A little help in the kitchen

Cooking measurements

From teaspoons to cups, find clear conversions for spices and everyday ingredients — so every dish is just right.

Practical guidance. Clear measurement conventions.

Common conversions

Quick reference for everyday cooking and baking.

View full conversion chart

Cup capacity240 mL250 mL

Recipe tsp = 5 mL Recipe tbsp = 15 mL
Match your recipe's cup. Exact US customary units are separate converter choices.

Featured measurement guides

6 guides to help you in the kitchen

Spices & Herbs

A level spoon, every time

A little care with a measuring spoon brings consistency to your cooking.

Baking

Know the size of your cup

240 mL or 250 mL? Match the cup in your recipe before converting.

Liquids

Make sense of liquid measures

Move between teaspoons, tablespoons, millilitres and litres with confidence.

Weights

Weight is not volume

Why cups and grams need an ingredient-specific reference.

Cooking Staples

Pieces and weight, together

Keep counts and author-supplied alternate amounts in step.

Cooking Staples

Scale a recipe thoughtfully

Adjust ingredient amounts while keeping timing and doneness in mind.

A level spoon, every time

Use a proper measuring spoon and fill it level with the rim. This tool uses 5 mL for a teaspoon and 15 mL for a tablespoon. Ordinary cutlery varies in shape and capacity; match the capacity printed on your measuring spoon.

A pinch, dash or heaped spoon is approximate. None has a universal exact weight or volume. Follow the recipe's guidance, and use a level spoon unless it asks for something different.

Whole and ground spices behave differently, and grinding, packing and moisture affect weight. A spoon of salt, oil or chopped coriander can each weigh a different amount; an ingredient name alone is not enough for a gram conversion.

Know the size of your cup

Cup sizes vary. A 240 mL cup holds 16 of this tool's 15 mL tablespoons. A 250 mL metric cup has a different capacity. A US customary cup is 236.5882365 mL; choose the explicit US cup unit for that measure. Use the cup size specified in your recipe or marked on your measuring tool.

In our recipe controls, a cup without a stated capacity can scale as a fraction of a cup, but cannot convert to mL until its size or an author-supplied equivalent is known. Choosing a capacity here applies to this calculator; it does not change a recipe's authored measurements.

The weight of flour or sugar depends on the ingredient and how it is filled or packed. For weight conversions, use a kitchen scale or the reviewed alternate measurement supplied for that exact ingredient. Whole-wheat flour (atta) and other flours are not interchangeable density references.

Make sense of liquid measures

Millilitres and litres measure volume. One litre is 1000 mL. Under this tool's declared convention, one teaspoon is 5 mL and one tablespoon is 15 mL, so three teaspoons make one tablespoon.

Use the selected cup capacity when converting cups, and match it to your recipe. These are fixed volume conversions; they do not tell you how much an ingredient weighs.

An ounce (oz) measures weight. A US fluid ounce measures volume, about 29.57 mL. They are different units, and other regional fluid-ounce conventions differ. This calculator labels US fluid ounces, US liquid pints and US liquid quarts explicitly: 2 US cups make 1 US liquid pint; 4 make 1 US liquid quart.

Our recipe teaspoon and tablespoon remain 5 mL and 15 mL in Metric and US kitchen views. Exact US customary teaspoons and tablespoons are separate choices (4.92892159375 mL and 14.78676478125 mL). Choosing an explicit US unit here changes that calculator unit; it does not relabel a recipe's authored spoon convention.

Weight is not volume

Grams, kilograms and avoirdupois ounces measure weight. One kilogram is 1000 g; one avoirdupois ounce is 28.349523125 g, or approximately 28.35 g when rounded. One pound is 16 ounces, or 453.59237 g.

Tablespoons and cups measure volume. A volume-to-weight conversion needs a reliable reference for the ingredient, its preparation and packing method. This calculator never guesses grams per cup from an ingredient name.

Our recipe controls show a gram conversion only when the author supplies a reviewed density or alternate measurement for that ingredient. Otherwise choose a compatible volume unit, or weigh the recipe's original gram amount. Author-supplied ingredient estimates remain approximate.

Pieces and weight, together

When an author supplies both 6 tomatoes and about 800 g, changing the amount to 3 tomatoes also changes that supplied weight to about 400 g. These values illustrate an authored equivalent; they are not a general reference for every tomato.

Counts stay proportional. Half a chilli means using half of a whole chilli, rather than silently rounding up. Cut or weigh the share you need.

On a recipe, hover over or focus an amount for its measurement details, and select it to open this guide. Use the pencil on the right to edit either compatible unit. Alternate weights always belong to the ingredient and preparation the author specified. Kitchen views preserve authored spoon and cup amounts; weight-only or volume-only views still need a reviewed reference when crossing between those dimensions.

Scale a recipe thoughtfully

Changing 4 servings to 6 multiplies measurable ingredient amounts by 1.5. Changing 600 g of potatoes to 900 g does the same. One tablespoon becomes 1½ tablespoons, equivalent to 22.5 mL under our spoon convention.

Method amounts marked as scalable by the author adjust too: 5 mL oil becomes 7.5 mL. Ordinary method text stays as written until the author adds a scalable amount. Ingredients marked 'to taste' keep their wording.

Cooking times and temperatures stay as written; follow the method's doneness cues for a larger batch. Shopping pack sizes and cart quantities are separate from the amount used in your recipe.

A useful kitchen companion

Quick converter

Convert between compatible measures. No ingredient weights are guessed.

Amount

From unit

To unit

Use a decimal or a fraction, such as 0.5, 1/2 or 1 1/2.

Your result

3 teaspoons

1 tsp = 5 mL; 1 tbsp = 15 mL.

Grams and cups need a reviewed reference for the ingredient and preparation. Use a scale when that reference is unavailable.

Keep it close while you cook

Full conversion chart

Selected recipe cup: 240 mL · Recipe teaspoon: 5 mL · Recipe tablespoon: 15 mL · US customary units are labelled separately
Measure	Equivalent
1 teaspoon	5 mL
1 tablespoon	3 teaspoons
1 tablespoon	15 mL
¼ cups	60 mL
½ cups	120 mL
1 cup	240 mL
1 cup	16 tablespoons
1 L	1000 mL
1 kg	1000 g
1 oz	≈ 28.35 g
1 US cup	≈ 236.59 mL
1 US liquid pint	2 US cups
1 US liquid quart	4 US cups
1 US fl oz	≈ 29.57 mL
1 US teaspoon	≈ 4.93 mL
1 US tablespoon	≈ 14.79 mL
1 lb	16 oz

≈ means the displayed value is rounded. These are unit conversions, not ingredient-density estimates. A cup without a specified size, a pinch or a heaped spoon has no fixed equivalent.

Reference: NIST household measurement guidance and NIST conversion factors. Match the recipe's stated convention.

Level, not heaped

Measure with a level spoon unless your recipe says otherwise.

Weight depends on the ingredient

For cups to grams, use a reviewed ingredient reference or a scale.

oz and fl oz are different

Ounces measure weight. Fluid ounces measure volume.

From a good measure to a great meal

Measure confidently. Cook creatively.

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