Last Updated on September 11, 2023
Once you know how many tablespoons in a 1/4 cup, it is easy to convert tablespoons to 1/4 cup if you only have measuring spoons on hand.
In this post, you will find useful information as well as quick conversion charts!
When cooking or baking, you can use these conversion charts to get the amount of ingredients right!
How many tablespoons 1/4 cup
Calculation requires the following steps:
There are 15 ml in a US tablespoon, and 240 ml in a US cup. so 1 cup equals 16 tablespoons.
The equation for cups to tablespoons is cups x 16 = tablespoons. For a quater cup, the equation is ¼ x 16 = 4.
There are 4 tablespoons in a 1/4 cup.
Or you can use this easy conversion formula, simply type in the size of cup you would like to convert to tablespoons.
Imperial vs Metric System
Imperial and metric are the two most widely used measurement systems in the world.
A lot of people don’t even realize that the United States is one of the most imperial countries in the world.
There are only three countries in the world- the U.S., Liberia, and Myanmar still use the imperial system, which measures distances, weights, heights, and areas.
In contrast to the metric system, these units cannot be divided into parts of hundreds or thousands.
Due to some reasons, the United States is the only real stronghold of the imperial system in the world today. However, there are differences between the U.S. Customary Units and Imperial Systems.
The U.S. Customary Units for Volume (Capacity)
The U.S. Customary System (also known as USCS or USC) is a measurement system widely used in the United States and uses units such as ounces, pounds, and tons.
It’s easy to understand because it’s based on everyday items like cups, tablespoons, and teaspoons that we encounter every day.
| Fluid Ounce | Cup | Pint | Quart | Gallon |
| 128 | 16 | 8 | 4 | 1 |
| 32 | 4 | 2 | 1 | ¼ |
| 16 | 2 | 1 | ½ | ⅛ |
| 8 | 1 | ½ | ¼ | 1/16 |
US Customary Cup vs. US Legal Cup
In the US, there is also another definition of a cup, called the US legal cup, which measures 240 mL.
Generally, legal cups are used for labeling based on US law (e.g. nutritional values), while customary cups are 237 ml in size and are generally used for recipes.
Metric Cup vs. Imperial Cup
There are about 237 milliliters in a US cup. 240 mL and 250 mL are rough equivalents; the latter fits nicely with a US pint of 500 mL and a pound of 500 g.
In Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, and the UK, a metric cup is 250 mL.
Previously, these countries used the imperial system, in which a cup was 284 mL or 6/5 US cups.
There is also a difference between a US cup and an Imperial cup. An imperial cup holds 10 imperial fluid ounces instead of 9.61 US fluid ounces.
Therefore, there is a slight difference in the conversion for ¼ imperial cups.
Despite being derived from the metric system, metric cups do not belong to the modern metric system, the International System of Units.
A metric cup holds 8.45 U.S. fluid ounces, slightly bigger than a legal U.S. cup but smaller than an imperial cup.
Tablespoons to Cups Conversion Chart
To make things even easier, here is a conversion chart to assist your cooking.
| US Tablespoons | US Cups |
| 1 Tablespoon | 1/16 Cup |
| 2 Tablespoons | 1/8 Cup |
| 4 Tablespoons | 1/4 Cup |
| 5 Tablespoons | 1/3 Cup |
| 8 Tablespoons | 1/2 Cup |
| 11 Tablespoons | 2/3 Cup |
| 12 Tablespoons | 3/4 Cup |
| 16 Tablespoons | 1 Cup |
Different Cups and tablespoon sizes
Cups, tablespoons, and teaspoons vary in size around the world.
In the United States, cups are used as a measuring method for cooking ingredients such as flour and sugar, while in Australia they are also used to measure liquids such as milk or water.
Understanding different sizes in different regions will help you to convert tablespoons into 1/4 cup.
| Country | mL | US Tbsp (14.8ml) | UK &International Tbsp (15ml) | UK Old Imperial Tbsp (17.76ml) | Australian Tbsp (20ml) |
| 1 US Customary Cup (Recipes) | 237 | 16 | 15.77 | 13.32 | 11.83 |
| 1 US Legal Cup (Label) | 240 | 16.23 | 16 | 13.51 | 12 |
| 1 UK Imperial Cup (Old Recipes) | 284.13 | 19.22 | 18.94 | 16 | 14.21 |
| 1 UK Metric Cup | 250 | 16.91 | 16.67 | 14.08 | 12.5 |
| 1 Australian & NZ Cup | 250 | 16.91 | 16.67 | 14.08 | 12.5 |
| 1 Canadian Cup | 250 | 16.91 | 16.67 | 14.08 | 12.5 |
| 1 South African Cup | 250 | 16.91 | 16.67 | 14.08 | 12.5 |
It doesn’t matter if you pick the wrong cup measurement (US, metric, or imperial) for most home cooks – they are all similar in size.
When it comes to baking or cooking with larger quantities, however, may require precision and accuracy.
Measuring Tips
📝 Always use standard measuring cups or spoons when measuring in cups and tablespoons. Never measure with a coffee cup or any other kitchen utensils.
📝 Fill the measuring cup with dry ingredients until it overflows. Make sure the flour, or another light, powdery dry ingredient, domes over the top of your measuring cup. With a knife, level the surface.
📝 Measure dry ingredients with the measuring spoon and level with a knife by scraping off any excess.
FAQ
It is common to abbreviate tablespoons as T (note: uppercase letter), TB, tbl, tbs, or tbsp.
The abbreviations for teaspoon are t and tsp.
A: In the past, bakers used coffee cups or tea cups to measure out ingredients. The small cups were about the same size as a standard tablespoon, which is why Americans used to use cup measurements for cooking.
It is useful to know “how many tablespoons in a 1/4 cup”! Comment below if you’d like to see more articles like this one!
More Unit Conversions
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- How many ounces are in a quart
- How many ounces are in a 1.5 liter?
- 10 Liters to gallons? How to convert?
- How many ounces in a gallon?
- Celsius to Fahrenheit
- 190 Celsius to Fahrenheit (190 °C to °F) Conversion
How many tablespoons in a 1/4 cup?
Ingredients
- There are 4 tablespoons in a 1/4 cup.
Instructions
- To make things easier, there is a quick conversion chart above to assist your cooking.
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Best I have seen yet for conversions!
Bruce