How many grams in a tablespoon
2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour weigh 15 grams: pick the ingredient, type the spoons, get grams.
2 tbsp all-purpose flour
15 g
US cup of 236.6 mL, spooned and leveled
How this is measured
1 US cup of all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled, weighs 120 g. Based on King Arthur's ingredient weight chart: fluff, spoon into the cup until overflowing, level with a straight edge (as King Arthur's guide to measuring flour describes).
Other values: Scooped, 142 g a cup (America's Test Kitchen baking conversion chart): 17.75 g; Sifted, 115 g a cup (USDA Nutritive Value of Foods, Home and Garden Bulletin No. 72): 14.38 g.
How to convert tablespoons to grams
To calculate the grams, multiply the number of tablespoons by the weight of one tablespoon of the ingredient. A tablespoon is a unit of volume, and a US tablespoon is exactly 1/16 of a US cup (NIST Handbook 44), so one tablespoon weighs a sixteenth of a cup of the same thing. All-purpose flour is 120 grams a cup by King Arthur Baking's chart, so a tablespoon is 7.5 grams and 2 tablespoons are 15 grams. Butter is 227 grams a cup by USDA data, so a tablespoon is 14.19 grams.
A teaspoon is a third of a tablespoon, 1/48 of a cup, so its weight is a third of the tablespoon's: 4.13 grams for granulated sugar.
How many grams in a tablespoon of each ingredient
One level US tablespoon and teaspoon of each ingredient, with the source of the weight behind it:
The weight of one US cup from the named source, divided by 16 for a tablespoon and by 48 for a teaspoon; level spoons.
| Ingredient | Grams in 1 tbsp | Grams in 1 tsp | How the cup is filled | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flours and starches | ||||
| All-purpose flour | 7.5 g | 2.5 g | Spooned and leveled | A |
| Bread flour | 7.5 g | 2.5 g | Not stated | A |
| Cake flour | 7.06 g | 2.35 g | Not stated | B |
| Whole wheat flour | 7.06 g | 2.35 g | Not stated | A |
| Almond flour | 6 g | 2 g | Not stated | A |
| Cornstarch | 7 g | 2.33 g | Not stated | A |
| Sugars and syrups | ||||
| Granulated sugar | 12.38 g | 4.13 g | Scooped | B |
| Brown sugar | 13.31 g | 4.44 g | Packed | A |
| Powdered sugar | 7.06 g | 2.35 g | Unsifted | A |
| Caster (superfine) sugar | 11.88 g | 3.96 g | Not stated | A |
| Honey | 21.19 g | 7.06 g | Not stated | C |
| Maple syrup | 19.69 g | 6.56 g | Not stated | C |
| Dairy and fats | ||||
| Butter | 14.19 g | 4.73 g | Not stated | C |
| Milk | 15.25 g | 5.08 g | Not stated | C |
| Buttermilk | 15.31 g | 5.1 g | Not stated | C |
| Soy milk | 15.25 g | 5.08 g | Not stated | D |
| Almond milk | 15.25 g | 5.08 g | Not stated | D |
| Oat milk | 15.25 g | 5.08 g | Not stated | D |
| Heavy cream | 14.88 g | 4.96 g | Not stated | C |
| Half-and-half | 15.13 g | 5.04 g | Not stated | C |
| Whipped cream | 7.5 g | 2.5 g | Not stated | C |
| Sour cream | 14.38 g | 4.79 g | Not stated | C |
| Greek yogurt | 15.31 g | 5.1 g | Not stated | D |
| Plain yogurt | 15.31 g | 5.1 g | Not stated | C |
| Cream cheese | 14.5 g | 4.83 g | Not stated | C |
| Shredded cheddar | 7.06 g | 2.35 g | Shredded | C |
| Vegetable oil | 13.63 g | 4.54 g | Not stated | C |
| Pantry | ||||
| Water | 14.76 g | 4.92 g | Not stated | E |
| Rolled oats, dry | 5.06 g | 1.69 g | Not stated | C |
| White rice, long-grain, raw | 11.56 g | 3.85 g | Not stated | C |
| White rice, long-grain, cooked | 9.88 g | 3.29 g | Not stated | C |
| Brown rice, long-grain, raw | 11.56 g | 3.85 g | Not stated | C |
| Brown rice, cooked | 10.63 g | 3.54 g | Not stated | A |
| Cocoa powder | 5.25 g | 1.75 g | Not stated | A |
| Chocolate chips | 10.63 g | 3.54 g | Not stated | A |
| Mini chocolate chips | 11.06 g | 3.69 g | Not stated | A |
| White chocolate chips | 10.63 g | 3.54 g | Not stated | A |
| Peanut butter | 16.88 g | 5.63 g | Not stated | A |
| Table salt | 18 g | 6 g | Not stated | A |
| Leaveners | ||||
| Baking soda | 18 g | 6 g | Not stated | A |
| Baking powder | 12 g | 4 g | Not stated | A |
| Instant yeast | 9 g | 3 g | Not stated | A |
Sources: A — King Arthur Baking ingredient weight chart; B — America's Test Kitchen baking conversion chart; C — USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy; D — USDA FoodData Central, FNDDS survey foods; E — NIST Chemistry WebBook (Standard Reference Database 69), water.
Tbsp to grams conversion table
Common spoon counts for the ingredients recipes give in tablespoons most often:
US tablespoons (1/16 cup), level. Flour spooned and leveled, brown sugar packed.
| Tablespoons | All-purpose flour | Granulated sugar | Butter | Brown sugar | Honey | Vegetable oil |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ½ tbsp | 3.75 g | 6.19 g | 7.09 g | 6.66 g | 10.59 g | 6.81 g |
| 1 tbsp | 7.5 g | 12.38 g | 14.19 g | 13.31 g | 21.19 g | 13.63 g |
| 2 tbsp | 15 g | 24.75 g | 28.38 g | 26.63 g | 42.38 g | 27.25 g |
| 3 tbsp | 22.5 g | 37.13 g | 42.56 g | 39.94 g | 63.56 g | 40.88 g |
| 4 tbsp | 30 g | 49.5 g | 56.75 g | 53.25 g | 84.75 g | 54.5 g |
| 5 tbsp | 37.5 g | 61.88 g | 70.94 g | 66.56 g | 105.9 g | 68.13 g |
| 6 tbsp | 45 g | 74.25 g | 85.13 g | 79.88 g | 127.1 g | 81.75 g |
| 8 tbsp | 60 g | 99 g | 113.5 g | 106.5 g | 169.5 g | 109 g |
| 10 tbsp | 75 g | 123.8 g | 141.9 g | 133.1 g | 211.9 g | 136.3 g |
| 12 tbsp | 90 g | 148.5 g | 170.3 g | 159.8 g | 254.3 g | 163.5 g |
| 16 tbsp | 120 g | 198 g | 227 g | 213 g | 339 g | 218 g |
A tablespoon of water is not 15 grams
A gram of water takes up about a milliliter, so people often round a tablespoon of water to 15 grams. A US tablespoon is 14.79 mL, though, and water at 20 °C weighs 14.76 grams in it (density from the NIST Chemistry WebBook). The 15 mL tablespoon of US nutrition labels (21 CFR 101.9) and of metric measuring spoons holds 14.98 grams. Neither is 15 grams exactly, and any other ingredient is further off: oil is lighter than water, honey much heavier (21.19 grams a tablespoon).
Level spoons, not heaped
Every weight here is for a level spoon: filled, then scraped flat with a knife. A heaped tablespoon can hold far more, and no source gives a fixed weight for it. Scooping packs a spoon the same way it packs a cup: King Arthur Baking measured a cup of all-purpose flour at up to 160 grams when packed, against about 120 grams fluffed, spooned and leveled. For flour, spoon it into the measure and level it, or weigh it.
Teaspoons to grams
For small amounts switch the "from" unit to tsp. A level US teaspoon holds 6 grams of table salt, 4.13 grams of granulated sugar, 1.75 grams of cocoa powder and 2.5 grams of all-purpose flour. King Arthur Baking gives the leaveners by the spoon: a teaspoon of baking soda is 6 grams, of baking powder 4 grams, and a tablespoon of instant yeast 9 grams. Spices are not in the converter yet.
Butter by the tablespoon
America's Test Kitchen counts a stick of butter as 8 tablespoons, half a cup. With the USDA cup weight, one tablespoon of butter is 14.19 grams, 4 tablespoons are 56.75 grams and 8 tablespoons 113.5 grams. The butter converter works in sticks too.
Questions
How much is 1 tbsp in grams?
It depends on the ingredient: 14.19 grams of butter, 12.38 grams of granulated sugar, 7.5 grams of all-purpose flour, 13.63 grams of vegetable oil. The table above lists every ingredient.
Is 5 grams 1 tablespoon?
No, 5 grams is less than a level tablespoon of anything in the table. It is about a teaspoon of a few ingredients: 4.92 grams for a teaspoon of water, 4.13 grams for granulated sugar.
Is 20 grams one tablespoon?
Only for dense, heavy ingredients: a tablespoon of honey is 21.19 grams, of maple syrup 19.69 grams. 20 grams of all-purpose flour is 2.67 tbsp.
Is 20 grams 1 teaspoon?
No. Even honey, the heaviest ingredient in the table, is 7.06 grams a teaspoon.
How many tablespoons are in 100 g of butter?
7.05 tbsp, a little less than a stick: a tablespoon of butter weighs 14.19 grams.
How many tablespoons is 1 gram of powder?
A small fraction of one: 1 gram of cocoa powder is 0.571 tsp, 1 gram of powdered sugar 0.425 tsp. Amounts this small are better weighed.
How do I convert grams to tablespoons?
Divide the grams by the weight of one tablespoon, or use the grams to tablespoons converter, which also splits the result into tablespoons and teaspoons.
Sources
- 21 CFR 101.9 (US nutrition labeling)
- America's Test Kitchen baking conversion chart
- America's Test Kitchen, Baking Basics: Measuring Ingredients
- King Arthur Baking ingredient weight chart
- King Arthur Baking, How to measure flour
- Manufacturer's label serving size, as listed in USDA FoodData Central (Branded Foods)
- NIST Chemistry WebBook (Standard Reference Database 69), water
- NIST Handbook 44, Appendix C
- NIST Special Publication 430, Household Weights and Measures
- USDA FoodData Central, FNDDS survey foods
- USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy
- USDA Nutritive Value of Foods, Home and Garden Bulletin No. 72
- Weights and Measures Act 1985 (UK), Schedule 1
- Grams to tablespoons converter15 grams of all-purpose flour is 2 tbsp: pick the ingredient, type the grams, get tablespoons and teaspoons.
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- How many mL in a tablespoonA US tablespoon is 14.79 milliliters: type tablespoons, pick the spoon standard, get milliliters.
- Cups to grams converter and conversion tableOne US cup weighs 198 grams of granulated sugar but 227 grams of butter: pick the ingredient and type the cups.
- How many cups in one stick of butterOne stick of butter is 8 tbsp, ½ cup and 4 ounces: type any butter amount and get all the others.
- Grams to cups converterPick the ingredient, type the grams and get US cups and spoons, with the fill method the weight assumes.
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- Ingredient weight chartOne US cup of every ingredient we have a sourced weight for, in grams; change the amount or unit and every row follows.