Teaspoons and tablespoons to grams, by ingredient
A teaspoon is a measure of volume, about 5 milliliters. How much that spoonful weighs depends entirely on what's in it. Fluffy flour weighs about half as much as water, and honey weighs a good deal more. Here are level spoonfuls of the ingredients bakers measure most often.
| Ingredient | 1 teaspoon | 1 tablespoon |
|---|---|---|
| Water | 4.9 g | 15 g |
| Milk | 5.1 g | 15 g |
| Granulated sugar | 4.1 g | 12 g |
| Brown sugar (packed) | 4.4 g | 13 g |
| Powdered sugar | 2.4 g | 7.1 g |
| All-purpose flour | 2.5 g | 7.5 g |
| Cocoa powder | 1.8 g | 5.3 g |
| Cornstarch | 2.3 g | 7 g |
| Butter | 4.7 g | 14 g |
| Vegetable oil | 4.1 g | 12 g |
| Honey | 7 g | 21 g |
| Maple syrup | 6.5 g | 20 g |
| Baking powder | 4 g | 12 g |
| Baking soda | 4.6 g | 14 g |
| Table salt | 6 g | 18 g |
| Kosher salt (Diamond Crystal) | 2.7 g | 8 g |
| Kosher salt (Morton) | 5.3 g | 16 g |
| Instant yeast | 3.1 g | 9.3 g |
| Vanilla extract | 4.7 g | 14 g |
All amounts are for level US measuring spoons. Can't find your ingredient? Choose it in the converter above and switch the unit to teaspoons or tablespoons.
Grams to teaspoons
Going the other way is just as common, especially with small amounts from European recipes or nutrition labels. Here's what those gram amounts look like in measuring spoons, rounded to the nearest ⅛ teaspoon.
| Grams | Sugar | Table salt | Baking powder | Baking soda | Instant yeast |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 g | ¼ | ⅛ | ¼ | ¼ | ⅜ |
| 2 g | ½ | ⅜ | ½ | ⅜ | ⅝ |
| 3 g | ¾ | ½ | ¾ | ⅝ | 1 |
| 5 g | 1 ¼ | ⅞ | 1 ¼ | 1 ⅛ | 1 ⅝ |
| 7 g | 1 ¾ | 1 ⅛ | 1 ¾ | 1 ½ | 2 ¼ |
| 10 g | 2 ⅜ | 1 ⅝ | 2 ½ | 2 ⅛ | 3 ¼ |
| 15 g | 3 ⅝ | 2 ½ | 3 ¾ | 3 ¼ | 4 ⅞ |
Amounts in level teaspoons, rounded to the nearest ⅛. No ⅜ spoon? Use ¼ + ⅛. For ⅝, use ½ + ⅛; for ⅞, use ¾ + ⅛. 3 teaspoons = 1 tablespoon.
A quick sugar rule for nutrition labels
Nutrition labels list sugar in grams, which is hard to picture. A level teaspoon of granulated sugar weighs about 4.1 grams, so a handy rule is 4 grams of sugar ≈ 1 teaspoon. A drink with 40 grams of sugar contains roughly 10 teaspoons. And 1 gram of sugar on its own is about ¼ teaspoon.
How teaspoons, tablespoons and cups fit together
- 3 teaspoons = 1 tablespoon
- 2 tablespoons = ⅛ cup = 1 fluid ounce
- 16 tablespoons = 1 cup = 48 teaspoons
- 1 US teaspoon = 4.93 mL; 1 US tablespoon = 14.79 mL
Metric measuring spoons are rounded to 5 mL and 15 mL, which is close enough to the US sizes that you can use them interchangeably. The exception is Australia, where a standard tablespoon holds 20 mL, or 4 teaspoons. If an Australian recipe asks for a tablespoon of baking powder or salt, that's a third more than an American tablespoon.
Level, rounded and heaped spoons
Unless a recipe says otherwise, a teaspoon means a level teaspoon: fill the spoon, then sweep the back of a knife across the top. A rounded or heaped spoon can hold far more, sometimes close to double for powders like flour or cocoa. For leaveners and salt, where small amounts matter, always level.
The same goes for the spoons in your cutlery drawer. A dessert spoon or soup spoon isn't a standard size, and a "teaspoon" from a coffee set can hold noticeably more or less than a measuring teaspoon. Use proper measuring spoons, or weigh, when a recipe depends on precision.
Kosher salt is the trap
Salt shows why spoon-to-gram conversions need to be ingredient-specific. A teaspoon of fine table salt weighs about 6 grams. A teaspoon of Diamond Crystal kosher salt, with its big hollow flakes, weighs only about 2.7 grams, and Morton kosher salt sits in between at about 5.3 grams. Swap one for another by the spoon and you can easily double the salt in a recipe. If a recipe names a brand, follow it, or convert to grams.
Frequently asked questions
How many grams is a teaspoon?
It depends on the ingredient. A level teaspoon holds about 4.9 g of water, 4.1 g of granulated sugar, 2.5 g of flour, 6 g of table salt and 4 g of baking powder.
How many grams is a tablespoon?
Again, it depends on the ingredient. A level tablespoon holds about 15 g of water, 12 g of sugar, 7.5 g of flour, 14 g of butter and 21 g of honey.
How many teaspoons is 1 gram of sugar?
About ¼ teaspoon. One level teaspoon of granulated sugar weighs roughly 4 grams.
How many teaspoons is 5 grams?
For granulated sugar, 5 grams is about 1 ¼ tsp. For table salt it's about ¾ + ⅛ tsp, and for baking powder about 1 ¼ tsp.
How many teaspoons are in a tablespoon?
There are 3 teaspoons in a US or metric tablespoon. In Australia, a tablespoon is 20 mL, which equals 4 teaspoons.
Is a teaspoon 5 grams?
Only for water and liquids of similar density, and even then it's closer to 4.9 grams. A teaspoon is a volume, not a weight, so dry ingredients weigh less: about 4.1 g for sugar and 2.5 g for flour.