How to Measure a Tablespoon with and without Measuring Spoons

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Confidently tackle your recipes with handy replacements

Co-authored by Janice Tieperman Reviewed by Ollie George Cigliano

Last Updated: August 18, 2025 Fact Checked

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• Tablespoon Equivalents
|
• Best Measuring Practices
|
• Common Dry Ingredient Measurements
|
• Expert Q&A

|Show more |Show less

Tablespoons are an essential unit of measurement used in many recipes, but they aren’t synonymous with a typical spoon that you use during your meals. We’ll walk you through some easy substitutions to use if you don’t have a tablespoon on hand, along with how to properly measure both dry and wet ingredients using this tool. We’ve also included a list of tablespoon weights for common dry ingredients you may come across in your future recipes.

Things You Should Know

• One tablespoon is equal to 3 teaspoons, or 1/16 of a cup.
• If you’re measuring liquids, 1 tbsp equals around 15 mL.
• Roughly approximate the tip of your thumb to be the same size as a 1 tbsp portion.

Steps

Section 1 of 3:

Tablespoon Equivalents

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1. 
   1
   3 level teaspoons In the mathematical world of measuring cups and spoons, 1 tablespoon is equivalent to 3 teaspoons. By extension, the following measurements also equal 1 tbsp:
2. 
   2
   1/16 of a cup If you have nothing to measure with aside from a large measuring cup, pour your ingredient in so it’s coating the bottom of the cup very lightly. A tablespoon equals 1/16 of a cup, or:

   • ⅛ of a ½ cup
   • ¼ of a ¼ cup
   • ½ of an ⅛ cup
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3. 
   3
   15 mL of any liquid If you’re working with wet ingredients, a small liquid measuring cup may help you measure out 15 mL of whatever ingredient you’re using. Keep it in mind, though, that mL only measures volume (fluids), and shouldn’t be used for dry ingredients.
4. 
   4
   Tip of your thumb Look at your thumb pad, from the upper crease of your knuckle to the curved tip. This is roughly the same size as 1 tbsp of any given ingredient, and can be helpful if you’re measuring on the fly.
5. 
   5
   ½ a ping pong ball From a visual standpoint, it helps to compare an ingredient to a ping pong ball that’s cut in half evenly. Around 1 tbsp of an ingredient is roughly the same size as this shape.
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Section 2 of 3:

How to Properly Measure a Tablespoon

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1. 
   1
   Dry ingredients Tilt the container of your dry ingredient and stick the tablespoon inside, lifting up enough of the ingredient so the spoon is overflowing. Then, use the blunt edge of a butter knife (or another flat item, like a chopstick), to level off the overflowing ingredient.

   • Use this process when measuring dry ingredients with any type of measuring cup.
   • Alternative: Use a kitchen scale to get the most accurate measurements for your dry ingredients.
2. 
   2
   Wet ingredients Pour the wet ingredient directly into your tablespoon until it’s completely full. You don’t need to bother with a liquid measuring cup when you only need a small amount of a certain ingredient.
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Section 3 of 3:

Common Dry Ingredient Measurements

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1. Measuring your ingredients by weight allows you to be more accurate. Dry ingredients are measured in weight rather than volume—in other words, 1 tablespoon of flour doesn’t weigh the same as 1 tablespoon of sugar, which doesn’t weigh the same as 1 tablespoon of brown sugar, and so on and so forth. Using a kitchen scale to measure the precise weight of your ingredients helps you capture the ratio of ingredients needed for your recipes—and to help you out, we’ve created a cheat sheet with the weights (in grams) for common dry ingredients.

1 Tbsp of Dry Ingredients (Weight)

Ingredient	Weight (in grams)
All purpose flour	7.5 g
Almond flour	6 g
Baking powder	12 g
Baking soda	9 g
Bread crumbs	7 g
Bread crumbs (panko)	~3 g
Brown sugar	~13.5 g
Chocolate chips	~10.5 g
Coconut (unsweetened, shredded)	~3.5 g
Cornmeal	~8.5 g
Dried milk (nonfat)	7 g
Gluten-free all purpose flour	9.75 g
Glutinous rice flour	7.5 g
Meringue powder	10.75 g
Oats	5.75 g
Peanuts	~9 g
Pecans	~7 g
Pizza flour	7.75 g
Quinoa	~11 g
Rice flour (white)	~9 g
Rice (white)	~12.5 g
Salt (table)	18
Wheat germ	7 g
Whole wheat flour	~7 g
Yeast (instant)	9 g

Expert Q&A

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• Question

  Is it better to use measuring spoons/cups or a food scale?

  

  Maria Short
  Baker

  Maria Short is a Baker and the Owner of Short N Sweet Bakery & Cafe in Hilo, Hawaii. With over 24 years of experience, she specializes in specialty desserts and wedding cakes. She graduated from L’Academie de Cuisine’s Pastry Arts Program with honors and studied at Baltimore International Culinary College. In 2019, Maria competed in the 6th season of the Food Network’s Holiday Baking Championship. In 2010, she had a cake named one of “America’s Most Beautiful Cakes” by Brides magazine.

  

  Maria Short

  Baker

  Expert Answer

  I would invest in a scale and weigh all of your ingredients. It's very accurate, so you'll get much more consistent results.

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• Question

  Can I approximate a tablespoon with a regular dining spoon?

  

  Marrow Private Chefs
  Private Chefs

  Marrow Private Chefs are based in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida. It is a chefs’ collaborative comprised of an ever-growing number of chefs and culinary professionals. Though regionally influenced primarily by coastal, traditional southern, cajun, and creole styles and flavors, the chefs at Marrow have a solid background in all types of cuisine with over 75 years of combined cooking experience.

  

  Marrow Private Chefs

  Private Chefs

  Expert Answer

  It depends on what you're cooking. Much of the time, you can just approximate a tablespoon with a soup spoon, but if you're baking, you'll want to be more precise.

  Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
  Thank you for your feedback.
  If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow

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• Question

  Should I use a level or a heaped tablespoon?

  

  Community Answer

  A level spoon is generally recommended unless your recipe specifies otherwise.

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  Thank you for your feedback.
  If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow

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