Recipe units are a minefield: US, UK, and metric cups all differ, and a tablespoon is not the same size everywhere. This reference and converter work entirely in US customary volume units, showing any kitchen amount in teaspoons, tablespoons, fluid ounces, cups, and millilitres at once.
How it works
All conversions go through a single base unit, the millilitre, using the US customary definitions:
1 US cup = 236.5882365 mL
1 US fl oz = 29.5735296 mL
1 US tablespoon= 14.7867648 mL (= 3 teaspoons)
1 US teaspoon = 4.9289216 mLEnter any amount in any unit, convert it to millilitres, then divide by each unit’s millilitre value to get all the equivalents.
Example
Half a US cup is 118.29 mL, which is 8 tablespoons, 24 teaspoons, or 4 US fluid ounces. A recipe calling for “3 tablespoons” therefore needs about 44.4 mL.
Common kitchen conversions at a glance
| US measure | Tablespoons | Teaspoons | Millilitres |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 cup | 16 tbsp | 48 tsp | ~237 mL |
| ¾ cup | 12 tbsp | 36 tsp | ~177 mL |
| ½ cup | 8 tbsp | 24 tsp | ~118 mL |
| ¼ cup | 4 tbsp | 12 tsp | ~59 mL |
| 1 tablespoon | 1 tbsp | 3 tsp | ~15 mL |
| 1 teaspoon | ⅓ tbsp | 1 tsp | ~5 mL |
The cup standard problem explained
“A cup” looks like a simple unit but the actual volume depends on where the recipe was written:
- US customary cup: ~236.6 mL — used in most American cookbooks
- US legal cup (nutrition labels): exactly 240 mL — a rounding used on packaged food labels
- Metric cup: exactly 250 mL — used in Australia, New Zealand, and parts of Canada
- Imperial (traditional UK) cup: ~284 mL — half an imperial pint; now largely obsolete in UK recipes
A recipe from an Australian baking blog using “1 cup” of flour means 250 mL, not the 237 mL a US cook would measure. Over several cups that gap accumulates and can meaningfully affect the result. When in doubt, look at where the recipe originated.
Volume vs weight: when to use each
Volume measures like cups and tablespoons are accurate for liquids, where density is consistent. For dry ingredients, density varies depending on how loosely or firmly the ingredient sits:
- A cup of sifted flour weighs roughly 120 g; a cup of flour packed firmly can weigh closer to 160 g — a 33% difference.
- Granulated sugar is relatively consistent by volume, but brown sugar compacts significantly when packed.
For anything where precision matters in baking — bread, pastry, cakes — weighing in grams produces more reliable results than converting from cups. Use volume conversions for quick savory cooking and rely on a kitchen scale for sensitive baked goods.
Notes
Mind the standard: a metric cup is 250 mL and a traditional UK cup about 284 mL, both larger than the US 237 mL cup. An Australian tablespoon is 20 mL (4 teaspoons), not 15 mL. For baking, weigh dry ingredients in grams rather than converting to cups — volume measures of flour vary widely with how you scoop.