Cooking Unit Converter
Convert any cooking measurement — cups to tablespoons, teaspoons to milliliters, fluid ounces to cups, and more. Instant results in all common cooking units.
Enter your values above to see the results.
Tips & Notes
- ✓When halving a recipe, 1 cup becomes 8 tbsp, 1 tbsp becomes 1.5 tsp, and 1 tsp becomes 1/2 tsp. These shortcuts are faster than calculating fractions of a fraction.
- ✓Liquids and dry ingredients measure differently by weight — 1 cup of water is 236g, but 1 cup of all-purpose flour is only 120-130g. For baking precision, use a kitchen scale.
- ✓US tablespoons (14.79 mL) differ from metric tablespoons (15 mL) and UK tablespoons (17.76 mL). For most recipes the difference is negligible, but it matters in large batches.
- ✓A "pinch" is approximately 1/16 tsp; a "smidgen" is approximately 1/32 tsp; a "dash" is approximately 1/8 tsp. These are informal but consistent across most US recipe conventions.
- ✓For dry ingredients, always spoon flour into the measuring cup and level off with a straight edge — scooping directly compacts flour and can add 20-30% more than the recipe intends.
Common Mistakes
- ✗Assuming 1 tablespoon equals 1/16 cup — the correct ratio is 1 cup = 16 tablespoons, so 1 tablespoon = 1/16 cup. Off by a factor of 2 when doubling or halving recipes.
- ✗Confusing fluid ounces with weight ounces — 1 fluid ounce is a volume measure (29.57 mL); 1 weight ounce is a mass measure (28.35 g). Water happens to weigh nearly 1 oz per fl oz, but most ingredients do not.
- ✗Using metric tablespoons (15 mL) for US recipes — US tablespoons are 14.79 mL. For individual tablespoon amounts, the difference is negligible; at 20+ tablespoons per batch, it adds up.
- ✗Scaling down recipes by simple fractions without checking baking chemistry — reducing a cake by half works for most ingredients but leavening agents (baking powder, yeast) should be reduced by less than half.
- ✗Converting between volume and weight without knowing the ingredient density — "1 cup of butter" does not mean the same as "1 cup of honey" in weight. Always convert using the specific ingredient's density.
Cooking Unit Converter Overview
Cooking unit conversion is one of the most frequent kitchen calculations — particularly when adapting recipes between US and metric systems, scaling serving sizes, or when you only have certain measuring tools available.
US cooking unit relationships:
1 Cup = 16 tbsp = 48 tsp = 8 fl oz = 236.588 mL | 1 tbsp = 3 tsp = 14.787 mL | 1 tsp = 4.929 mL
EX: Recipe calls for 3/4 cup of olive oil. You only have a tablespoon measure → 3/4 cup × 16 tbsp/cup = 12 tablespoons. Or halving a recipe that calls for 1/3 cup → 1/3 ÷ 2 = 1/6 cup = 2 tbsp + 2 tspComplete US cooking volume conversion table:
| Measure | Cups | Tablespoons | Teaspoons | Fluid Oz | mL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 teaspoon | 1/48 | 1/3 | 1 | 1/6 | 4.93 |
| 1 tablespoon | 1/16 | 1 | 3 | 1/2 | 14.79 |
| 1/8 cup | 1/8 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 29.57 |
| 1/4 cup | 1/4 | 4 | 12 | 2 | 59.15 |
| 1/3 cup | 1/3 | 5+1tsp | 16 | 2.67 | 78.86 |
| 1/2 cup | 1/2 | 8 | 24 | 4 | 118.29 |
| 3/4 cup | 3/4 | 12 | 36 | 6 | 177.44 |
| 1 cup | 1 | 16 | 48 | 8 | 236.59 |
| 1 pint | 2 | 32 | 96 | 16 | 473.18 |
| 1 quart | 4 | 64 | 192 | 32 | 946.35 |
| 1 gallon | 16 | 256 | 768 | 128 | 3,785.41 |
| System | Cup Size | Common Countries | 1 Cup vs US Cup |
|---|---|---|---|
| US customary | 236.588 mL | United States | Reference |
| Metric cup | 250 mL | Australia, Canada, SA | +5.5% more |
| Imperial | 284.131 mL | Historical UK | +20% more |
| Legal US cup | 240 mL | US nutrition labels | +1.4% more |
Frequently Asked Questions
There are exactly 16 tablespoons in 1 US cup. The full breakdown: 1 cup = 16 tablespoons = 48 teaspoons = 8 fluid ounces = 236.588 milliliters = 0.2366 liters. For common fractions: 1/2 cup = 8 tbsp; 1/4 cup = 4 tbsp; 1/3 cup = 5 tbsp + 1 tsp; 3/4 cup = 12 tbsp. Memorizing the 1 cup = 16 tbsp = 48 tsp relationship covers the most frequent cooking conversions.
Divide milliliters by 236.588 to get US cups. Examples: 100 mL = 100/236.588 = 0.423 cups ≈ 6 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons; 250 mL = 1.057 cups ≈ 1 cup + 1 tablespoon; 500 mL = 2.113 cups ≈ 2 cups + 2 tablespoons; 1,000 mL (1 liter) = 4.227 cups ≈ 4 cups + 3.5 tablespoons. European recipes typically use milliliters; converting to cups is the most common cooking unit challenge for US bakers working from European sources.
There are exactly 3 teaspoons in 1 US tablespoon. Full chain: 1 tablespoon = 3 teaspoons = 14.787 milliliters. So 1 teaspoon = 4.929 mL ≈ 5 mL. Common fractions: 1/2 tablespoon = 1.5 teaspoons; 1/4 tablespoon = 3/4 teaspoon. For very small amounts, the teaspoon breakdown: 1 tsp = 1/3 tbsp, 1/2 tsp, 1/4 tsp, 1/8 tsp, and 1/16 tsp (a pinch). Most measuring spoon sets include 1 tbsp, 1 tsp, 1/2 tsp, and 1/4 tsp.
A US cup is 236.588 mL. A metric cup (used in Australia, Canada, and parts of Asia) is exactly 250 mL. The difference is about 5.5% — small enough to be negligible in most savory cooking, but can matter in baking where ratios are critical. A recipe calling for 2 metric cups of flour uses 500 mL, while 2 US cups is only 473 mL — a 27 mL deficit. For baking from Australian or Canadian recipes, use the metric cup measurement (250 mL) rather than the standard US cup (237 mL) for better accuracy.
Determine the scale factor: Desired Servings ÷ Original Servings. Multiply every ingredient by this factor. For scaling down a recipe that calls for 3/4 cup to half: 3/4 cup × 0.5 = 3/8 cup. Since 3/8 cup is not a standard measure, convert: 3/8 cup × 16 = 6 tablespoons. Use this calculator to convert awkward fractions into measurable amounts. Note: leavening agents (baking powder, baking soda, yeast) in baked goods should be scaled more conservatively — reduce by 75% instead of 50% when halving to avoid over-rising or collapse.
One liter = 4.2268 US cups. Practical equivalents: 1 liter ≈ 4 cups + 3.5 tablespoons; 0.5 liter (500 mL) ≈ 2 cups + 2 tablespoons; 0.75 liter (750 mL) ≈ 3 cups + 2.5 tablespoons. For cooking purposes, 1 liter is close enough to 4 cups for liquids like water, broth, and milk where precision matters less. For baking, use the exact 4.227 cups conversion or measure in milliliters directly.