How Many Teaspoons In A Tablespoon: Tips For Adding Correct Amount

Rosemary December 07, 2021 | 09:33

If you’re scaling a recipe up or down, going from tablespoons to teaspoons isn’t as straightforward as say, scaling from cups.

How Many Teaspoons In A Tablespoon? Tips For Adding Correct Amount. Photo KnowInsiders

But knowing that 1 tablespoon equals 3 teaspoons will help you scale everything.

Tablespoons and teaspoons are units of volume that are handy for measuring smaller amounts of ingredients (e.g. spices, oils, vanilla extract) that wouldn’t be practical to weigh on a scale and are too small to measure in cups. They are essential to cooking and baking and used in both the metric and imperial systems.

What is A Tablespoon?

1 tablespoon is about 1 typical large dinner spoon. This is the spoon we usually used to serve food, like soup, cereals or spaghetti. In cookbooks, you might see the word tablespoon abbreviated as tbsp. When a recipe calls for dry ingredients like sugar or flour (for example, mix 1tbsp. of cornflour with water), there are two basic measurements.

When the recipe calls for a leveled tablespoon, you have to measure it by filling the spoon with the ingredient and scraping it level. In contrast, when the recipe calls for a heaped or rounded tablespoon, the ingredient should not be leveled off and should include a heap above the spoon.

What is A Teaspoon?

A teaspoon is a small spoon that holds about 2ml. The size of a teaspoon can actually range from 2.5 to 7.3 ml. However, as a unit of measurement in cooking, it is equal to 1/3 tablespoon. According to US measurements, there are 6 teaspoons in 1 fluid ounce, and there are 16 teaspoons in 1/3 cup. In cookbooks, you might see the word tablespoon abbreviated as tsp.

We generally use teaspoons for adding sugar to and stirring hot drinks like tea or coffee or for eating some foods (ex: yoghurt, desserts, etc.) The head of a teaspoon is usually oval in shape. Moreover, teaspoons are a common part of place setting.

Relationship Difference Between Tablespoon and Teaspoon

Photo yuppiechief

Both are common measurements used in recipes.

Mixing the two measurements can make your dish taste really bad; for example, if you add 1 tbsp. instead of 1 tsp. salt, your dish will be too salty to eat.

When a recipe calls for a leveled spoon, you have to measure it by filling the spoon with the ingredient and scraping it level. In contrast, when the recipe calls for a heaped or rounded spoonful, the ingredient should not be leveled off and should include a heap above the spoon.

How Many Teaspoons in a Tablespoon?

Photo yuppiechief

When working with a limited set of measuring spoons or scaling your favorite recipes up or down, memorizing this kitchen fact will save time:

1 tablespoon is equal to 3 teaspoons

For everything else, use this list of conversions for cooking measurements:

How many teaspoons in a tablespoon? 1 U.S. tablespoon = 3 U.S. teaspoons

How many teaspoons in a ½ tablespoon? ½ U.S. tablespoon = 1½ U.S. teaspoons

How many ¼ teaspoons in a tablespoon? 1 U.S. tablespoon = 12 U.S. ¼ teaspoons

How many teaspoons in 3 tablespoons? 3 U.S. tablespoons = 9 U.S. teaspoons

How many tablespoons in ¼ cup? ¼ U.S. cup = 4 tablespoons

Reasons Why You Should Know How Many Teaspoons Are in a Tablespoon?

Photo Flickr

Adding the wrong amount of salt can ruin a dish.

There is no doubt that salt makes a dish taste better. It elevates the natural aroma in the dish and lowers the unpleasant tastes. Basically, food without salt tastes one dimensional and boring, so you need enough salt to bring out the flavors and allow the dish to shine.

If the dish calls for 1 tablespoon of salt, it is better to gradually add the salt to reach the desired amount so that the flavors can meld. You add 1 teaspoon, taste it, and then repeat the process until you like the result. Knowing that it takes 3 teaspoons to make 1 tablespoon allows you to start by adding 1 teaspoon at a time until you get to 1 tablespoon.

The following chart shows all the major imperial dry measurement conversions you should know:

Cup (c)	Tablespoon (tbsp)	Teaspoon (tsp)
1 c	16 tbsp	48 tsp
3/4 c	12 tbsp	36 tsp
2/3 c	10 tbsp + 2 tsp	32 tsp
1/2 c	8 tbsp	24 tsp
3/8 c	6 tbsp	18 tsp
1/3 c	5 tbsp + 1 tsp	16 tsp
1/4 c	4 tbsp	12 tsp
1/6 c	2 tbsp + 2 tsp	8 tsp
1/8 c	2 tbsp	6 tsp
1/16 c	1 tbsp	3 tsp

Tips for Remembering Dry Measurement Conversions

To wrap up, here are two useful tips to help you better remember these conversions.

#1: For Tablespoons to Teaspoons, Multiply by 3

As we discussed above, 1 tbsp = 3 tsp. By this logic, 1 tsp = 1/3 tbsp.

If you need to convert tbsp to tsp, all you need to do is multiply the number of tbsp needed by 3. Likewise, if you’re doing a teaspoon to tablespoon conversion, you would need to simply divide the number of tsp by 3 to get its equivalent in tbsp.

Still having trouble remembering this? Try using this catchy saying: "One big T equals teaspoons three." (Remember that a tablespoon can be represented by a capital T!)

#2: For Cups to Tablespoons, Multiply by 16

Anytime you need to convert cups to tablespoons (or even to teaspoons), just recall that there are 16 tablespoons in 1 cup. Thus, to find out how many tbsp you need, simply multiply the number of cups a recipe calls for by 16.

For example, say a recipe calls for 1 3/4 cups of sugar but you only have a tablespoon on hand. All you'd need to do is multiply 1 3/4 by 16 to get its equivalent in tbsp:

1 3/4 = 7/4

7/4 * 16/1 = 112/4

= 28 tbsp

If you ever want to check your math, just use the chart above as a reference. In this case, you’d add together the number of tablespoons listed for both "1 cup" and "3/4 cup." This gets you the same answer: 28 tbsp