You're standing over a bowl of muffin batter, the recipe calls for a third of a cup of melted butter, and your only clean measuring cup is a dirty mess in the dishwasher. Or maybe you're scaling down a massive batch of grandma’s famous chili and the math is starting to make your head spin. We’ve all been there. It feels like it should be a simple round number, but the kitchen isn't always that kind.
So, let's get right to it: how many tbsp in a third cup?
🔗 Read more: Bae: What Most People Get Wrong About the Meaning and History
The short answer is 5 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon.
If you want to get technical—and in baking, you usually do—it is exactly $5.333$ tablespoons. Since most of us don't have a "0.333" tablespoon sitting in our utensil drawer, we have to break it down into units that actually exist in a standard kitchen set.
Why a Third Cup Is Such a Headache
Kitchen math is weird because it relies on a base-16 system for cups and ounces, but then suddenly switches to base-3 when you get down to teaspoons and tablespoons. It’s a mess.
Most people know that 4 tablespoons make a quarter cup. That's easy. It’s clean. But when you move up to that 1/3 cup mark, you’re crossing into the land of repeating decimals. Because 1 cup equals 16 tablespoons, you’re basically trying to divide 16 by 3.
The math looks like this: $$16 / 3 = 5.3333...$$
In a professional kitchen or a lab, you might weigh this out in grams to be perfect. But for the home cook making a Saturday morning pancake breakfast, "5 tablespoons and a teaspoon" is the magic formula that keeps things from getting gummy or dry.
The Breakdown: Tablespoons, Teaspoons, and Ounces
If you really want to master the volume of a third cup, you have to look at the hierarchy of measurements. It’s basically a family tree where everyone is related by factors of three and four.
✨ Don't miss: The Cheese Bar in Camden: Why This Sticky Spot Still Rules the North London Food Scene
One tablespoon is equal to three teaspoons. This is the "golden rule" of US customary measurements. If you have 5 tablespoons, you have 15 teaspoons. Add that extra teaspoon we mentioned earlier, and you’re at 16 teaspoons total.
Wait. Let’s look at that again.
If 1/3 cup is 16 teaspoons, then a full cup (which is three times that amount) is 48 teaspoons.
Does the math hold up?
16 tablespoons per cup x 3 teaspoons per tablespoon = 48 teaspoons.
Boom. It works.
If you’re looking at fluid ounces, a third of a cup is approximately 2.67 ounces. Most liquid measuring cups have markings for 2 ounces and 4 ounces, which makes the 1/3 cup line feel like a bit of a guessing game. Honestly, if you’re using a liquid measuring cup, it’s usually better to just use the "1/3" line if it has one, rather than trying to eyeball the ounces.
Does It Change if You're in London or Sydney?
Standardization is a relatively new luxury. If you are using an old recipe from the UK or Australia, things get a little wonky.
In the United States, we use the US Customary System. Here, a tablespoon is roughly 14.8 ml. In the UK, Canada, and Australia, they often use the metric tablespoon, which is a nice, round 15 ml. For most recipes, that 0.2 ml difference is totally irrelevant. You won’t notice it in a stew. You probably won't even notice it in a cake.
However, Australia is the wild card. A traditional Australian tablespoon is actually 20 ml (4 teaspoons). If you’re following an Aussie recipe and it asks for 1/3 cup, you might find that their "tablespoon" count is different because their base units are larger. Always check the origin of your recipe if the texture feels off.
The Accuracy Trap: Why "Close Enough" Isn't Always Enough
Baking is chemistry. Cooking is art.
If you are making a stir-fry and you need 1/3 cup of soy sauce, and you accidentally put in 5 flat tablespoons instead of 5 tablespoons and a teaspoon, your dinner will be fine. It might be a tiny bit less salty, but no one is going to call the food police.
But if you are making a soufflé or a delicate sponge cake? That missing teaspoon matters.
A teaspoon is about 5% of the total volume of a 1/3 cup measure. If you leave it out, you’re altering the ratio of liquid to dry ingredients. In a recipe that relies on precise hydration—like bread or certain pastries—that 5% can be the difference between a light, airy crumb and a dense, rubbery brick.
Pro Tip: Using the "Level and Sweep"
Since we know there are 5 tablespoons and 1 teaspoon in a third cup, how you actually measure those tablespoons is the next hurdle.
Don't just scoop the flour and shake it until it looks level. That’s how you end up with "packed" flour, which can weigh up to 20% more than "sifted" or "spooned" flour.
- Use a spoon to fluff up the ingredient in its container.
- Spoon the ingredient into your tablespoon until it overflows.
- Use the back of a straight-edged knife to sweep the excess off the top.
This ensures that your 5 tablespoons are actually the volume they’re supposed to be. If you do this five times, then add your leveled teaspoon, you will be as close to a perfect 1/3 cup as humanly possible without a digital scale.
Conversion Cheat Sheet for Your Brain
Sometimes you just need a quick reference while your hands are covered in dough.
- 1/3 Cup = 5 Tablespoons + 1 Teaspoon
- 2/3 Cup = 10 Tablespoons + 2 Teaspoons
- 1 Cup = 16 Tablespoons
- 1/6 Cup (half of a third) = 2 Tablespoons + 2 Teaspoons
It’s also helpful to remember that two-thirds of a cup is just doubling the 1/3 cup measurement. So, if 1/3 is 5 tbsp + 1 tsp, then 2/3 is 10 tbsp + 2 tsp. If you try to do that math in the middle of a stressful Thanksgiving dinner prep, it’s much easier to remember "five and one" than trying to divide decimals in your head.
What About Dry vs. Liquid?
Technically, a tablespoon of water and a tablespoon of flour occupy the same volume. However, the tools we use to measure them are different for a reason.
Dry measuring cups (the nested plastic or metal ones) are designed to be leveled off at the brim. Liquid measuring cups (the glass ones with a spout) have extra space at the top so you don't spill the milk on your way to the mixing bowl.
🔗 Read more: Why Every Picture of Tobacco Plant You See Online is Probably Wrong
When you are measuring out how many tbsp in a third cup, you’re likely using individual measuring spoons. These are considered "dry" measures, even though we use them for vanilla extract and oil too. Just make sure that if you’re measuring a liquid in a tablespoon, you fill it right to the very rim without letting the surface tension cause it to overflow.
The Digital Scale: The Ultimate "Cheat Code"
If you’re tired of washing six different spoons just to get to a third of a cup, do yourself a favor: buy a digital kitchen scale.
In 2026, there’s really no reason not to have one. Most modern recipes provide weights in grams. For water or milk, 1/3 cup is approximately 79 or 80 grams. For flour, it’s usually around 40 to 45 grams depending on the brand.
Using a scale eliminates the "how many tablespoons" question entirely. You put the bowl on the scale, hit "tare" to zero it out, and pour until the number hits 80g. It’s faster, more accurate, and leaves you with way fewer dishes to wash at the end of the night.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
One big mistake people make is using a "heaping" tablespoon to try and account for that extra partial tablespoon. "I’ll just do five big scoops," they think.
Don't do that.
A heaping tablespoon can actually hold nearly double the volume of a level tablespoon depending on the ingredient. If you’re measuring honey or peanut butter, a "heaping" scoop is a nightmare of inaccuracy. Stick to the 5 + 1 rule.
Another mistake is confusing the dessert spoon with a tablespoon. If you’re grabbing a piece of silverware from your cutlery drawer to measure your 1/3 cup, stop. A standard "tablespoon" in a cutlery set is often much smaller than a measuring tablespoon. Use actual calibrated measuring spoons.
Actionable Next Steps
To make your kitchen life easier going forward, here is what you should actually do:
- Print a conversion chart: Tape a small cheat sheet to the inside of your pantry door. Include the 1/3 cup = 5 tbsp + 1 tsp conversion prominently.
- Buy a set that includes a 1/3 cup scoop: Not all sets come with one, but the good ones do. It saves you the math.
- Check your spoons: Ensure your measuring spoons have "Tbsp" and "tsp" clearly marked and haven't rubbed off over years of washing.
- Transition to weight: Start looking for recipes that list ingredients in grams. It will make your baking more consistent than any volume measurement ever could.
Understanding the math behind your ingredients takes the guesswork out of cooking. Once you memorize that 1/3 cup is 5 tablespoons and a teaspoon, you’ll find yourself moving through recipes with way more confidence and a lot less squinting at the measuring lines.