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Tablespoons to Cups Converter

Convert tablespoons to cups with our free US tablespoons to cups converter — or flip it and turn cups into tablespoons. Sixteen tablespoons make one cup, and the converter also shows teaspoons, so you can scale any American recipe up or down.

Common amounts

How it works

American recipes measure volume in cups, tablespoons, and teaspoons, and the three units fit together neatly. One cup holds 16 tablespoons, and one tablespoon holds 3 teaspoons, so one cup holds 48 teaspoons. Once you know those two numbers, every conversion in the kitchen is simple division or multiplication.

To turn tablespoons into cups, divide by 16. To turn cups into tablespoons, multiply by 16. To get teaspoons, multiply tablespoons by 3. For example, 8 tablespoons divided by 16 is 0.5 cups — a half cup — and 8 tablespoons times 3 is 24 teaspoons. The converter above does all three figures at once, so you can see the cup amount and the teaspoon amount together.

This matters most when you scale a recipe. Doubling a recipe that calls for 1/4 cup of olive oil means you need 8 tablespoons; halving a recipe that calls for 1 cup of flour means you need 8 tablespoons. It also helps when you only have one measuring tool clean: if the recipe calls for 1/3 cup and you only have a tablespoon, that is 5 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon (5.33 tablespoons, rounded to a practical measure).

One caution: this converter uses US tablespoons, the standard in American cookbooks and on American measuring spoons. A US tablespoon is 14.79 milliliters. A UK tablespoon is 15 ml and an Australian tablespoon is 20 ml, so a recipe from Australia that calls for a tablespoon is asking for a noticeably larger spoonful. For American recipes — from a Betty Crocker cookbook to a food blog based in Texas — the US figure is the right one.

Worked example

Jessica in Ohio is halving her grandmother's cookie recipe. The original calls for 1 cup of sugar, so the halved recipe needs half a cup — but her 1/2-cup measure is in the dishwasher, and she only has a tablespoon.

Step 1: Write down the amount — 1/2 cup, or 0.5 cups.
Step 2: Use the conversion factor — 1 cup = 16 tablespoons.
Step 3: Multiply: 0.5 × 16 = 8.
Step 4: Read the result — 8 tablespoons.

That is the exact result this converter gives for 0.5 cups: 8 tablespoons, or 24 teaspoons. The forward direction works the same way: 16 tablespoons ÷ 16 = 1 cup, and 8 tablespoons ÷ 16 = 0.5 cups, so Jessica can measure her half cup of sugar with 8 level tablespoons and get the recipe exactly right.

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