A recipe calls for 15 grams of something, but your kitchen only has measuring spoons. Converting grams to tablespoons feels like it should be simple, but the honest answer changes depending on what you're measuring and that catches out even experienced cooks.

Use the calculator above for an instant grams to tablespoons conversion for dozens of common ingredients.If you need to convert in the opposite direction, try our Tablespoons to Grams converter, or use our Grams to Cups converter for accurate volume measurements.

Below, you'll find a full conversion chart, the exact formula behind it, and the small details that most guides skip entirely.

How Many Grams Are in a Tablespoon? (Quick Answer)

Just like cups, a tablespoon is a measure of volume, not weight. So the number of grams packed into it depends entirely on the ingredient's density. Here's a fast answer for the ingredients people ask about most:

• 1 tablespoon of flour ≈ 7.8 grams
• 1 tablespoon of sugar ≈ 12.5 grams
• 1 tablespoon of butter ≈ 14.2 grams
• 1 tablespoon of honey ≈ 21 grams
• 1 tablespoon of oil ≈ 13.5 grams
• 1 tablespoon of salt ≈ 18 grams
• 1 tablespoon of cocoa powder ≈ 7.7 grams

Notice honey weighs almost three times as much as flour, even though both fill the exact same spoon. That's the entire reason a single "grams per tablespoon" number never works across every ingredient.

Is a Tablespoon a Weight or a Volume Measurement?

A tablespoon always measures volume the amount of space something takes up never weight. This is a source of a lot of kitchen confusion, since grams measure the opposite: mass.

Because of this, converting grams to tablespoons always needs one extra piece of information: the ingredient's density. Dense ingredients like honey or salt pack more mass into the same spoon. Light, airy ingredients like flour or cocoa powder leave more space between particles, so they weigh less per spoonful.

How to Convert Grams to Tablespoons (The Formula)

Here's the exact formula every grams to tablespoons calculator relies on, including ours:

Tablespoons = Grams ÷ (14.79 × Density in g/mL)

For a simpler, ingredient-specific version:

Tablespoons = Grams ÷ Grams-Per-Tablespoon Value

Worked Example: 50 Grams of Flour to Tablespoons

This is one of the most-searched conversions, so let's walk through it step by step.

1. Find the grams-per-tablespoon value for flour: about 7.8 grams.
2. Divide: 50 ÷ 7.8 = 6.4.
3. Answer: 50 grams of flour equals about 6 1/3 tablespoons.

Worked Example: 30 Grams of Sugar to Tablespoons

1. Sugar weighs about 12.5 grams per tablespoon.
2. Divide: 30 ÷ 12.5 = 2.4.
3. Answer: 30 grams of sugar equals about 2 1/3 tablespoons.

Notice that 50 grams of flour and 30 grams of sugar land in a similar spoon-count range, even though the gram amounts are quite different. That's density doing the work behind the scenes.

Grams to Tablespoons Conversion Table

Here's a full chart covering the amounts people search for most 10g, 15g, 20g, 30g, 50g, and 100g across five common ingredients.

Grams	Flour	Sugar	Butter	Honey	Oil
10 g	1 1/4 tbsp	4/5 tbsp	2/3 tbsp	1/2 tbsp	3/4 tbsp
15 g	1 7/8 tbsp	1 1/5 tbsp	1 tbsp	3/4 tbsp	1 1/8 tbsp
20 g	2 1/2 tbsp	1 3/5 tbsp	1 1/3 tbsp	1 tbsp	1 1/2 tbsp
30 g	3 3/4 tbsp	2 2/5 tbsp	2 1/8 tbsp	1 2/5 tbsp	2 1/4 tbsp
50 g	6 1/3 tbsp	4 tbsp	3 1/2 tbsp	2 1/3 tbsp	3 3/4 tbsp
100 g	12 3/4 tbsp	8 tbsp	7 tbsp	4 3/4 tbsp	7 1/2 tbsp

Figures are rounded and based on the level (not heaped) US tablespoon.

1 Tablespoon in Grams for Common Baking Ingredients

Here's the reverse view what one level tablespoon weighs for the ingredients people convert most often:

• 1 tablespoon flour in grams: 7.8g
• 1 tablespoon sugar in grams: 12.5g
• 1 tablespoon butter in grams: 14.2g
• 1 tablespoon oil in grams: 13.5g
• 1 tablespoon honey in grams: 21g
• 1 tablespoon cocoa powder in grams: 7.7g
• 1 tablespoon peanut butter in grams: 16g
• 1 tablespoon salt in grams: 18g
• 1 tablespoon baking powder in grams: 12g
• 1 tablespoon yeast in grams: 9g

US Tablespoon vs. UK and Australian Tablespoon

Here's a detail most grams-to-tablespoons charts leave out completely: not every country's tablespoon is the same size.

Region	Volume	Notes
US (recipe standard)	14.79 mL	Used in most American recipes
US (nutrition labels)	15 mL	Rounded for FDA labeling purposes
UK (metric)	15 mL	Matches the US nutrition rounding
Australia	20 mL	Noticeably larger a common recipe trap

The Australian tablespoon is the real outlier here. It's about 35% larger than the US tablespoon, so an Australian recipe calling for "2 tbsp" of an ingredient contains meaningfully more than a US recipe using the same words. If a recipe's origin isn't specified, it's worth double-checking especially for small-batch baking, where a 35% error can visibly change the result.

Dry Ingredients vs. Liquid Ingredients: Does It Matter?

Liquids like honey, oil, and milk convert far more predictably than dry ingredients. A tablespoon of honey is always close to 21 grams, because liquid settles evenly and fills the spoon with no gaps.

Dry ingredients are a different story. Flour, cocoa powder, and brown sugar can trap air between particles, so how you fill the spoon changes the final weight:

• Spooned in loosely, then leveled: the standard most gram-per-tablespoon charts (including this one) are based on.
• Heaped or packed down: can add 15–25% more weight to the same tablespoon.

If a recipe says "1 heaped tablespoon," expect noticeably more than the values in this guide.

Quick Conversions: Tablespoons, Teaspoons, Cups, and mL

Since tablespoons rarely stand alone in a recipe, here are the conversions that come up alongside them:

• 1 tablespoon = 3 teaspoons
• 1 tablespoon = 14.79 mL (14.79 milliliters to tablespoons is exactly 1 tbsp)
• 16 tablespoons = 1 cup
• 1 US cup = 236.59 mL

So if a recipe gives you grams to teaspoons instead of tablespoons, just convert to tablespoons first, then multiply by 3. For example, 4 grams of salt is roughly 1/5 of a tablespoon, which works out to about 2/3 of a teaspoon.

Tips for Accurate Tablespoon Measurements

1. Level, don't heap. Every conversion in this guide assumes a level tablespoon scrape off the excess with a knife or the flat edge of the spoon.
2. Use a real measuring spoon, not a cutlery drawer spoon. Kitchen "tablespoons" and eating spoons are rarely the same size.
3. For small, precise amounts, weigh instead. A digital kitchen scale that reads to 0.1g removes the guesswork completely for things like yeast or baking powder.
4. Check the recipe's country of origin. If it's Australian, remember the tablespoon is 20 mL, not 15 mL.
5. Don't tap the spoon to settle the ingredient. This packs it down and adds extra grams, just like it does with cups.

FAQ's

How many grams are in a tablespoon?

It depends on the ingredient. A tablespoon of flour weighs about 7.8 grams, a tablespoon of sugar weighs about 12.5 grams, and a tablespoon of honey weighs about 21 grams. Always check the specific ingredient rather than using one number for everything.

What is 15g in tablespoons?

For flour, 15 grams is about 1 7/8 tablespoons. For sugar, it's about 1 1/5 tablespoons. For butter, 15 grams is almost exactly 1 tablespoon. The exact answer depends on the ingredient's density.

How do you convert grams to tablespoons?

Divide the number of grams by the ingredient's grams-per-tablespoon value. For example, 50 grams of flour ÷ 7.8 grams per tablespoon ≈ 6.4 tablespoons. The tricky part is knowing the correct grams-per-tablespoon figure, which is different for every ingredient.

Is a tablespoon a weight or volume measurement?

A tablespoon measures volume the space an ingredient fills not weight. This is exactly why grams-to-tablespoons conversions need an extra step: you have to know the ingredient's density before you can turn a weight into a spoon measurement.

Why does 1 tablespoon not always equal the same grams?

Two reasons. First, different ingredients have different densities, so the same spoon holds different amounts of mass. Second, even with the same ingredient, a heaped tablespoon can weigh 15–25% more than a level one, and a packed-down dry ingredient weighs more than a loosely spooned one.

Sources

Ingredient densities on this page are based on standard culinary references, including the FAO/INFOODS Density Database and USDA FoodData Central. Tablespoon volume figures (14.79 mL for the US recipe standard, 15 mL for nutrition labeling) follow the U.S. FDA's guidelines for metric equivalents of household measures, and are consistent with NIST's published culinary measurement guidance.

Final Thoughts

Converting grams to tablespoons always comes back to one idea: a tablespoon measures space, and grams measure weight, so the ingredient's density has to be part of the equation. Flour, sugar, butter, honey, and oil all behave differently in the same spoon, which is exactly why a single conversion number never covers every ingredient.

You don't need to memorize any of this. Use the calculator at the top of this page for an instant, accurate grams to tablespoons conversion or bookmark the chart above for the next time a recipe leaves you reaching for measuring spoons instead of a scale.