Cups to Tablespoons
1 cup = 16 tablespoons
There are exactly 16 tablespoons in a US cup, which makes this one of the few conversions with no rounding at all. That fixed relationship is handy when you don't own a cup measure but do have a tablespoon: ¼ cup is 4 tablespoons, ⅓ cup is a slightly awkward 5⅓ tablespoons, ½ cup is 8, and ¾ cup is 12. It works for both wet and dry ingredients because it is a pure volume conversion.
Cups to Tablespoons table
| Cups | Tablespoons |
|---|---|
| 0.25 cups | 4 tablespoons |
| 0.5 cups | 8 tablespoons |
| 1 cup | 16 tablespoons |
| 2 cups | 32 tablespoons |
| 3 cups | 48 tablespoons |
| 4 cups | 64 tablespoons |
| 5 cups | 80 tablespoons |
| 6 cups | 96 tablespoons |
| 8 cups | 128 tablespoons |
| 10 cups | 160 tablespoons |
| 12 cups | 192 tablespoons |
| 14 cups | 224 tablespoons |
| 16 cups | 256 tablespoons |
| 18 cups | 288 tablespoons |
| 20 cups | 320 tablespoons |
| 24 cups | 384 tablespoons |
| 32 cups | 512 tablespoons |
Convert a specific amount
Straight to the answer for the quantities people look up most:
How to convert cups to tablespoons
To convert cups to tablespoons, multiply by 16. This is a volume conversion, so it applies to any liquid or dry ingredient measured by volume, water, oil, milk, flour, and more.
Common conversions: 2 cups = 32 tablespoons · 4 cups = 64 tablespoons · 8 cups = 128 tablespoons · 16 cups = 256 tablespoons.
Tip: Measuring a large amount in tablespoons is slow and error-prone. Above about ¼ cup, use a proper cup or a scale; reserve the tablespoon route for small quantities.
For ingredient-specific weight conversions (like cups to grams of flour or rice), see our ingredient converters.
Cups to Tablespoons: frequently asked
How many tablespoons in a cup?
There are 16 US tablespoons in a US cup.
How many tablespoons in a third of a cup?
One-third of a cup is 5⅓ tablespoons (5 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon).