How Many Tablespoons Are in 1/3 Cup?

Why it's not a round number: A full US cup holds 16 tablespoons. Dividing 16 by 3 gives 5.33 tablespoons. Since 1 tablespoon = 3 teaspoons, that leftover 0.33 of a tablespoon equals 1 teaspoon. So:

• 1/3 cup = 5 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon (which is 16 teaspoons total)

Handy cup-to-tablespoon chart

• 1/4 cup = 4 tablespoons
• 1/3 cup = 5 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon
• 1/2 cup = 8 tablespoons
• 2/3 cup = 10 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons
• 3/4 cup = 12 tablespoons
• 1 cup = 16 tablespoons

Quick tip: If you don't need to be exact (for something like cooking rather than baking), rounding to about 5 tablespoons is close enough. For baking, where precision matters more, use the full 5 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon — or better yet, a 1/3-cup measuring cup.

Two similar answers: How Many Tablespoons Are in 1/4 Cup? and How Many Teaspoons Are in a Tablespoon?.

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