What is 1 tbsp equal to in tsp?

Knowing how many teaspoons are in a tablespoon (how many teaspoon in a tbsp) is essential to great cooking.

Tip: Screenshot or print the chart below or save it to Pinterest for easy conversions in the future. 

Teaspoons and tablespoons are measurement units used in cooking to measure smaller amounts of ingredients such as spices, liquids, oils, and extracts. It's important to know the difference between a teaspoon and a tablespoon because they are not equal, and using the right one makes a big difference in the success of your recipes.

1 tablespoon = 3 teaspoons

Abbreviated: 1 tablespoon = 3 Tsp

It's important to remember that tablespoon is abbreviated tablespoon and teaspoon is abbreviated teaspoon. They are almost identical! That can be confusing, so when I write a recipe I always spell them out instead of using abbreviations (and I encourage other recipe writers to do the same).

Here is a handy chart to help you convert your measurements in the US:

For quick reference:

• How many teaspoons in a tablespoon?
  • 1 tablespoon = 3 teaspoons
• How many teaspoons in a tablespoon?
  • 2 tablespoons = 6 teaspoons
• How many tablespoons in ¼ cup?
  • • ¼ cup = 4 tablespoons
• How many tablespoons in 1 cup?
  • 1 cup = 16 tablespoons

Two Most Important Measurements to Remember:

Many times it's easy to just use your teaspoon or tablespoon measuring spoon per the recipe instructions. For me, the two most important measurements to remember are:

• There are 3 teaspoon in 1 tbsp

• There are 4 tablespoon in ¼ cup

If it feels confusing, screenshot the chart above or pin it to Pinterest for easy reference.

For our international friends, there aren't any significant differences using the US measurements for teaspoons and tablespoons in recipes written with metric measurements. Here are some fun facts to know:

Imperial (US) System vs. Metric System

In the US, we use the imperial system to measure teaspoons and tablespoons (denoted US teaspoon or US tablespoon). In most other parts of the world, people use the metric system.

When it comes to teaspoons and tablespoons, the differences are so small that, in general, US measurements are practically identical to metric measurements in this case.

In the imperial system, 1 tablespoon equals ½ fluid ounce (which is 14.79 milliliters to be exact.) In the metric system, a metric tablespoon equals exactly 15 milliliters, so you can see that 14.79 mL is almost identical to 15mL for spice and liquid measurement purposes.

Australian friends: Something I recently learned is that while Australia does use the metric system, the Australian tablespoon is slightly different. An Australian tablespoon equals 20 mL (0.68 US fluid ounces). Again, this is a small enough difference that you can use the US (imperial) or metric teaspoons and tablespoons interchangeably in your recipes.

There are 3 teaspoons in one tablespoon. An exception to this rule appears in Australia, where one Australian metric tablespoon (20mL) equals 4 Australian metric teaspoons (5mL). 1

On the basis of the 3:1 conversion factor, we can say the following:

• 1 ½ tablespoons = 4 ½ teaspoons (four and one half)

• ½ tablespoon = 1 ½ teaspoons (one and one half)

• ¼ tablespoon = ¾ teaspoon (three quarters)

• ¾ tablespoon = 2 ¼ teaspoons (two and one quarter)

If you want to convert a number of tablespoons into teaspoons, simply multiply the tablespoon number by 3. As an example, if your recipe calls for 4 tablespoons of self-raising flour, you can instead measure out 12 teaspoons (4 × 3 = 12).

Tablespoons and teaspoons reference chart

Tablespoon to teaspoon conversions

TablespoonsTeaspoons¼ tbsp¾ tsp½ tbsp1 ½ tsp¾ tbsp2 ¼ tsp1 tbsp3 tsp2 tbsp6 tsp3 tbsp9 tsp4 tbsp12 tsp5 tbsp15 tsp

Teaspoon to tablespoon conversions

TeaspoonsTablespoons1 tsp0.33 tbsp2 tsp0.67 tbsp3 tsp1 tbsp4 tsp1.33 tbsp5 tsp1.67 tbsp6 tsp2 tbsp7 tsp2.33 tbsp8 tsp2.67 tbsp9 tsp3 tbsp10 tsp3.33 tbsp11 tsp3.67 tbsp12 tsp4 tbsp13 tsp4.33 tbsp14 tsp4.67 tbsp15 tsp5 tbsp16 tsp5.33 tbsp17 tsp5.67 tbsp18 tsp6 tbsp19 tsp6.33 tbsp20 tsp6.67 tbsp

Different tablespoon and teaspoon sizes

Although tablespoons and teaspoons are commonly used in recipes throughout the world, their mL volume can vary from country to country. This is because whilst the United States uses an imperial unit system, many other countries use the metric system. To add to the confusion, there also exists an old UK imperial tablespoon and an Australian metric tablespoon. When it comes to home recipes, the differences in conversion are quite small. And, providing you're converting a tablespoon and a teaspoon from the same country, you'll likely get the same result anyway.

As an example, a metric tablespoon measures 15mL and a metric teaspoon measures 5mL. So, again there are 3 teaspoons in a tablespoon. The exception (there always has to be one) is with the Australian tablespoon and teaspoon, with an Australian tablespoon measuring 20mL and an Australian teaspoon measuring 5mL, giving a conversion factor of 4.

Tablespoon (mL)Teaspoon (mL)Tbsp to tspUnited States14.79 mL4.9289 mL3Metric15 mL3 mL3UK imperial (old)17.76 mL5.92 mL3Australian20 mL5 mL4

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