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US tablespoons to US cups converter

Convert US tablespoons to US cups (tbsp to cups) with the exact factor, a conversion chart and worked steps.

Drafted with AI writing toolsUpdated Checked examples: 3

tbsp
Try
US cups
cup
US cups: 0.25 cup
Significant figures: 12; Nearest, ties away from zero
Conversion
4 tbsp = 0.25 cup
1 cup in US tablespoons
16tbsp

4 tbsp is about 0.25 cup. In the other direction, 1 cup ≈ 16 tbsp.

US tablespoons to US cups

00.250.50.75151015tbspcup4 → 0.25
Tbsp to cups chart Rows: 10
US tablespoonsUS cups
10.0625
20.125
30.1875
40.25
50.3125
60.375
80.5
100.625
120.75
161
How it's calculated S

  1. Conversion factor

    1 tbsp=0.0625 cup1\ \text{tbsp} = 0.0625\ \text{cup}

    Exact by definition.

  2. Multiply

    4×0.0625=0.25 cup4 \times 0.0625 = 0.25\ \text{cup}

About the US tablespoons to US cups converter

To convert US tablespoons to US cups, multiply by 0.0625; to convert back, multiply by 16. For example, 4 tbsp is about 0.25 cup. Displayed factors and results may be rounded.

Tablespoon amounts often describe dressings, oils or a scaled recipe. A US tablespoon and an Australian tablespoon are different measures. Choose the convention in the source recipe and use level measuring spoons; a heaped spoon has no fixed volume.

US tablespoon: 1 US tbsp = 1/2 US fl oz = 14.78676478125 mL. These values are exact.

Both units are defined exactly. Calculations use 50 significant digits and round only for display.

How to convert tablespoons to cups

Divide US tablespoons by 16: cups = tbsp ÷ 16. So 4 tbsp = ¼ cup, 8 tbsp = ½ cup and 12 tbsp = ¾ cup, while 1 tbsp is 0.0625 cup. It applies to US customary measures: a 14.79 mL tablespoon and a 236.59 mL cup.

Turning tablespoons into cup measures

A ¼ cup holds 4 tbsp. Divide the tablespoons by 4: the whole number is quarter cups, and the remainder stays in tablespoons.

  • 5 tbsp = ¼ cup + 1 tbsp
  • 6 tbsp = ¼ cup + 2 tbsp
  • 10 tbsp = ½ cup + 2 tbsp
  • 14 tbsp = ¾ cup + 2 tbsp

Tablespoons to cups chart

US tablespoonsUS cups
10.0625
20.125
40.25
80.5
120.75
161

Each tablespoon adds 0.0625 cup, so 3 tbsp is 0.1875 cup and 6 tbsp is 0.375 cup, or ⅜.

Scaling a recipe up

Multiplying a recipe turns spoonfuls into cups. Quadrupling a dressing that uses 3 tbsp of oil needs 12 tbsp, which is ¾ cup: one measure instead of twelve spoonfuls.

Teaspoons count as a third of a tablespoon each, so 4 tbsp + 1 tsp is 4⅓ tbsp, about 0.271 cup. As one entry, type 4+1/3.

Metric spoons and cups

Sixteen tablespoons make a cup only with US measures, where a cup is 8 fl oz and a tablespoon ½ fl oz (NIST Handbook 44, Appendix C).

Sixteen 15 mL metric tablespoons hold 240 mL, which is 0.96 of a 250 mL metric cup; it takes 16⅔ of them to fill one.

Those 240 mL are exactly the cup US nutrition labels use (21 CFR 101.9(b)(5)(viii)), and about 1.014 US customary cups.

Australian recipes use a 20 mL tablespoon (NSW cooking-measure reference), so 8 tbsp is 160 mL, or 0.64 metric cup, not ½.

Common mistakes

  • Multiplying instead of dividing. 4 tbsp is ¼ cup, not 64 cups. The cup figure is always the smaller number.
  • Writing tablespoons and teaspoons as a decimal. 4 tbsp + 1 tsp is not 4.1 tbsp: 4.1 tbsp is 0.256 cup, against 0.271 cup for the real amount.
  • Counting heaped spoonfuls. Sixteen heaped tablespoons overfill a cup. Level each one.

For the reverse, use the cups to tablespoons converter. Small amounts convert with teaspoons to tablespoons, and tablespoons to mL gives milliliters.

Worked examples

4 tbsp to cup

US tablespoons (tbsp)
4 tbsp
US cups
0.25 cup

Checked against: Exact-fraction computation from the legal unit definitions

12 tbsp to cup

US tablespoons (tbsp)
12 tbsp
US cups
0.75 cup

Checked against: Exact-fraction computation from the legal unit definitions

1 tbsp to cup

US tablespoons (tbsp)
1 tbsp
US cups
0.0625 cup

Checked against: Exact-fraction computation from the legal unit definitions

Questions

How many US cups are in one US tablespoon?

1 tbsp is about 0.0625 cup. US tablespoon: 1 US tbsp = 1/2 US fl oz = 14.78676478125 mL. These values are exact.

How do I convert US tablespoons to US cups?

Multiply by 0.0625: 4 tbsp × 0.0625 ≈ 0.25 cup. To convert back, divide by the same factor. The factor shown may be rounded.

How can I estimate US tablespoons in US cups without a calculator?

Multiply by 0.062. This is 0.8% below the exact factor (about 0.0625), so 4 tbsp comes out as 0.248 cup instead of 0.25 cup.

Is a cup 240 mL or 236.6 mL?

Both are in use. The US customary cup in recipes is approximately 236.588 mL. US nutrition labels use a rounded "legal cup" of 240 mL (21 CFR 101.9), and the metric cup used in Australia, New Zealand and Canada is 250 mL.

About this calculator

cup=tbsp×0.0625\text{cup} = \text{tbsp} \times 0.0625

Sources

  1. 21 CFR 101.9(b)(5)(viii), Nutrition labeling of food
  2. Safe Food for Canadians Regulations, section 241
  3. New Zealand Ministry of Education, Cooking: Measuring
  4. NSW Health, Healthy Food for Babies and Toddlers: metric cup and spoon measures
  5. NIST SP 811 (2008), Guide for the Use of the International System of Units, Appendix B
  6. NIST Handbook 44, Appendix C: General tables of units of measurement
  7. BIPM, The International System of Units (SI Brochure), 9th edition

Checked against references

This calculator includes 3 worked examples with independently sourced answers. They run in the test suite, and you can run them here too.

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