US tablespoons to milliliters converter

How to convert tablespoons to ml

Multiply US tablespoons by 14.78676478125, the exact number of milliliters in one US customary tablespoon, or use 14.8 mL. So 1 tbsp = 14.79 mL and 2 tbsp = 29.57 mL, exactly one US fluid ounce. Recipes from metric countries use a 15 mL or 20 mL tablespoon instead.

Which tablespoon?

• US customary tablespoon, 14.78676478125 mL. Half a US fluid ounce, or 3 US teaspoons (NIST Handbook 44, Appendix C). American recipes use it, and the answer above is in this unit.
• Metric tablespoon, 15 mL. Also the tablespoon on US nutrition labels under 21 CFR 101.9(b)(5)(viii). Two hold 30 mL, 0.4264704375 mL more than 2 US tablespoons.
• Australian tablespoon, 20 mL. Four metric teaspoons, per the NSW cooking-measure reference. Two hold 40 mL, 10.4264704375 mL more than 2 US tablespoons.

The 15 mL spoon is within 1.5% of the US one, so either works in the kitchen. The Australian spoon holds 35% more. For salt, yeast or baking powder in an Australian recipe, measure each tablespoon as 20 mL, or 1⅓ US tablespoons.

Tablespoons to ml chart

Tablespoons, teaspoons and cups

• 1 tsp = ⅓ tbsp = 4.93 mL
• 1 tbsp + 1 tsp = 19.72 mL
• 2 tbsp = 1 US fl oz = 29.57 mL
• 4 tbsp = ¼ cup = 59.15 mL
• 8 tbsp = ½ cup = 118.29 mL
• 16 tbsp = 1 cup = 236.59 mL

Tablespoons by weight

A tablespoon is a volume, so what it weighs depends on the ingredient. A US tablespoon of water weighs about 14.8 g. Butter comes to about 14.1 g, since a 113 g US stick is 8 tablespoons.

Flour is about half as dense as water, and a packed spoon holds more than a loose one, so gram amounts are more reliable for baking. The cooking converter turns spoons of butter, flour or sugar into grams.

Mistakes with tablespoons

• Reading T as t. Many recipes write tablespoon as T or Tbsp and teaspoon as t or tsp. Mixing them up triples the amount, or cuts it to a third.
• Heaping the spoon. Recipe spoon measures are level; a heaped spoon has no fixed volume.
• Using a cutlery spoon. Eating spoons vary in size and are not measuring spoons. For medicine, use the syringe or cup that comes with it.

For smaller amounts, use teaspoons to ml or tablespoons to teaspoons, and for larger ones, tablespoons to cups.