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How to Convert Cooking Measurements
One US cup equals 236.588 mL, 16 tablespoons, or 48 teaspoons. That single relationship anchors most kitchen conversions. Everything else in US customary cooking measurements scales up or down from the teaspoon.
US customary volume units
The US system builds from the teaspoon in powers of small whole numbers. Each unit is a fixed multiple of the one before it.
| Unit | Abbreviation | mL equivalent |
|---|---|---|
| 1 teaspoon | tsp | 4.929 mL |
| 1 tablespoon | tbsp | 14.787 mL |
| 1 fluid ounce | fl oz | 29.574 mL |
| 1 cup | c | 236.588 mL |
| 1 pint | pt | 473.176 mL |
| 1 quart | qt | 946.353 mL |
| 1 gallon | gal | 3,785.41 mL |
These are US customary fluid measures. The UK and Australia use different definitions for some of the same unit names (more on that below).
Quick reference ratios
You do not need to memorize milliliter values for everyday cooking. These whole-number ratios let you convert between US units without a calculator.
| Conversion | Ratio |
|---|---|
| 3 tsp | = 1 tbsp |
| 2 tbsp | = 1 fl oz |
| 8 fl oz | = 1 cup |
| 16 tbsp | = 1 cup |
| 48 tsp | = 1 cup |
| 2 cups | = 1 pint |
| 2 pints | = 1 quart |
| 4 quarts | = 1 gallon |
So a half cup is 8 tablespoons or 24 teaspoons. A quarter cup is 4 tablespoons or 12 teaspoons. These are the conversions that come up most often when halving or doubling a recipe.
Worked example: a recipe calls for 2/3 cup of milk, but you only have a tablespoon measure. Since 1 cup = 16 tablespoons, 2/3 cup = 16 x 2/3 = 10 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons. The extra 2 teaspoons come from the remaining 2/3 of a tablespoon (and 1 tbsp = 3 tsp, so 2/3 tbsp = 2 tsp).
Converting between US and metric
Most of the world measures cooking ingredients in milliliters and grams. When working with a recipe from another country, the following conversions are the most useful.
| US measure | Metric equivalent |
|---|---|
| 1 tsp | 5 mL (rounded) |
| 1 tbsp | 15 mL (rounded) |
| 1 cup | 237 mL (rounded) |
| 1 pint | 473 mL |
| 1 quart | 946 mL |
| 1 gallon | 3.785 liters |
The rounded values of 5 mL per teaspoon and 15 mL per tablespoon are standard in nutrition labeling and close enough for cooking. The actual values (4.929 mL and 14.787 mL) differ by less than 2%, which is well within the margin of error for measuring spoons.
For larger volumes, remember that 1 quart is just under 1 liter, and 1 gallon is just under 4 liters. A 2-liter bottle of soda holds slightly more than half a gallon (0.528 gallons, to be exact).
The cooking converter handles all of these conversions instantly, including fractional amounts like 3/4 cup or 1.5 quarts.
US vs. UK vs. Australian measurements
This is where recipes from different English-speaking countries get confusing. The unit names are identical, but the volumes are not.
| Unit | US | UK (Imperial) | Australia |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 teaspoon | 4.929 mL | 5.919 mL | 5 mL |
| 1 tablespoon | 14.787 mL (3 tsp) | 17.758 mL (3 tsp) | 20 mL (4 tsp) |
| 1 cup | 236.588 mL | 284.131 mL | 250 mL |
| 1 pint | 473.176 mL | 568.261 mL | 570 mL |
| 1 gallon | 3,785.41 mL | 4,546.09 mL | 4,546.09 mL |
Three differences matter most in practice:
The Australian tablespoon is 20 mL, not 15 mL. It contains 4 Australian teaspoons rather than 3. When following an Australian recipe that calls for 2 tablespoons of something, you actually need about 40 mL, not 30 mL. That is a 33% difference, enough to affect baked goods.
The UK/Imperial pint is 568 mL, not 473 mL. A British pint is about 20% larger than an American pint. This explains why a “pint” of beer in London looks bigger than a “pint” in New York.
The Australian and metric cup is 250 mL, not 237 mL. Australia, New Zealand, and many metric recipes define a cup as exactly 250 mL. The difference is small (about 5.7%) but compounds over multiple cups in a recipe. Four metric cups of flour is 1,000 mL; four US cups is 946 mL. In bread baking, that 54 mL gap changes the texture of the dough.
When converting a recipe from another country, always check which measurement system the author uses. A recipe from a UK food blog and a recipe from a US cookbook will mean different things by “1 cup.”
Dry vs. wet measuring
Volume measurements work differently for liquids and dry ingredients, even though the units are the same.
Liquid measuring cups have a pour spout and markings up the side. You fill to the line and read at eye level. A cup of water, milk, or oil is always 236.588 mL regardless of technique.
Dry measuring cups are flat-topped containers meant to be filled and leveled off with a straight edge. The volume inside is the same 236.588 mL, but the actual weight of ingredient varies. A cup of all-purpose flour weighs about 120 grams. A cup of granulated sugar weighs about 200 grams. A cup of brown sugar, packed, weighs about 220 grams.
For baking, weighing dry ingredients in grams is more accurate than measuring by volume. A kitchen scale removes the variability that comes from how tightly flour is packed into a cup. Professional bakers and most European recipes specify dry ingredients by weight for this reason.
When a recipe lists both volume and weight (for example, “2 cups / 240g flour”), use the weight measurement if you have a scale.
Scaling recipes up or down
When halving or doubling a recipe, a few fractional conversions come up repeatedly.
| Original amount | Halved | Doubled |
|---|---|---|
| 1 cup | 1/2 cup (8 tbsp) | 2 cups (1 pint) |
| 3/4 cup | 6 tbsp | 1-1/2 cups |
| 2/3 cup | 1/3 cup | 1-1/3 cups |
| 1/2 cup | 1/4 cup (4 tbsp) | 1 cup |
| 1/3 cup | 2 tbsp + 2 tsp | 2/3 cup |
| 1/4 cup | 2 tbsp | 1/2 cup |
| 1 tbsp | 1-1/2 tsp | 2 tbsp |
The trickiest one is halving 1/3 cup. One-third of a cup equals 5 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon. Half of that is 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons. For oven temperatures in international recipes, the temperature converter handles Fahrenheit, Celsius, and Kelvin. For anything more complicated with volumes and weights, the cooking converter and weight converter can do the arithmetic for you.