Convert between cups, tablespoons, teaspoons, milliliters, fluid ounces, liters, and grams for common cooking ingredients.
All measurements are converted through milliliters as the base unit. 1 cup = 236.588 mL, 1 tablespoon = 14.787 mL, 1 teaspoon = 4.929 mL, 1 fluid ounce = 29.574 mL, 1 liter = 1000 mL.
Example: 1 cup = 16 tablespoons = 48 teaspoons = 236.59 mL = 8 fluid ounces.
Cooking measurements can be confusing, especially when converting between US customary units and metric units. The US uses cups, tablespoons, and teaspoons as standard measuring units, while most other countries use milliliters and grams. Even within the US system, there are relationships that can be tricky to remember: 3 teaspoons make 1 tablespoon, 16 tablespoons make 1 cup, and 2 cups make 1 pint.
The challenge becomes greater when recipes from different countries use different measurement systems. A British recipe might call for 200 mL of milk, while an American recipe would say "a little less than 1 cup." Australian tablespoons are 20 mL (four teaspoons), while US and UK tablespoons are approximately 15 mL (three teaspoons). These differences can make or break a recipe, especially in baking where precision matters significantly.
Weight measurements (grams) are actually more accurate than volume measurements for dry ingredients. A cup of flour can vary from 120 to 150 grams depending on how it is scooped and packed. Professional bakers almost always use weight-based recipes for this reason. For liquids, volume and weight measurements are essentially interchangeable since 1 mL of water weighs approximately 1 gram.
| Measurement | Equivalent | Metric |
|---|---|---|
| 1 teaspoon | 1/3 tablespoon | 4.93 mL |
| 1 tablespoon | 3 teaspoons | 14.79 mL |
| 1 fluid ounce | 2 tablespoons | 29.57 mL |
| 1/4 cup | 4 tablespoons | 59.15 mL |
| 1/2 cup | 8 tablespoons | 118.29 mL |
| 1 cup | 16 tablespoons / 8 fl oz | 236.59 mL |
| 1 pint | 2 cups / 16 fl oz | 473.18 mL |
| 1 quart | 4 cups / 2 pints | 946.35 mL |
| 1 gallon | 16 cups / 4 quarts | 3,785.41 mL |
There are 16 tablespoons in 1 cup. A half cup is 8 tablespoons, and a quarter cup is 4 tablespoons.
There are 3 teaspoons in 1 tablespoon. This is one of the most fundamental cooking conversions.
A US cup is 236.59 mL. For easy approximation, you can round to 240 mL. A metric cup (used in Australia) is exactly 250 mL.
It depends on the ingredient because different ingredients have different densities. 1 cup of flour is about 125g, 1 cup of sugar is about 200g, 1 cup of butter is about 227g, and 1 cup of water is about 237g.
Both hold the same volume (1 cup = 236.59 mL). Liquid measuring cups are glass or plastic with pour spouts and measurement lines. Dry measuring cups are flat-rimmed so you can level off ingredients with a knife for precision.