There are 3 teaspoons in a tablespoon. A US tablespoon holds about 14.79 ml and a teaspoon about 4.93 ml. So the answer to how many teaspoons in a tablespoon is always three in a US recipe, but what that tablespoon weighs in grams depends entirely on what's in it.
| Ingredient | 1 tsp | 1 tbsp |
|---|---|---|
| Water | 4.9 g | 14.8 g |
| Table salt | 6.0 g | 18.0 g |
| Morton kosher salt | 5.3 g | 16.0 g |
| Diamond Crystal kosher salt | 2.7 g | 8.0 g |
| Granulated sugar | 4.1 g | 12.4 g |
| All purpose flour | 2.5 g | 7.5 g |
| Honey | 7.0 g | 21.0 g |
| Instant yeast | 3.0 g | 9.0 g |
Spoon math you can count on
US kitchen measures stack neatly, which makes scaling a recipe easy:
- 1 tbsp = 3 tsp
- 2 tbsp = 1 fluid ounce, about 29.57 ml
- 4 tbsp = 1/4 cup = 12 tsp
- 8 tbsp = 1/2 cup = 24 tsp
- 16 tbsp = 1 cup = 48 tsp
So if you're halving a recipe that calls for 1 tbsp of baking powder, you need 1 1/2 tsp. Tripling 1 tsp of vanilla gives you exactly 1 tbsp.
Teaspoons in a tablespoon outside the US
Most of the world agrees on three teaspoons per tablespoon, but the size of the spoon changes a little:
- US customary: about 14.79 ml, 3 tsp.
- US nutrition labels: rounded to 15 ml.
- Metric (UK and many other countries): exactly 15 ml, 3 tsp.
- Australia: 20 ml, which is 4 metric teaspoons.
The gap between 14.79 and 15 ml is too small to matter in cooking. The Australian tablespoon is a different story. It's about a third bigger, so if you follow an Australian recipe with US spoons, use 4 tsp wherever it says 1 tbsp. For salt, baking soda and yeast, that difference shows.
Why a tablespoon of salt and a tablespoon of flour weigh so differently
A spoon measures space, not weight. Fine, dense crystals like table salt pack tightly, so a tablespoon weighs about 18 g. Flour is light and fluffy, so the same spoon holds only about 7.5 g. Kosher salt shows the effect within one ingredient: King Arthur Baking lists a tablespoon of Morton kosher at 16 g but Diamond Crystal at just 8 g, because Diamond Crystal's hollow flakes take up more room.
That's why swapping one salt for another by the spoon can make a dish twice as salty. Grams don't care about crystal shape.
Level, not heaped
Every number in the table above assumes a level spoon. A heaped teaspoon can easily carry far more than a level one, and a scant one less. To level, overfill the spoon, then sweep a knife across the top. For sticky things like honey, grease the spoon first or weigh it instead.
If you'd rather skip the leveling, a MeasureMate digital measuring spoon scoops and weighs in one step. The display reads in 0.1 g steps, the tare button zeroes the reading, and it switches between grams, ounces and other units, so you can see the actual weight of a teaspoon of whatever you're using.
Quick questions
How many teaspoons are in 1/4 cup?
Twelve. A quarter cup is 4 tbsp, and each tablespoon is 3 tsp.
Is 1 tablespoon the same as 15 ml?
Close enough for cooking. A US tablespoon is about 14.79 ml and a metric one is 15 ml. An Australian tablespoon is 20 ml.
How many grams is a teaspoon?
It depends on the ingredient. A teaspoon of water is about 4.9 g, table salt about 6 g, granulated sugar about 4.1 g and all purpose flour about 2.5 g.
Weights based on NIST volume conversions and King Arthur Baking's ingredient weight chart.