values to load it. The Up and Down keys add or take off 1, and with Alt they move by 0.1.
5. Use Copy result or Copy link to share an answer, or Print chart for a sheet to stick in a cupboard.

The definition

NIST Handbook 44 (2026), Appendix C lists the tablespoon, measuring, as 3 teaspoons exactly and as half a fluid ounce exactly. It lists the teaspoon, measuring, as one third of a tablespoon exactly. So the 3 to 1 ratio is a definition and not a rounded figure. Page checked 19 Oct 2026. The same table gives 15 milliliters and 5 milliliters for them, and says these are rounded to the nearest milliliter. NIST SP 811, Appendix B.8 gives the closer values: 1 tablespoon is 14.78676 mL and 1 teaspoon is 4.92892 mL.

Food labels use a plainer rule. 21 CFR 101.9(b)(5)(viii), read on the Legal Information Institute copy of the regulation, says a teaspoon means 5 mL and a tablespoon means 15 mL for nutrition labeling. Three label teaspoons of 5 mL make exactly one label tablespoon of 15 mL, so the answer on this page is 3 either way. The rule is for labels only, and the checked pages do not say what size a spoon from another country has, so this page gives no other figure.

Parts of a tablespoon in teaspoons

Recipes often ask for a part of a tablespoon. The table gives each in teaspoons. The last column says how to measure it with ordinary spoons.

The one third row is the useful one. A third of a tablespoon is exactly one teaspoon, so a recipe that asks for 1/3 tablespoon can use a teaspoon with no sum.

Worked examples

• 3 tablespoons. 3 × 3 = 9 teaspoons.
• 1 1/2 tablespoons. 1.5 × 3 = 4.5 teaspoons, which is 4 teaspoons and a half.
• 2 3/4 tablespoons. 2.75 × 3 = 8.25 teaspoons.
• 12 tablespoons. 12 × 3 = 36 teaspoons. A US cup is 16 tablespoons, so 12 tablespoons is three quarters of a cup, and a full cup is 48 teaspoons.
• 10 teaspoons back to tablespoons. 10 ÷ 3 = 3.33333 tablespoons, which is 3 tablespoons and 1 teaspoon left over.

A way to check it in your head

Multiplying by 3 is doubling and then adding the number again. For 7 tablespoons, double it to 14 and add 7 to get 21 teaspoons. For the way back, take off whole tablespoons one at a time: 8 teaspoons is 2 tablespoons with 2 teaspoons left, which is 2.66667 tablespoons as a decimal.

Cups in tablespoons and teaspoons

NIST Handbook 44 (2026), Appendix C gives the measuring cup as 8 fluid ounces exactly, and the tablespoon as half a fluid ounce, so a cup is exactly 16 tablespoons and 48 teaspoons. The table puts the common cup sizes in both spoons.

A third of a cup is 5.33333 tablespoons, which is 5 tablespoons and 1 teaspoon, since the teaspoons come to exactly 16.

Cutting or doubling a recipe

Half of 2 tablespoons is 1 tablespoon, or 3 teaspoons. A third of 2 tablespoons is 2 teaspoons. A quarter of 2 tablespoons is 1.5 teaspoons, so this page is the quick way to get a clean spoon count when a recipe will not divide into whole tablespoons. Doubling is the same sum the other way: 2 tablespoons doubled is 4, which is 12 teaspoons.

Mistakes that are specific to tablespoons and teaspoons

The first is dividing when you should multiply. A tablespoon is the bigger spoon, so the same amount is a larger count of teaspoons. If 2 tablespoons came out as 0.67, the sum went the wrong way. The second is mixing up the short names. Tbsp or tbs is the large spoon and tsp is the small one, and swapping them gives three times too much or three times too little. The third is a spoon that is not level. A heaped spoon holds more than a level one, and the sums here are for level spoons. The fourth is a spoon from the cutlery drawer, which is not a measure. Use a measuring spoon.

Who uses tablespoons to teaspoons

Cooks who have lost the tablespoon and only have a teaspoon. Bakers who cut a recipe in half and get a part of a tablespoon. Anyone reading a recipe that lists spices in teaspoons and fat in tablespoons and wants one unit to add up. For larger amounts go to Tablespoons to cups. For metric amounts use ML to tablespoons or ML to teaspoons.