How Many Teaspoons in a Tablespoon?
There are 3 teaspoons in a tablespoon. It is one of the most useful numbers in the kitchen: if you cannot find your tablespoon, three level teaspoons do the same job. The converter scales it to any amount.
Quick answer: 1 tablespoon = 3 teaspoons · 1/2 tablespoon = 1.5 teaspoons · 1 tablespoon = 14.79 ml.
Tablespoons to teaspoons chart
| Tablespoons | Teaspoons | Milliliters |
|---|---|---|
| 1/2 tbsp | 1.5 tsp | 7.4 ml |
| 1 tbsp | 3 tsp | 14.79 ml |
| 1 1/2 tbsp | 4.5 tsp | 22.2 ml |
| 2 tbsp | 6 tsp | 29.57 ml |
| 3 tbsp | 9 tsp | 44.4 ml |
| 4 tbsp | 12 tsp | 59.1 ml |
A half tablespoon is the one worth memorizing: it is 1.5 teaspoons, so a recipe calling for half a tablespoon of vanilla just needs a teaspoon and a half. In metric terms, one US teaspoon is 4.93 ml and one US tablespoon is 14.79 ml, which is why tablespoons are usually rounded to 15 ml on measuring spoons.
Level, not heaped
The 3-teaspoon rule only holds for level spoonfuls. A heaped or rounded teaspoon can carry half again as much powder, which is exactly the kind of error that flattens a cake or oversalts a dough. Fill the spoon, then sweep the back of a knife across the top to level it off. This matters most for the powerful small-quantity ingredients: baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices. When a recipe leans on precision, weighing beats measuring, and our per-teaspoon weights back that up. Baking powder runs about 4 grams per teaspoon and baking soda about 4.8 grams, so a tablespoon of either is roughly three times that.
Why cooks memorize this one
Of all the kitchen conversions, teaspoons to tablespoons is the one worth knowing by heart. Measuring spoon sets get separated, and the tablespoon is the piece that goes missing most often. When it does, three level teaspoons rebuild it exactly. It also makes scaling recipes painless: to cut a tablespoon in thirds you just count out single teaspoons, and to add a third of a tablespoon you add one teaspoon. Because a cup is 16 tablespoons and a tablespoon is 3 teaspoons, a cup is also 48 teaspoons, which lets you climb between any two volume units with simple multiplication.
The Australian exception
Australia is the odd one out. Its standard tablespoon is 20 ml, which makes it equal to 4 teaspoons, not 3. Everywhere else, including the US, UK, Canada, and New Zealand, the tablespoon is about 15 ml and holds 3 teaspoons. So if an Australian recipe says "1 tablespoon of baking soda," it means a third more than a US tablespoon would. When you are following an Australian recipe, treat one of its tablespoons as 4 of your teaspoons. The safest fix for leaveners and salt is always to weigh them; see the tablespoons in a cup page for how this ripples up to cups.