How many tablespoons in 1 cup? The answer is 16 tablespoons. Get a FREE printable tablespoon conversion cheat sheet and have all the tablespoon information at your fingertips.
Are you trying to scale a recipe up or down? It will be easy when you know how many tablespoons are in a cup. You may also want to know how many tablespoons in half a cup (8) or how many teaspoons equal a tablespoon.
Many people who half a recipe often need to know how many tablespoons in 1 cup. However, measuring your ingredients with cups and tablespoons will never be as accurate or easy as weighing your ingredients.
I highly recommend weighing your ingredients when you bake. If you don’t have a digital kitchen scale, I suggest purchasing one.
Using a kitchen scale has many benefits. When you weigh your ingredients, your baking will be more consistent, accurate, and easy to scale.
Read more about why you should weigh your ingredients with a kitchen scale instead of measuring by volume.
Measurements by Cup
The United States uses a cup as a measurement unit for recipes. The following chart assumes you are using a standard United States tablespoon and cup.
Customary and Legal Cup Sizes in the United States
In the United States, there are two cup sizes - the customary or standard cup and the legal cup.
Cup measurements in most recipes from the United States are based on the customary or standard unit cup size. The American standard cup equals 225 ml of a dry ingredient or 250 ml of a liquid ingredient.
The United States legal cup size is the measurement the FDA mandates be used in nutrition labeling.
The standard cup and the legal cup are not quite the same size.
Are the Unit Measurements for Tablespoons and Cups the Same Around the World?
No. Unfortunately no. The United States measuring cups and spoons are not equal to the cup measurements used in other countries, which can lead to problems when you use a recipe from one country with the measuring equipment from another country.
Just to give you an idea of how cups differ around the world …
- 1 US legal cup (used in nutrition labeling) = 240 mL
- 1 US standard cup (used in recipes) = 236.588 mL
- 1 international metric cup = 250 mL
- 1 imperial cup = 284.131 mL
Thanks to The Calculator Site for that international cup information.
For many cooking recipes, different sized cups may not be a problem. For example, if I add a cup of carrots to my Black Bean Soup recipe, it won’t matter if I measure it with a United States standard cup, a metric cup, or an imperial cup.
I may get a little more carrot in one recipe, but that won’t noticeably affect the taste. And it won’t impact the cooking method of the soup at all.
However, if I make Snickerdoodle Cookies (and I don’t weigh my ingredients), how I measure my ingredients will make a significant difference in the outcome of the cookie.
I need to use the same measurement that the recipe developer used, whether that be a US standard cup, an imperial cup, or a metric cup.
So the bottom line -- know where the recipe developer originates or which measuring method they use.
All of the recipes on The Tasty Tip use the United States standard measuring cup. However, on all baking recipes and many cooking recipes, I recommend weighing ingredients for more accurate and consistent results.
You will always find weight amounts to use in the recipe. I also give cup measurements, but these measurements are intended to be approximate amounts.
How Many Tablespoons in 1 Cup?
There are 16 tablespoons in 1 cup.
- 16 tablespoons = 1 cup
More Tablespoon Conversions
- 3 teaspoons = 1 tablespoon
- 1 tablespoon = 1/16 cup
- 2 tablespoons = ⅛ cup
- 2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons = ⅙ cup
- 4 tablespoons = ¼ cup
- 5 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon = ⅓ cup
- 6 tablespoons = ⅜ cup
- 8 tablespoons = ½ cup
- 10 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons = ⅔ cup
- 12 tablespoons = ¾ cup
- 16 tablespoons = 1 cup
- 32 tablespoons = 2 cups = 1 pint
- 64 tablespoons = 4 cups = 1 quart
- 256 tablespoons = 16 cups = 1 gallon
How to Measure with Measuring Spoons or Cups
I highly recommend weighing your ingredients, especially for baked goods.
However, if you do not yet own a kitchen scale, you may need to measure your ingredients with a measuring spoon or a measuring cup.
To use a measuring cup most accurately, follow these tips.
- STIR to loosen and to avoid packing down ingredients, such as flour.
- SPOON ingredient into the measuring cup.
- LEVEL the measuring cup by scraping the excess off with a knife.
More Ideas to Make Your Cooking and Baking Better
Understanding conversions is important in the kitchen. But there are some other tips to follow for even more success in the kitchen.
- UNDERSTAND how correctly organizing food in the fridge can keep food fresh longer, reduce waste, and prevent the spread of foodborne illness.
- KNOW your oven, its true temperature, and hot spots. Learn how to calibrate an oven for more accurate recipe results.
- LEARN the common food substitutions in case you are out of a recipe ingredient.
- READ each recipe all the way through before you start cooking. Avoid surprises.
Hopefully you have gotten more out of this post that just how many tablespoons are in half a cup. There are many important things to learn about cooking that can make a difference in your success in the kitchen.
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