Short answer
- One US tablespoon equals 3 US teaspoons. There is no rounding in the spoon count: the tablespoon is defined as half a US fluid ounce and the teaspoon as one sixth of a US fluid ounce, and half divided by one sixth is exactly 3. To convert tablespoons to teaspoons, multiply by 3. To convert teaspoons to tablespoons, divide by 3. For example, 2 tablespoons is 2 x 3 = 6 teaspoons, and 6 teaspoons is 6 / 3 = 2 tablespoons. Half a tablespoon is 1.5 teaspoons, a third of a tablespoon is exactly 1 teaspoon, and a quarter tablespoon is 0.75 teaspoons. In milliliters, a US teaspoon is exactly 4.92892159375 milliliters and a US tablespoon is exactly 14.78676478125 milliliters. Those figures are almost always shortened to about 4.93 and about 14.79 milliliters, and on nutrition labels and in metric recipes they are rounded further, to 5 and 15 milliliters. The rounding changes the stated volume slightly, but not the count: 15 / 5 = 3, so a metric tablespoon is still 3 teaspoons. The exception is Australia. An Australian tablespoon is 20 milliliters and an Australian teaspoon is 5 milliliters, so an Australian tablespoon holds 4 Australian teaspoons. With US teaspoons, 4 of them hold 19.72 milliliters, the practical kitchen measure for an Australian tablespoon, short of 20 milliliters by about 0.28 milliliters. The wordings how many teaspoons in tablespoon, how many teaspoons in 1 tablespoon, and how many tsp in a tablespoon all ask the same question, and for US spoons the answer to each is 3.
By Emma Hudson
If you are in the middle of a recipe and only one size of measuring spoon is clean, the question is urgent and simple: how many teaspoons are in a tablespoon? For a United States recipe the answer is 3, and this guide shows where that number comes from, how to convert in both directions without a calculator error, and how the same spoons work in milliliters. It also covers the one case where the answer changes. An Australian tablespoon is larger than a US tablespoon and holds 4 teaspoons, and mixing the two systems up is enough to throw a recipe off by about a third. The tables, worked baking and medicine examples, and scaling guides below cover the conversions cooks actually run into, from a quarter of a tablespoon up to a full cup.
Why the Answer Is 3: The Volumes Behind the Spoons
The spoon ratio follows from the definitions of the spoons inside the US customary system of liquid volume, and the chain is short enough to rebuild from the top.
At the top sits the US gallon. The National Institute of Standards and Technology, known as NIST, lists the gallon in Handbook 44, Appendix C, as 231 cubic inches, divided into 128 fluid ounces, and equal to 3,785.411784 milliliters. One fluid ounce is therefore 3,785.411784 / 128 = 29.5735295625 milliliters, shown in the NIST table rounded as 29.57353 milliliters.
The kitchen spoons are fixed fractions of that fluid ounce. A tablespoon is half a fluid ounce, and a teaspoon is one sixth of a fluid ounce. NIST gives the same pairing in rounded cooking form in its Metric Kitchen equivalencies: 1 tablespoon is 15 milliliters and is labeled as half a fluid ounce, and 1 teaspoon is 5 milliliters. Divide the tablespoon fraction by the teaspoon fraction and the ratio appears: (1/2) / (1/6) = 3. The milliliter figures agree: 14.78676478125 / 4.92892159375 = 3.
Because the gallon is 128 fluid ounces, it is also 256 tablespoons and 768 teaspoons, and those totals give the exact milliliter values used throughout this article: one teaspoon is 3,785.411784 / 768 = 4.92892159375 milliliters, and one tablespoon is 3,785.411784 / 256 = 14.78676478125 milliliters. Every table below is recomputed from those constants and the ratio of 3.
One boundary matters. Teaspoons and tablespoons measure volume, not weight. Three teaspoons of sugar and three teaspoons of flour both fill one tablespoon by volume, but they do not weigh the same, because the ingredients have different densities. Spoon arithmetic converts volume to volume only. If a recipe gives an ingredient by weight in grams, use a scale for that ingredient, not the spoon ratio.
The Two Formulas
Every conversion in this article uses one of two formulas, both built on the US ratio:
Teaspoons = tablespoons x 3
Tablespoons = teaspoons / 3
That is the whole method. The only judgment call comes when the answer is a fraction. A result such as 5 / 3 = 1.666… tablespoons can be reported as a decimal, about 1.67 tablespoons rounded to two decimal places, or measured directly as 5 teaspoons, which is usually the better kitchen choice. Small amounts are more accurate in teaspoons, because a standard spoon set measures quarter, half, and whole teaspoons precisely, while fractions of a tablespoon have to be estimated or built up from teaspoons anyway.
A reliable habit prevents most errors when a recipe mixes the two units: convert everything to teaspoons first, do the adding, subtracting, or scaling in teaspoons, and convert back only at the end. Adding 1 tablespoon to 2 teaspoons without converting invites the classic slip of treating the answer as 3 of something. Converted properly, 1 tablespoon is 3 teaspoons, and 3 + 2 = 5 teaspoons, which is 1 and two thirds tablespoons.
Keep full precision until the final step. If you round 5 teaspoons to 1.67 tablespoons and multiply back by 3, you get 5.01 teaspoons, not 5. Round once, at the end.
Conversion Tables
The tables below are all recomputed from the same constants: 1 US tablespoon = 3 US teaspoons, 1 US teaspoon = 4.92892159375 milliliters, and 1 US tablespoon = 14.78676478125 milliliters. Milliliter values are rounded to two decimal places, and the working is shown so any row can be checked.
Tablespoons to teaspoons
| Tablespoons | Teaspoons | Milliliters (rounded) | Working |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1/4 | 0.75 | 3.70 | 0.25 x 3 = 0.75 |
| 1/3 | 1 | 4.93 | (1/3) x 3 = 1 |
| 1/2 | 1.5 | 7.39 | 0.5 x 3 = 1.5 |
| 2/3 | 2 | 9.86 | (2/3) x 3 = 2 |
| 3/4 | 2.25 | 11.09 | 0.75 x 3 = 2.25 |
| 1 | 3 | 14.79 | 1 x 3 = 3 |
| 1.5 | 4.5 | 22.18 | 1.5 x 3 = 4.5 |
| 2 | 6 | 29.57 | 2 x 3 = 6 |
| 3 | 9 | 44.36 | 3 x 3 = 9 |
| 4 | 12 | 59.15 | 4 x 3 = 12 |
| 6 | 18 | 88.72 | 6 x 3 = 18 |
| 8 | 24 | 118.29 | 8 x 3 = 24 |
| 12 | 36 | 177.44 | 12 x 3 = 36 |
| 16 | 48 | 236.59 | 16 x 3 = 48 |
Teaspoons to tablespoons
| Teaspoons | Tablespoons | Milliliters (rounded) | Working |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.25 | 0.08 (rounded) | 1.23 | 0.25 / 3 = 0.0833 |
| 0.5 | 0.17 (rounded) | 2.46 | 0.5 / 3 = 0.1667 |
| 1 | 0.33 (rounded) | 4.93 | 1 / 3 = 0.3333 |
| 1.5 | 0.5 | 7.39 | 1.5 / 3 = 0.5 |
| 2 | 0.67 (rounded) | 9.86 | 2 / 3 = 0.6667 |
| 2.5 | 0.83 (rounded) | 12.32 | 2.5 / 3 = 0.8333 |
| 3 | 1 | 14.79 | 3 / 3 = 1 |
| 4 | 1.33 (rounded) | 19.72 | 4 / 3 = 1.3333 |
| 5 | 1.67 (rounded) | 24.64 | 5 / 3 = 1.6667 |
| 6 | 2 | 29.57 | 6 / 3 = 2 |
| 9 | 3 | 44.36 | 9 / 3 = 3 |
| 12 | 4 | 59.15 | 12 / 3 = 4 |
| 24 | 8 | 118.29 | 24 / 3 = 8 |
| 48 | 16 | 236.59 | 48 / 3 = 16 |
Fractions of a tablespoon, in detail
Recipes call for parts of a tablespoon often enough that the fractions deserve their own table. Each row is the fraction multiplied by 3 for teaspoons and by 14.78676478125 for milliliters.
| Fraction of a tablespoon | Teaspoons | Milliliters (rounded) | How to measure it |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1/8 tablespoon | 0.375 | 1.85 | A quarter teaspoon plus an eighth teaspoon, if your set has one |
| 1/4 tablespoon | 0.75 | 3.70 | Three quarter teaspoons, or a half plus a quarter teaspoon |
| 1/3 tablespoon | 1 | 4.93 | Exactly 1 teaspoon |
| 1/2 tablespoon | 1.5 | 7.39 | 1 teaspoon plus a half teaspoon |
| 2/3 tablespoon | 2 | 9.86 | Exactly 2 teaspoons |
| 3/4 tablespoon | 2.25 | 11.09 | 2 teaspoons plus a quarter teaspoon |
The tidy rows are worth remembering. A third of a tablespoon is exactly 1 teaspoon, and two thirds is exactly 2 teaspoons, with no remainder, because 3 divides evenly into the tablespoon. The quarter rows land on quarter teaspoons, which is why a set that includes a quarter teaspoon earns its place in baking. A quarter tablespoon of salt, for example, is 0.75 teaspoons, measured as a half teaspoon plus a quarter teaspoon rather than a tablespoon filled a quarter full by eye.
The Milliliter Bridge: Exact Values and the Rounded 5 and 15
Two sets of milliliter figures describe the same spoons, and recipes move between them without warning, so it helps to hold both in view. The exact US customary values come from the gallon: a teaspoon is 4.92892159375 milliliters and a tablespoon is 14.78676478125 milliliters. The rounded values used for nutrition labeling and in metric recipes are 5 milliliters for a teaspoon and 15 milliliters for a tablespoon. NIST publishes the rounded set as its Metric Kitchen cooking equivalencies.
| Measure | US exact milliliters | Rounded milliliters | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1/4 teaspoon | 1.23 | 1.25 | 0.02 |
| 1/2 teaspoon | 2.46 | 2.5 | 0.04 |
| 1 teaspoon | 4.93 | 5 | 0.07 |
| 1 tablespoon | 14.79 | 15 | 0.21 |
| 2 tablespoons (1 fluid ounce) | 29.57 | 30 | 0.43 |
The rounded tablespoon is larger than the exact one by about 1.44 percent: 15 / 14.78676478125 = 1.0144, rounded. In a single spoonful that gap is about a fifth of a milliliter and makes no practical difference to a sauce or a cake. It matters only when a recipe is scaled many times over, or in medicine, where the label figure in milliliters is the one to follow exactly, as Example 7 explains.
The metric tablespoon of 15 milliliters used in the United Kingdom and in most metric recipes belongs to the rounded set. Its spoon count is the same as the US count, 3 teaspoons of 5 milliliters each, which is why US and modern UK recipes swap spoon for spoon with almost no error. The system that does not swap cleanly is the Australian one, covered below.
To convert milliliters back to spoons, divide by the value for the system the recipe uses: milliliters / 4.92892159375 gives US teaspoons, milliliters / 14.78676478125 gives US tablespoons, and on the rounded basis milliliters / 5 gives teaspoons and milliliters / 15 gives tablespoons.
How Spoons Relate to Cups and Fluid Ounces
Spoons sit inside the wider US volume system, and the wider system provides useful cross-checks on spoon arithmetic:
- 3 teaspoons = 1 tablespoon
- 2 tablespoons = 1 US fluid ounce, which is 29.57 milliliters rounded
- 6 teaspoons = 1 US fluid ounce
- 16 tablespoons = 1 US cup
- 48 teaspoons = 1 US cup, which is 236.59 milliliters rounded
- 8 US fluid ounces = 1 US cup
Each line follows from the ones above it. A cup is 8 fluid ounces, each fluid ounce is 2 tablespoons, so a cup is 16 tablespoons; and each tablespoon is 3 teaspoons, so a cup is 16 x 3 = 48 teaspoons. The milliliter total checks by a second route: 48 x 4.92892159375 = 236.5882365 milliliters, which rounds to 236.59 milliliters, and 16 x 14.78676478125 gives the same total. When two routes give the same answer, the arithmetic is almost certainly right.
The quarter cup is the cross-check cooks use most. Four tablespoons make a quarter cup, and 4 tablespoons is 12 teaspoons, so a quarter cup is also 12 teaspoons, or 59.15 milliliters rounded.
Note that these bridges are US bridges. A UK imperial fluid ounce and pint differ from the US ones, so fluid ounce equivalents from an older UK source should not be mixed into a US spoon calculation without checking. The spoon ratio itself survives that difference; the fluid ounce bridge does not always.
The Australian Difference: A 20 Milliliter Tablespoon
Australia is the outlier in the spoon world, and this section prevents real recipe failures, so read it before adapting a recipe from an Australian source.
An Australian tablespoon is 20 milliliters. An Australian teaspoon is 5 milliliters, the same as a metric teaspoon anywhere else. So an Australian tablespoon holds 20 / 5 = 4 Australian teaspoons, not 3. Australian references state the pair plainly: Foodwatch lists the standard Australian metric measures as one tablespoon of 20 milliliters and one teaspoon of 5 milliliters, and the Australian Women’s Weekly test kitchen notes that Australia is the only country with a 20 milliliter tablespoon measure, where the rest use 15 milliliters.
| System | 1 tablespoon | 1 teaspoon | Teaspoons per tablespoon |
|---|---|---|---|
| US customary | 14.79 milliliters (rounded) | 4.93 milliliters (rounded) | 3 |
| US nutrition labeling and metric recipes | 15 milliliters | 5 milliliters | 3 |
| UK (modern metric recipes) | 15 milliliters | 5 milliliters | 3 |
| Australian | 20 milliliters | 5 milliliters | 4 |
The size gap is large. Against the exact US tablespoon, an Australian tablespoon holds about 35.26 percent more: 20 / 14.78676478125 = 1.3526, rounded. Against the 15 milliliter metric tablespoon, it holds exactly one third more: 20 / 15 = 1.3333. Either way, the error from using the wrong spoon is not a rounding error. It is a third or more of every spoonful, repeated for every tablespoon in the recipe.
How a recipe goes wrong depends on the direction of the swap. Suppose an Australian recipe calls for 3 tablespoons of a strong ingredient and you measure with US tablespoons. You add 3 x 14.78676478125 = 44.36 milliliters instead of 60 milliliters, a shortfall of 15.64 milliliters, about 26.07 percent short. For golden syrup that means a less sweet, less moist result; for a spice paste, a flatter flavor; for baking powder, a cake that does not rise as intended. Run the swap the other way and the error flips sign: a US recipe calling for 3 tablespoons, measured with an Australian tablespoon, receives 60 milliliters instead of 44.36 milliliters, about 35.26 percent too much. Too much baking powder leaves a bitter, soapy taste and a coarse crumb; too much salt or chili can spoil a dish outright.
The fix is simple once the systems are named. For an Australian recipe cooked with US measuring spoons, use 4 teaspoons for each tablespoon listed. Four US teaspoons hold 19.72 milliliters, and the exact count for 20 milliliters is 20 / 4.92892159375 = 4.06 teaspoons, rounded, so the 4 spoon measure runs about 1.4 percent light, a gap ordinary cooking will not notice. For a US recipe cooked with an Australian tablespoon measure, do not use that spoon for tablespoon amounts; measure teaspoons instead. Three Australian teaspoons hold 15 milliliters, about 1.44 percent more than an exact US tablespoon, again small enough to ignore.
Some modern Australian writers have moved to the 15 milliliter tablespoon, and many Australian sites now state which spoon they use. When an Australian recipe does not say, assume the traditional 20 milliliter spoon, but check the recipe’s own notes first. An Australian metric cup of 250 milliliters in the same recipe is a strong signal that its tablespoon is the 20 milliliter one. Older British cookbooks sometimes used a larger tablespoon as well, but modern UK recipes use 15 milliliters. The practical rule is therefore: 3 teaspoons per tablespoon everywhere except traditional Australian measures, where it is 4.
Worked Examples
Example 1: A dressing that needs 2 tablespoons
A vinaigrette calls for 2 tablespoons of lemon juice and only a teaspoon is clean. Multiply by 3: 2 x 3 = 6 teaspoons. In milliliters that is 2 x 14.78676478125 = 29.57 milliliters rounded, also 1 fluid ounce, a useful check because dressings are often written in fluid ounces as well.
Example 2: A spice blend written in teaspoons
A spice blend lists 9 teaspoons of paprika alongside other ingredients in tablespoons. Divide by 3: 9 / 3 = 3 tablespoons. Converting the largest teaspoon amount to tablespoons makes the blend easier to measure and to scale.
Example 3: A half tablespoon of baking powder
A small cake recipe calls for half a tablespoon of baking powder, but the half tablespoon measure is missing. Half a tablespoon is 0.5 x 3 = 1.5 teaspoons, which is 7.39 milliliters rounded. Measure 1 teaspoon plus a half teaspoon, both level. Baking powder rewards this care: it is potent in small amounts, and the difference between 1.5 teaspoons and a guessed half tablespoon can be the difference between a level rise and a bitter crumb.
Example 4: Scaling a recipe down
A soup recipe for a crowd uses 4 tablespoons of oil and 1 tablespoon of vinegar, and you are halving it. Work in one unit throughout. In tablespoons, half of 4 tablespoons is 2 tablespoons, and half of 1 tablespoon is half a tablespoon. In teaspoons, the original amounts are 12 teaspoons of oil and 3 teaspoons of vinegar, halved to 6 teaspoons and 1.5 teaspoons. Both routes agree, because 2 tablespoons is 6 teaspoons and half a tablespoon is 1.5 teaspoons.
Example 5: Scaling a recipe up
A sauce recipe written for 4 uses 2 teaspoons of mustard and 1 tablespoon of honey, and you are tripling it for 12. Triple each amount separately. The mustard becomes 2 x 3 = 6 teaspoons, which converts back to 6 / 3 = 2 tablespoons. The honey becomes 3 tablespoons, which is 9 teaspoons, or 44.36 milliliters rounded. Scaling in teaspoons first keeps every intermediate number whole, which is why the teaspoon is the safer working unit for scaling.
Example 6: Adapting an Australian recipe
An Australian recipe calls for 3 tablespoons of golden syrup. On the Australian measure that is 3 x 20 = 60 milliliters, or 3 x 4 = 12 Australian teaspoons. If you measure 9 US teaspoons because you applied the US ratio of 3, you add 9 x 4.92892159375 = 44.36 milliliters, short by 15.64 milliliters, more than a quarter of what the recipe intends. If you measure 12 US teaspoons instead, you add 59.15 milliliters, short by only 0.85 milliliters, which no pudding will notice. Convert an Australian tablespoon to 4 teaspoons first, then measure.
Example 7: Reading a medicine label in milliliters
Liquid medicine is the one place where spoon conversions need extra care, because the cost of a swap is a wrong dose, not a flatter cake. Modern labels state doses in milliliters, and the guidance summarized by the US Food and Drug Administration is to use milliliters as the standard unit and to measure with the dosing device supplied with the medicine, such as an oral syringe, rather than a kitchen spoon. The arithmetic behind the warning is the ratio from this article: confusing a tablespoon with a teaspoon is a 3-fold error.
Suppose an older instruction states a dose as 1 teaspoon, and the bottle label states the same product in milliliters on the 5 milliliter labeling basis. One labeling teaspoon is 5 milliliters, so the dose to draw is 5 milliliters. Drawing a tablespoon instead would give about 15 milliliters, three times the intended amount. A kitchen teaspoon from a cutlery drawer is also unreliable, because household spoons vary widely and are not calibrated. Use the supplied syringe or cup, and if a label gives only a spoon measure, check the milliliter amount with a pharmacist before dosing.
Measuring Accurately With Spoons
The conversion ratio assumes standard measuring spoons filled in the standard way. Four habits keep practice as accurate as the arithmetic.
Level, not heaped, unless the recipe says heaped. A level spoon is filled and then struck flat across the top. A heaped spoon can hold half as much again, which breaks the 3 to 1 ratio in practice even though the arithmetic behind it is right.
Use measuring spoons, not cutlery. A spoon from a cutlery drawer is not a standard teaspoon or tablespoon, and its capacity varies widely from set to set. Every figure in this article assumes a calibrated measuring spoon set, which normally includes a quarter teaspoon, a half teaspoon, a teaspoon, and a tablespoon.
Spoon dry ingredients lightly and level them, unless the recipe says to pack. Brown sugar is the common packed exception. Flour, cocoa, and spices should be spooned into the measure and leveled, not scooped and pressed, because packing changes the amount without changing the spoon count.
Measure liquids at the spoon’s brim, over a bowl or the mixing vessel, so a spill cannot double dose a potent ingredient into the mixture itself.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Using 4 teaspoons for a US tablespoon is the first error. Four is the Australian count. In a US recipe, 4 teaspoons is a full teaspoon too much, one third of a tablespoon extra on every spoonful.
Confusing teaspoon (tsp) with tablespoon (tbsp) is the second error. The abbreviations differ by one letter and look alike in small print. One tablespoon is three times a teaspoon, so swapping them triples or thirds the ingredient. In medicine the same swap is the 3-fold dosing error described in Example 7.
Converting weight with a volume ratio is the third error. Three teaspoons of honey weigh more than three teaspoons of flour. Spoon arithmetic converts volume to volume; a scale converts weight, and a recipe that gives grams expects the scale.
Rounding fractions badly is the fourth error. One third of a tablespoon is exactly 1 teaspoon and two thirds is exactly 2 teaspoons. Do not round those to about half a tablespoon for a leavening agent, salt, or a strong spice, where the exact teaspoon is easy to measure.
Assuming every tablespoon is the same size is the fifth error. A US tablespoon is about 14.79 milliliters, a metric and modern UK tablespoon is 15 milliliters, and an Australian tablespoon is 20 milliliters. The first two swap safely; the third does not.
Quick Reference
US: 1 tablespoon = 3 teaspoons = 14.78676478125 milliliters, about 14.79 milliliters. 1 teaspoon = 4.92892159375 milliliters, about 4.93 milliliters. Metric and US nutrition labeling: 1 tablespoon = 3 teaspoons = 15 milliliters; 1 teaspoon = 5 milliliters. Australian: 1 tablespoon = 4 teaspoons = 20 milliliters; 1 teaspoon = 5 milliliters. US bridges: 1 tablespoon = 0.5 fluid ounces; 2 tablespoons = 1 fluid ounce; 16 tablespoons = 1 cup = 48 teaspoons = 236.59 milliliters rounded.
For a US recipe, remember 3. For an Australian recipe, check for the 20 milliliter spoon and remember 4.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many teaspoons in a tablespoon?
In the US, there are 3 teaspoons in a tablespoon: the tablespoon is half a fluid ounce, the teaspoon is one sixth, and (1/2) / (1/6) = 3. In Australia, a traditional tablespoon holds 4 teaspoons, because it measures 20 milliliters against a 5 milliliter teaspoon.
How many teaspoons in 1 tablespoon?
For a US tablespoon, 3 teaspoons. For a metric tablespoon of 15 milliliters, also 3 teaspoons of 5 milliliters each. For a traditional Australian tablespoon, 4 teaspoons.
How many tsp in a tablespoon?
In US usage, 3 tsp make 1 tbsp. The abbreviation tsp means teaspoon and tbsp means tablespoon, and keeping them straight matters, because a tablespoon is three times a teaspoon.
How many tablespoons is 1 teaspoon?
One teaspoon is one third of a US tablespoon: 1 / 3 = 0.333 tablespoons, rounded. Two teaspoons are two thirds of a tablespoon, and 3 teaspoons make the full tablespoon.
1/2 tsp is how many tbsp?
Half a teaspoon is one sixth of a US tablespoon: 0.5 / 3 = 0.1667 tablespoons, rounded. In practice, use a half teaspoon measure rather than trying to fill a sixth of a tablespoon.
How many teaspoons are in 2 tablespoons?
In the US, 2 tablespoons are 6 teaspoons, because 2 x 3 = 6. With Australian tablespoons, 2 tablespoons are 8 Australian teaspoons, because 2 x 4 = 8, and the volume is 40 milliliters.
How many milliliters are in a US teaspoon and tablespoon?
A US teaspoon is exactly 4.92892159375 milliliters, about 4.93 milliliters, and a US tablespoon is exactly 14.78676478125 milliliters, about 14.79 milliliters. On nutrition labels both are rounded, to 5 and 15 milliliters, and the ratio stays 3.
Is a tablespoon the same size everywhere?
No. A US tablespoon is about 14.79 milliliters, a metric and modern UK tablespoon is 15 milliliters, and a traditional Australian tablespoon is 20 milliliters. The US and UK counts agree at 3 teaspoons per tablespoon; Australia differs at 4.
How many teaspoons are in a cup?
There are 48 US teaspoons in a US cup. A cup is 16 tablespoons, and 16 x 3 = 48. A quarter cup is 4 tablespoons, which is 12 teaspoons.
Keep reading: Tablespoons in an Ounce
Keep reading: How Many Tablespoons in a Cup
Keep reading: Grams to Tablespoons: Why There Is No Single Answer, and How to Convert Properly
Keep reading: Milliliters to Tablespoons: US, Metric, and Australian Answers
Sources & references
- National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Handbook 44, 2024, Appendix C, General Tables of Units of Measurement. Used for the US liquid volume chain: 1 gallon = 231 cubic inches = 128 fluid ounces = 3,785.411784 milliliters, 1 fluid ounce = 29.57353 milliliters rounded, and 1 liter = 1,000 milliliters. The exact teaspoon and tablespoon milliliter values in this article are computed from the gallon figure: 3,785.411784 / 768 and 3,785.411784 / 256. https://www.nist.gov/system/files/documents/2024/01/14/NIST%20HB%2044%202024%20Appendix%20C%20General%20Tables%20of%20Units%20of%20Measurement.pdf
- National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Metric Kitchen: Cooking Measurement Equivalencies. Used for the rounded cooking equivalents: 1.25 milliliters = 1/4 teaspoon, 2.5 milliliters = 1/2 teaspoon, 5 milliliters = 1 teaspoon, 15 milliliters = 1 tablespoon (1/2 fluid ounce), 30 milliliters = 1 fluid ounce, and 240 milliliters = 1 cup rounded. https://www.nist.gov/pml/owm/metric-si/metric-kitchen/metric-kitchen-cooking-measurement-equivalencies
- Foodwatch, Food Measurement and Conversions. Used for the standard Australian metric spoon measures: one metric tablespoon holds 20 milliliters and one metric teaspoon holds 5 milliliters, alongside a metric cup of 250 milliliters. https://www.foodwatch.com.au/food-measurement-and-conversions/
- Australian Women's Weekly Food, How to: Measurement Conversions. Used for the statement that Australia is the only country with a 20 milliliter tablespoon measure where the rest use 15 milliliters, and for the American comparisons listed there: 1 American tablespoon = 15 milliliters (Australia = 20 milliliters) and 1 American teaspoon = 5 milliliters, the same as Australia. https://www.womensweeklyfood.com.au/how-to/measurement-conversions-1313/
- US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), hosting the National Council for Prescription Drug Programs (NCPDP) recommendations, Standardize the Dosing Designations on Prescription Container Labels for Oral Liquid Medications to Metric (mL) Only. Used only for the medicine guidance: milliliters as the standard unit for oral liquid medicines, confusion between teaspoons and tablespoons resulting in 3-fold dosing errors, household kitchen spoons varying widely and being inappropriate for dosing, and oral syringes as the more precise device. https://www.fda.gov/media/88498/download
