Cups to tablespoons converter
Convertersconversion pair
Convert cups to tablespoons instantly: 1 cup is 16 tablespoons. Small-batch recipes, butter math and jar labels, with the exact math.
1 cup is 16 tablespoons — the math every halved recipe depends on.
work surface
Math, not advice — results are indicative. Read the disclaimer.
pro tips
Butter math: 1 US stick is 8 tablespoons = 1/2 cup. The wrapper already did this conversion, in print.
1/4 cup is 4 tablespoons — the number that makes halved recipes possible before the coffee kicks in.
1/8 cup is 2 tablespoons, which is why "a splash" is legal tender in most kitchens.
what it does
The cups-to-tablespoons trick multiplies by 16. It's how a recipe asking for "1/4 cup of cream" becomes the 4 tablespoons you can actually measure without dragging out the big cup and its opinions.
It shows up whenever recipes shrink: a cake scaled down for two, a marinade that calls for 1/3 cup of soy sauce (5 tablespoons and a leftover splash), and butter wrappers that print tablespoon marks while the recipe above them insists on cups.
The rough version: a quarter cup is 4 tablespoons, a third is about 5. Anything under a quarter cup should really just say tablespoons — and often does, once you've converted it and rewritten the recipe in pen.
Type any cup number, fractions included, and the widget answers in tablespoons instantly with the math in the hint. Click the result to copy it, and use swap when the batch grows back — the tablespoons-to-cups version is the round trip.
quick answers
How many tablespoons in 1/4 cup?
4. The anchor that makes every halved recipe work on the first try.
How do I measure 2/3 cup with tablespoons?
10 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons. It sounds fussy, but it's exact — and the only way when the 2/3 cup measure is in the sink.
Are tablespoons the same everywhere?
A US tablespoon is about 15 ml and a metric one is exactly 15 ml — close enough that no cake has ever noticed. Australia's 20 ml tablespoon is the outlier.
What is 3/4 cup in tablespoons?
12. Also one and a half sticks of butter, if your recipes measure in wrappers.