Do you want to know how many ml are in a tablespoon? This post teaches you how to make the conversion quickly and accurately.
Recipes often list ingredients in tablespoons. But it is important to know that a tablespoon is more than a type of cutlery. It is an accurate, defined unit for measuring volume.
The quick answer to the question of how many milliliters is in a tablespoon? Around 15 ml.
Read the guide below for a deep-dive answer and a handy conversion chart from tablespoons to ml and ml to tablespoons.
There are two main systems for measuring volume and weight used in the world today.
One is the United States Customary System, which is derived from the British Imperial System. The other one is the Metric System (also called SI System or International System of Units), which is used in most other countries.
The metric system measures in milliliters and liters, grams and kilos. The US customary system measures in tablespoons, teaspoons and cups as well as ounces (see my post on how many grams in a cup).
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What Is A Milliliter?
A milliliter is a unit of volume in the metric system. It is equal to 1/1000 of a liter. "Milli" is the prefix for thousandths.
Abbreviations for milliliters are ml or mL.
What Is A Tablespoon?
A tablespoon is a US customary unit of measure, just like teaspoons or cups. 1 tablespoon is equal to 3 teaspoons or ½ fluid ounce.
1 tablespoon is exactly 14.786765 milliliters. But in recipes and for nutrition labeling, this number is rounded up to 15 milliliters.
Here are useful conversions at a glance:
- 1 tablespoon = 3 teaspoons
- 4 tablespoons = ¼ cup = 60 ml
- 16 tablespoons = 1 cup = 240 ml
The tablespoons you eat with are likely to be all kinds of sizes. They probably won't measure 15 mL.
For best results in cooking and especially in baking, it is important to use proper measuring spoons. You can buy these in kitchen shops or online.
Sometimes, tablespoons are referred to as T in recipes (and teaspoons as t).
On Sugar Free Londoner, we always write "tablespoon" to avoid confusion.
How Many ml In A Tbsp?
According to the metric system, 1 cup contains exactly 236.588 ml. A tablespoon is exactly 1/16th of a cup.
This means there are 14.786765 milliliters in a US tablespoon.
This number is generally rounded up to 15 ml.
It is important to note that different countries have slightly different metrics:
- A UK and Canadian (metric) tablespoon is exactly 15 ml.
- The Australian tablespoon is 20ml.
- The Imperial tablespoon is equivalent to 17.7582 milliliters. It is not used officially any more.
Quickest Way To Convert ml to Tbsp
The easiest way to convert tablespoons to milliliters is to use Google. If you search for "tablespoon to ml", there is a handy converter.
Tablespoons to Milliliters Conversion Table
Here is a conversion chart that gives you an overview of tablespoons and ml.
Tablespoons (US) | Milliliters (rounded) |
---|---|
â…“ tbsp | 5 ml |
½ tbsp | 7.5 ml |
1 tbsp | 15 ml |
2 tbsp | 30 ml |
3 tbsp | 45 ml |
4 tbsp | 60 ml |
5 tbsp | 75 ml |
6 tbsp | 90 ml |
7 tbsp | 105 ml |
8 tbsp | 120 ml |
9 tbsp | 135 ml |
10 tbsp | 150 ml |
Milliliter To Tablespoon Conversion Table
This is a conversion chart for common amounts of milliliters to tablespoons.
Milliliters (ml) | Tablespoons (US) |
---|---|
1 ml | 0.07 |
2 ml | 0.14 |
5 ml | 0.34 |
10 ml | 0.68 |
20 ml | 1.35 |
50 ml | 3.38 |
100 ml | 6.76 |
500 ml | 33.8 |
1000 ml | 67.6 |
Expert Tips To Measure Accurately
Using measuring spoons in cooking or baking is not as precise as measuring milliliters with digital kitchen scales.
To measure liquids accurately, fill the spoon right to the rim.
Measuring spoons can also be used for dry ingredients. When a recipe calls for a tablespoon of flour or sugar, we are measuring the volume of the ingredient in grams.
To measure dry ingredients accurately, scoop the ingredient into the tablespoon. Don't press or compact it. Then, level the top of the spoon.
The ingredient should only be measured heaped or rounded if the recipe specifically states it.
Using The Tablespoon To ml Conversion In Recipes
Here are a few of the recipes on Sugar Free Londoner that call for ingredients in tablespoons:
- Keto Iced Coffee - This recipe uses 2 tablespoons of heavy cream. That's 30 ml of cream.
- Keto Eggplant Parmesan - The eggplant in this casserole needs to be brushed with 5 tablespoons of olive oil. This is equivalent to 75 ml of oil.
- Coconut Flour Cake - My coconut flour cake requires 2 tablespoons or 30 ml almond milk to soften the batter.
Gill
Very handy, thanks. Looking forward to the dry ingredients conversion table as it’s such a pain having to convert from cups to grams
Justin
Thank you. This is so helpful.
Lia
Hi Katrin
Thank you for this very useful article.
If you write an article on converting from ounces to grams (or vice versa), please would you supply a table conversion of sticks of butter and tablespoons of butter to grams? The Internet gives different gram weights for a stick of butter. As for measuring butter in tablespoons... An accurate gram table for butter would be much appreciated.
Your website is the best keto website, many thanks for producing recipes of such precision, clarity and reliability!
Katrin Nürnberger
Yes, I will be publishing tables for converting common baking ingredients. Thank you for your comment.
Susan
This is very helpful. Usually this is not too difficult but I recently printed 1/2 of a recipe, because that was the only size of pan I have. One thing came up @.0.17 tsp. I can guess, but I think I can get more accurate with your chart and conversion formulas. Thank you so much, Katrin. Looking forward to more.
Gail
.17 is one-sixth, so half of your 1/3 tsp measuring spoon.
Kimberly
Thank you - this is very informative and useful. I look forward to the other articles in this series
Brian
Thank you very informative
Shona
Hi, this is really useful
Will you be doing one of these resources for dried ingredients? My biggest issue is the conversion from cups to grams as I'm UK - I seem to find different results on different sites
Katrin Nürnberger
Yes, I have that on my list. I'll keep you posted via the newsletter.
Brian
Excellent!! Finally, someone who explains it in a very understandable way. Thank you!
Carol Machen
Great, informative article. I love your recipes Katrin and look forward to reading your future articles.
Katrin Nürnberger
Thank you so much Carol!
Elizabeth A Hanka
This is a liquid conversion cart, correct?
Katrin Nürnberger
Yes, this chart is for liquids.