Tablespoons to Teaspoons Converter
Convert tablespoons to teaspoons (tbsp to tsp) for any recipe
1 tablespoon = 3 teaspoons. To convert tablespoons to teaspoons, multiply by 3, so 2 tbsp = 6 tsp and ½ tbsp = 1½ tsp.
Tablespoons to Teaspoons converter
LiveUS: 1 tbsp (14.79 mL) = 3 tsp (4.93 mL).
- 0.5 fl oz
- 0.125 stick
- 14.786765 mL
- 0.0625 cup
How to convert tablespoons to teaspoons
In US customary measure, the teaspoon is defined as one third of a tablespoon, and the tablespoon as half a fluid ounce. A US tablespoon holds about 14.79 mL and a teaspoon about 4.93 mL. The ratio of 3 teaspoons per tablespoon is exact, and it also holds for the metric spoons used in most other countries (15 mL and 5 mL). Cups, fluid ounces and sticks of butter are on the cooking converter.
The one real exception is Australia, where the standard tablespoon is 20 mL and holds 4 teaspoons; choose Australian on the Spoon standard switch above for those recipes. If an Australian recipe asks for 1 tablespoon of baking soda and you use 3 US teaspoons, you add about a quarter less than intended. The other everyday trap is the abbreviation: a capital T (or Tbsp) means tablespoon, a lowercase t (or tsp) means teaspoon, and confusing them triples or thirds the amount. Bigger amounts are easier on the cups to fluid ounces converter.
Step by step
- Take the number of tablespoons.
- Multiply by 3 to get teaspoons.
- For an Australian 20 mL tablespoon, multiply by 4 instead.
- Measure level spoonfuls unless the recipe says heaped.
See it on a scale
Worked examples
Half a tablespoon of vanilla extract, 2 tablespoons of olive oil for a dressing, and 5 tablespoons of sugar when you only have a teaspoon to hand.
0.5 tbsp × 3 = 1.5 tsp
= 1.5 tsp
2 tbsp × 3 = 6 tsp
= 6 tsp
5 tbsp × 3 = 15 tsp
= 15 tsp
How many teaspoons are in a fluid ounce?
A US fluid ounce holds exactly 6 teaspoons, which is 2 tablespoons. The tablespoon is defined as half a fluid ounce and the teaspoon as a third of a tablespoon, so the numbers never need rounding.
That link is handy for drinks, syrups and anything else measured in ounces:
- ½ fl oz = 1 tbsp = 3 tsp (14.79 mL)
- 1 fl oz = 2 tbsp = 6 tsp (29.57 mL)
- 1½ fl oz, a standard US jigger, = 3 tbsp = 9 tsp (44.36 mL)
- 3 fl oz = 6 tbsp = 18 tsp (88.72 mL)
Nutrition labels keep the same ratios with rounder numbers. FDA rule 21 CFR 101.9 counts a teaspoon as 5 mL, a tablespoon as 15 mL and a fluid ounce as 30 mL for labeling, so 6 label teaspoons still make one label fluid ounce. Metric spoons behave the same way: six 5 mL teaspoons fill exactly 30 mL.
How can I measure a tablespoon without a measuring spoon?
Use 3 level teaspoons, or fill a medicine cup or oral syringe to 15 mL, which is within 1.44% of a US tablespoon. Either is far more reliable than a spoon from the cutlery drawer.
Other workable substitutes:
- A kitchen scale: a tablespoon of water weighs about 14.8 g, so weigh 15 g of water or milk. Oil is lighter, at about 13.6 g per tablespoon. On a scale set to ounces, a tablespoon of water reads about 0.52 oz, and the grams to ounces converter handles other weights.
- A jigger: if your jigger has a 1 fl oz side, it holds exactly 2 tablespoons, so fill it halfway for one.
- A ¼ cup measure: it holds exactly 4 tablespoons, so a quarter of it gives roughly one. This only suits forgiving recipes such as soups.
- Cutlery: table and soup spoons are not made to a standard size, so test one first by filling it with water and pouring it into a marked medicine cup.
Tbsp to tsp conversion chart
US tablespoons converted to US teaspoons. Every value is exact because a tablespoon is exactly 3 teaspoons; 16 tablespoons make a cup.
| Tablespoons (tbsp) | Teaspoons (tsp) |
|---|---|
| 0.125 tbsp | 0.375 tsp |
| 0.25 tbsp | 0.75 tsp |
| 0.5 tbsp | 1.5 tsp |
| 0.75 tbsp | 2.25 tsp |
| 1 tbsp | 3 tsp |
| 1.25 tbsp | 3.75 tsp |
| 1.5 tbsp | 4.5 tsp |
| 1.75 tbsp | 5.25 tsp |
| 2 tbsp | 6 tsp |
| 2.5 tbsp | 7.5 tsp |
| 3 tbsp | 9 tsp |
| 3.5 tbsp | 10.5 tsp |
| 4 tbsp | 12 tsp |
| 4.5 tbsp | 13.5 tsp |
| 5 tbsp | 15 tsp |
| 6 tbsp | 18 tsp |
| 7 tbsp | 21 tsp |
| 8 tbsp | 24 tsp |
| 9 tbsp | 27 tsp |
| 10 tbsp | 30 tsp |
| 11 tbsp | 33 tsp |
| 12 tbsp | 36 tsp |
| 14 tbsp | 42 tsp |
| 15 tbsp | 45 tsp |
| 16 tbsp | 48 tsp |
| 20 tbsp | 60 tsp |
| 24 tbsp | 72 tsp |
| 32 tbsp | 96 tsp |
Tablespoons vs teaspoons: what is the difference?
Both spoons belong to the same US customary system, and one is exactly three times the other. The practical differences are in labeling, size by country and what each spoon is used for.
| Attribute | Tablespoons | Teaspoons |
|---|---|---|
| Symbol | tbsp | tsp |
| System | US customary | US customary |
| Defined as | 3 tsp (14.79 mL) | 4.93 mL |
| One unit equals | 3 tsp | 0.33333333 tbsp |
| Common abbreviations | T, Tbsp, tbs, tbl | t, tsp |
| Share of a US cup | 1/16 | 1/48 |
| Metric size (UK, Canada, NZ, most of Europe) | 15 mL | 5 mL |
| Australian size | 20 mL (4 teaspoons) | 5 mL |
| Typical ingredients | Oil, butter, sauces, flour for thickening | Baking powder, salt, spices, extracts |
4 key differences
- A tablespoon holds three teaspoons in both the US and metric systems; the Australian tablespoon is the one exception, at four.
- A capital T and a lowercase t differ by a factor of three, so a misread abbreviation triples or thirds an ingredient.
- The US tablespoon (14.79 mL) is 1.42% smaller than the 15 mL metric tablespoon, a gap no cook will notice.
- Teaspoons handle leaveners and seasonings, where a small error changes the result most, while tablespoons handle fats and liquids.
Teaspoon, tablespoon and cup equivalents
The spoon measures you meet in recipes, shown as teaspoons, tablespoons, milliliters and the matching fraction of a US cup. Weights for spoonfuls of flour, sugar and butter are on the cups to grams converter.
| Teaspoons | Tablespoons | Milliliters (US) | Cup equivalent |
|---|---|---|---|
| ¼ tsp | 1/12 tbsp | 1.23 mL | — |
| ½ tsp | ⅙ tbsp | 2.46 mL | — |
| ¾ tsp | ¼ tbsp | 3.7 mL | — |
| 1 tsp | ⅓ tbsp | 4.93 mL | — |
| 1½ tsp | ½ tbsp | 7.39 mL | — |
| 2 tsp | ⅔ tbsp | 9.86 mL | — |
| 3 tsp | 1 tbsp | 14.79 mL | 1/16 cup |
| 4½ tsp | 1½ tbsp | 22.18 mL | — |
| 6 tsp | 2 tbsp | 29.57 mL | ⅛ cup |
| 9 tsp | 3 tbsp | 44.36 mL | — |
| 12 tsp | 4 tbsp | 59.15 mL | ¼ cup |
| 16 tsp | 5⅓ tbsp | 78.86 mL | ⅓ cup |
| 24 tsp | 8 tbsp | 118.29 mL | ½ cup |
| 48 tsp | 16 tbsp | 236.59 mL | 1 cup |
How big is a tablespoon in other countries?
A tablespoon is 14.79 mL in the US, 15 mL in the UK, Canada, New Zealand and most of Europe, and 20 mL in Australia. The metric and US spoons are within 1.4% of each other, which never matters in cooking; the Australian tablespoon is a third larger than the metric one.
| Spoon | Volume | Local teaspoons | US teaspoons | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US tablespoon | 14.79 mL | 3 tsp of 4.93 mL | 3 US tsp | Official US customary measure |
| Metric tablespoon (UK, Canada, NZ, most of Europe) | 15 mL | 3 tsp of 5 mL | 3.04 US tsp | Used in most modern recipes outside the US |
| Australian tablespoon | 20 mL | 4 tsp of 5 mL | 4.06 US tsp | Holds 4 metric teaspoons |
| UK dessert spoon (approximate) | 10 mL | 2 tsp of 5 mL | 2.03 US tsp | Traditional; not a legal unit |
How do you halve or double spoon measures?
Convert everything to teaspoons, halve or double that number, then regroup every 3 teaspoons into a tablespoon. These are the results you need most often:
- Half of 1 tablespoon is 1½ teaspoons.
- A third of 1 tablespoon is exactly 1 teaspoon.
- Half of 1 teaspoon is ½ teaspoon, and half of that is ¼ teaspoon.
- Double 1½ teaspoons and you have 1 tablespoon.
- Half of ⅓ cup (5 tbsp + 1 tsp) is 2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons.
- A quarter of ¼ cup is 1 tablespoon.
Pinches, dashes and smidgens
These are not official units. Some novelty spoon sets label a dash as ⅛ teaspoon, a pinch as 1/16 teaspoon and a smidgen as 1/32 teaspoon, but recipes use them loosely to mean “a very small amount, to taste”. For salt in baking, where it matters, look for a recipe that gives a real measure or a weight in grams.
Is a teaspoon of medicine 5 mL?
Yes: a medicinal teaspoon is 5 mL and a tablespoon 15 mL, but measure the dose with the syringe, cup or spoon supplied with the medicine rather than with cutlery.
Kitchen spoons are not accurate enough for medicine. Everyday cutlery varies widely in size, and a “teaspoon” from the drawer can hold much more or less than 5 mL. For this reason, US health agencies recommend dosing liquid medicine in milliliters with the syringe, cup or spoon that comes with the product.
- Mixing up tsp and tbsp on a label means a dose three times too large or too small, so read the abbreviation carefully.
- Always follow the dose on the label or from your doctor or pharmacist, especially for children.
For converting milliliters to kitchen measures when cooking, use the mL to cups converter.
Measuring spoons: tips for accurate results
- Level dry ingredients. Scoop, then sweep the back of a knife across the spoon. A heaped teaspoon can hold nearly twice a level one.
- Fill liquids to the brim. Hold the spoon over a separate bowl, not over the mixture, so a spill does not end up in the recipe.
- Measure baking soda and powder exactly. Leaveners are the ingredients where an extra teaspoon is most noticeable, and they are also where the 20 mL Australian tablespoon causes the most trouble.
- Weigh sticky or small amounts. A tablespoon of honey weighs about 21 g, and a digital scale that reads in grams is often easier than scraping out a spoon.
Sources and further reading
The standards and references behind the numbers on this page. Links open in a new tab.
Standards and official sources
Further reading
- TablespoonWikipedia
- TeaspoonWikipedia
Tablespoons to teaspoons FAQs
Short, exact answers to what people ask most.
How many teaspoons are in a tablespoon?
There are exactly 3 teaspoons in a US tablespoon, and also in a metric 15 mL tablespoon. An Australian tablespoon of 20 mL holds 4 teaspoons.
What is half a tablespoon in teaspoons?
Half a tablespoon is 1½ teaspoons. A quarter of a tablespoon is ¾ teaspoon.
How many teaspoons are in ¼ cup?
A quarter cup is 4 tablespoons, which is 12 teaspoons. A full cup holds 48 teaspoons.
How many tablespoons is 1 teaspoon?
One teaspoon is ⅓ of a tablespoon. So 2 teaspoons is ⅔ tablespoon, and 3 teaspoons make 1 tablespoon.
Is an Australian tablespoon different from a US tablespoon?
Yes. An Australian tablespoon is 20 mL and holds 4 teaspoons, while a US tablespoon is about 14.79 mL and holds 3. Use 1 US tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon to match an Australian tablespoon.
Does a capital T mean tablespoon or teaspoon?
In most recipes a capital T means tablespoon and a lowercase t means teaspoon. Tbsp, tbs and tbl also mean tablespoon, while tsp means teaspoon.
How many teaspoons are in 2 tablespoons?
2 tablespoons equal exactly 6 teaspoons, which is also ⅛ cup.
How many teaspoons is 1.5 tablespoons?
1½ tablespoons is 4½ teaspoons, about 22.18 mL in US measure.
How many teaspoons are in 5 tablespoons?
5 tablespoons are 15 teaspoons (73.93 mL), just 1 teaspoon short of ⅓ cup.
How many mL is 1 teaspoon?
A US teaspoon is 4.93 mL (4.92892159375 mL exactly), and a metric teaspoon is 5 mL. The difference is too small to matter in cooking.
Related conversions
US customary spoon measures from NIST Handbook 44 (1 tbsp = ½ US fl oz = 3 tsp); label values of 5 mL, 15 mL and 30 mL from FDA rule 21 CFR 101.9; metric 15 mL and 5 mL spoons as used in the UK, Canada and New Zealand; the 20 mL tablespoon used in Australian recipes; FDA guidance on dosing liquid medicine in milliliters. Last updated . How we verify our numbers.