How Many Tablespoons in a Cup?
There are 16 tablespoons in 1 cup (US), so ½ cup is 8 tbsp, ¼ cup is 4 tbsp, and ⅓ cup is 5 tbsp + 1 tsp. Use the cup to tbsp converter for any amount.
½ cup is
8 tbsp
8 tablespoons exactly
Cups to tablespoons chart
How to convert cups to tablespoons
Multiply the cups by 16: tablespoons = cups × 16. The only fractions that get messy are thirds: ⅓ cup is 5 tbsp + 1 tsp and ⅔ cup is 10 tbsp + 2 tsp, since 3 teaspoons make a tablespoon. A whole cup is 48 teaspoons, or 236.6 ml.
US vs Australian tablespoons
A US tablespoon holds 14.79 ml and a metric tablespoon (used in the UK and Canada) holds 15 ml: the difference is negligible. Australia is the outlier: an Australian tablespoon is 20 ml (4 teaspoons instead of 3). If you’re cooking from an Australian recipe, use 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon for each tablespoon called for.
Going the other way? The tablespoons to cups converter turns a spoon count back into cups, and half of a measurement halves any cup amount.
Questions
How many tablespoons are in a cup?
There are 16 tablespoons in 1 US cup. This makes mental math easy: ½ cup = 8 tablespoons, ¼ cup = 4 tablespoons.
How many tablespoons are in a cup of butter?
Also 16. Butter is measured by volume here like anything else: 1 cup of butter is 16 tablespoons, which is 2 US sticks (8 tablespoons each) and weighs about 227 g.
How many tablespoons is ⅛ cup?
⅛ cup is exactly 2 tablespoons (6 teaspoons, about 30 ml). It is the size of a standard coffee scoop.
How many tablespoons is ⅔ cup?
⅔ cup is 10⅔ tablespoons: measure 10 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons. It is easier to fill a ⅓ cup measure twice.
How many tablespoons is ¼ cup?
A quarter cup equals 4 tablespoons. This is one of the most useful conversions to memorize for scaling recipes down.
How many tablespoons is ⅓ cup?
One-third cup equals 5 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon (5⅓ tablespoons). It is the one common cup fraction that does not convert to a whole number of tablespoons.
Is 4 tablespoons a quarter cup?
Yes. 4 tablespoons equals exactly ¼ cup. Similarly, 8 tablespoons is ½ cup and 12 tablespoons is ¾ cup.
How many tablespoons are in a metric cup?
A metric cup (250 ml, used in Australia, New Zealand and Canada) holds 16.9 US tablespoons, or 16⅔ metric 15 ml tablespoons. Australian tablespoons are 20 ml, so a metric cup is 12½ of those.
Are tablespoons the same size everywhere?
No. A US tablespoon is 14.79ml, a metric tablespoon (UK, Canada) is 15ml — close enough to ignore. But an Australian tablespoon is 20ml, a third larger, which matters in recipes with many tablespoons.