The surest way to measure without measuring spoons is to weigh your ingredient instead. A level teaspoon of granulated sugar is about 4.1 g and a level tablespoon of all purpose flour is about 7.5 g, so a kitchen scale can stand in for a full set of spoons.
| Ingredient | 1 tsp | 1 tbsp |
|---|---|---|
| All purpose flour | 2.5 g | 7.5 g |
| Granulated sugar | 4.1 g | 12.4 g |
| Butter | 4.7 g | 14.1 g |
| Honey | 7 g | 21 g |
| Table salt | 6 g | 18 g |
| Baking powder | 4 g | 12 g |
Weigh it instead
If you own any digital scale, you're set. Put a small bowl on it, press tare, and add the ingredient until you hit the weight in the chart. This works for dry and sticky ingredients alike, and honey is actually easier this way, because nothing gets left behind in a spoon.
The catch is that the weight depends on the ingredient. A teaspoon of salt and a teaspoon of flour take up the same space but weigh very different amounts, which is why each ingredient gets its own row. For anything not in the chart, look up its weight in a trusted chart like King Arthur Baking's before you start.
How to measure without measuring spoons using kitchen math
No scale? A measuring cup can do more than you'd think, because spoons and cups are all related:
| Measure | Equals | About |
|---|---|---|
| 1 tsp | 1/3 tbsp | 4.9 ml |
| 1 tbsp | 3 tsp | 14.8 ml |
| 2 tbsp | 1 fluid ounce | 29.6 ml |
| 1/4 cup | 4 tbsp | 59.1 ml |
| 1 cup | 16 tbsp | 236.6 ml |
So if a recipe needs 2 tbsp of oil, fill a liquid measuring cup to the 1 fluid ounce line. If it needs 4 tbsp of anything, use a 1/4 cup measure. For liquids, a measuring cup with ml markings gets you close to a tablespoon at the 15 ml line.
Why dinner spoons are a gamble
The spoons in your silverware drawer aren't made to any measuring standard. A soup spoon from one set can hold far more than a teaspoon from another, and decorative spoons are all over the place. They're fine for stirring sugar into tea, but they can throw off baking.
If you have no other choice, here's a way to make a dinner spoon more useful. Use it for a liquid first: fill it with water and pour it into a measuring cup with ml markings. Do that a few times and you'll know roughly how much your spoon holds. Then level it off every time you scoop.
Common mistakes
- Guessing leaveners. Baking powder, baking soda and salt are where small errors show up most. Weigh these if you can.
- Using a heaped spoon. Recipes usually mean level. Sweep off the top with a knife.
- Mixing up tsp and tbsp. A tablespoon is three times a teaspoon, so this one mistake can triple an ingredient.
- Converting the wrong way. Use grams for dry ingredients and ml only for liquids.
A practical tip: if lost or mismatched spoons keep slowing you down, a MeasureMate digital measuring spoon covers small measures with one tool. It scoops and weighs in one step, reads in 0.1 g steps, and the tare button zeroes the reading between ingredients. It also switches between grams, ounces and other units, so you can match whatever your recipe uses.
Quick questions
Is a regular spoon the same as a teaspoon?
No. Silverware isn't made to a measuring standard, so a "teaspoon" from your drawer may hold more or less than a true 4.9 ml teaspoon.
How can I measure 1 tsp without a spoon?
Weigh it. For granulated sugar that's about 4.1 g, and for table salt about 6 g.
How many teaspoons are in a tablespoon?
Three. And 16 tablespoons make a cup.
Weights based on the King Arthur Baking ingredient weight chart and NIST Special Publication 811.