Tablespoons to Cups Converter
16 US tablespoons = 1 cup. Paste an amount or a whole recipe line and keep the answer as an exact fraction.
Tablespoons to cups: exact US fractions
| Tablespoons | Cups | Decimal |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1/16 | 0.0625 |
| 2 | 1/8 | 0.125 |
| 3 | 3/16 | 0.1875 |
| 4 | 1/4 | 0.25 |
| 8 | 1/2 | 0.5 |
| 12 | 3/4 | 0.75 |
| 16 | 1 | 1 |
Paste recipe lines without deleting ingredient names
Enter one amount per line, such as 3 tbsp butter, 1½ tablespoons olive oil, or 1/4 cup milk. A written unit overrides the default direction, so one pasted list can contain both tablespoons and cups.
Choose the measuring system before converting
U.S. recipe measures use 16 tablespoons per cup. The metric option uses a 15 mL tablespoon and 250 mL cup, while the Australian option uses a 20 mL tablespoon and 250 mL cup. Changing the setting reinterprets every line in that system; it does not convert an American utensil into an Australian one.
Volume is not ingredient weight
A cup of flour and a cup of butter occupy the same volume but do not weigh the same. This tool intentionally stops at tablespoons and cups rather than presenting a density estimate as an exact gram conversion.
Frequently asked questions
How many tablespoons are in a cup?
One US recipe cup equals 16 US tablespoons. Therefore 1/2 cup is 8 tablespoons, 1/4 cup is 4 tablespoons, and 1/8 cup is 2 tablespoons.
How many cups is 3 tablespoons?
Three US tablespoons equal exactly 3/16 cup, or 0.1875 cup. The converter keeps the fraction instead of rounding it to 0.19.
Why are Australian tablespoons different?
An Australian tablespoon is commonly 20 mL and a metric cup is 250 mL, so 12 1/2 Australian tablespoons equal one cup. The U.S. recipe setting uses 16 tablespoons per cup.
Can I paste a recipe line such as 3 tbsp butter?
Yes. Start the line with an amount, optionally add tbsp, tablespoon, cup, or cups, then the ingredient name. Paste up to 20 lines; each line keeps its ingredient label.
Can this convert cups of flour or butter to grams?
No. Tablespoons and cups are volume units, while grams measure mass. Converting to grams requires a specific ingredient density and packing method, so this page does not guess.