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How many tablespoons are in a cup?

Short answer

There are 16 tablespoons in one US cup. That means a half cup is 8 tablespoons, a quarter cup is 4 tablespoons, and since 1 tablespoon is 3 teaspoons, a cup is also 48 teaspoons. A free cooking converter flips between cups, tablespoons, teaspoons and milliliters instantly.

The full breakdown

One US cup = 16 tablespoons = 48 teaspoons = 8 fluid ounces, which is about 237 ml. The awkward one is a third of a cup: 16 / 3 is 5 and a third tablespoons, which measures out as 5 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon, since a third of a tablespoon is exactly one teaspoon.

Mind the country you are cooking in

A US tablespoon is about 14.79 ml and the metric tablespoon used in most recipes elsewhere is 15 ml, close enough to ignore. The exception is Australia, where a tablespoon is 20 ml (4 teaspoons), so Australian recipes measure noticeably larger spoonfuls. When a recipe crosses borders, converting through milliliters removes the ambiguity.

Frequently asked questions

How many tablespoons are in a third of a cup?

5 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon, because 16 / 3 is 5 and a third, and a third of a tablespoon equals one teaspoon.

How many tablespoons are in half a cup?

8 tablespoons, half of the 16 in a full cup.

How many tablespoons are in a stick of butter?

A standard US stick of butter is 8 tablespoons, which is half a cup.

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