Tablespoons to Teaspoons Converter

Enter the volume in tablespoons or teaspoons below to convert. There are 3 teaspoons in every tablespoon — a fixed ratio that never changes, regardless of what you’re measuring.

How to Use This Tablespoons to Teaspoons Converter

• Choose your direction. Select “Tablespoons to Teaspoons” or “Teaspoons to Tablespoons” using the toggle above.
• Enter your amount. Type the number of tablespoons or teaspoons you want to convert.
• Click Convert. Your result appears instantly below.
• Switch direction anytime. The amount field and unit label update automatically when you change direction, so you don’t have to re-enter anything.

How to Convert Tablespoons to Teaspoons (tbsp to tsp)

To convert a measurement in tablespoons to teaspoons, multiply the volume by the conversion ratio of 3 teaspoons per tablespoon. Since 1 tablespoon equals 3 teaspoons, you can use this formula:

For example, here’s how to convert 5 tablespoons to teaspoons using the formula above:

5 tbsp × 3 = 15 tsp

To convert in the other direction, divide the number of teaspoons by 3:

Tablespoons = Teaspoons ÷ 3

How Many Teaspoons Are in a Tablespoon?

There are 3 teaspoons in a tablespoon, which is why that value appears in the formula above.

1 tbsp = 3 tsp

For fractional tablespoons — for example, finding how many teaspoons are in 1/2 tablespoon — multiply the fraction by 3 the same way: 1/2 × 3 = 1.5 teaspoons.

Fractional Tablespoon Amounts in Teaspoons Recipes often call for fractional amounts like 1¼ or 2¾ tablespoons. Here’s how those work out in teaspoons, using the standard US 3:1 ratio.

Scroll horizontally on smaller screens to see the full chart.

Australian Tablespoon to Teaspoon Chart An Australian tablespoon is larger than a US tablespoon — 20 mL versus about 14.8 mL — which changes the ratio from 3:1 to 4:1. This chart also applies to older UK recipes, since traditional British tablespoons were closer in size to the Australian standard than to the modern US one.

If you’re working from an Australian recipe or an older British one, use this chart instead of the standard US chart above — the ratio is different enough that using the wrong one can throw off a recipe noticeably.

What Is a Tablespoon?

A tablespoon is a unit of volume equal to 3 teaspoons, or 1/2 fluid ounce. One tablespoon equals 14.7868 milliliters, though for nutrition labeling purposes in the US, it’s rounded to 15 milliliters.

The tablespoon is a US customary unit of volume. It’s typically abbreviated as tbsp, though you may also see it written as T, Tbls, or Tb — so “1 tablespoon” could appear as 1 tbsp, 1 T, 1 Tbls, or 1 Tb depending on the source.

What Is a Teaspoon?

A teaspoon is a unit of volume equal to 1/3 of a tablespoon, or 1/6 of a fluid ounce. One teaspoon equals approximately 4.929 milliliters, though nutrition labeling rounds this to exactly 5 milliliters.

The teaspoon is also a US customary unit of volume. It’s typically abbreviated as tsp, though you may also see t, ts, or tspn — so “1 teaspoon” could appear as 1 tsp, 1 t, 1 ts, or 1 tspn; they are all forms of short form.

Both units measure volume, not weight, which is why the 3:1 ratio between them stays fixed no matter what ingredient you’re measuring — unlike converting to grams, where the result depends on the ingredient’s density.

Tablespoon to Teaspoon Conversion Table

Tablespoons	Teaspoons
1 tbsp	3 tsp
2 tbsp	6 tsp
3 tbsp	9 tsp
4 tbsp	12 tsp
5 tbsp	15 tsp
6 tbsp	18 tsp
7 tbsp	21 tsp
8 tbsp	24 tsp
9 tbsp	27 tsp
10 tbsp	30 tsp
12 tbsp	36 tsp
14 tbsp	42 tsp
16 tbsp (1 cup)	48 tsp

When to Convert Tablespoons to Teaspoons

• “You only have one size of measuring spoon“. If a recipe calls for teaspoons but you only have a tablespoon on hand (or vice versa), converting lets you measure accurately with what’s available.
• “Scaling a recipe up or down“. Small quantities in teaspoons can become awkward to measure repeatedly when a recipe is doubled or tripled — converting to tablespoons simplifies the process.
• “Following an old or handwritten recipe“. Many older recipes list quantities inconsistently between teaspoons and tablespoons — converting helps you double-check that the amounts make sense together.
• “Adjusting spice or leavening amounts“. Precise small-quantity ingredients like baking soda, baking powder, or salt are often listed in teaspoons; converting to tablespoons is useful when scaling a recipe that uses several of them.

Tips for Measuring Accurately

Why This Ratio Exists

The 3:1 relationship between tablespoons and teaspoons isn’t arbitrary — it comes directly from how these units were standardized. In the US customary system, a teaspoon is defined as approximately 4.929 milliliters, and a tablespoon as approximately 14.787 milliliters. Divide the tablespoon value by the teaspoon value and you land almost exactly on 3, because the tablespoon was effectively defined as “three teaspoons” from the outset — a deliberate choice that made scaling recipes by hand far simpler for cooks who didn’t have access to standardized measuring cups or scales.

This standardization became especially important once cookbooks started being printed and distributed widely in the 1800s. Before that, “a spoonful” varied depending on whose kitchen you were in. As spoon-based measurements became formalized in Tips for Measuring, the clean 3:1 ratio meant a cook could double or triple a recipe’s small-quantity ingredients (spices, leavening agents, extracts) with simple multiplication, rather than needing a conversion table for every adjustment.

That legacy is why teaspoons and tablespoons remain two of the most common measuring tools in any kitchen today, even as digital scales have become widely available and arguably more precise for larger quantities. For small amounts — a teaspoon of vanilla extract, half a tablespoon of oil — a measuring spoon is still faster and more practical than pulling out a scale.

Frequently Asked Questions

References

• Merriam-Webster, “tablespoon”
• U.S. Food & Drug Administration, Guidance for Industry: Guidelines for Determining Metric Equivalents of Household Measures
• Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Cooking Conversion Guide

Need a different conversion? Check our Tablespoons to Cups Converter, Ounces to Cups Converter, or Grams to Cups Converter for more kitchen measurement tools.