How to Use This Converter
Select your mode at the top: Quick Convert for decimal values, Fraction Mode for amounts like 2/3 cup, Butter Converter for butter-specific measurements, or Quick Reference for common equivalents. US, UK, metric, and Australian cooking measurements are all available.
In Quick Convert mode, enter your value and select units from the dropdowns. Units are grouped by region (US, Metric, UK, Australian). Click the swap button between the dropdowns to reverse your conversion direction without re-entering values. Preset amount buttons let you quickly convert 1/4 cup, 1/2 cup, and other common measures.
Fraction Mode accepts mixed numbers like "1 1/2" by entering the whole number separately from the fraction. You'll see both decimal results and the nearest practical cooking fraction. When exact conversions produce awkward amounts, a practical alternative appears. Quick Reference tables are clickable: select any value to populate the converter.
US Cooking Measurements Explained
American recipes use a volume-based measurement system that traces back to colonial times when standardized weights weren't available in most home kitchens. Cups, tablespoons, and teaspoons form the main hierarchy. One US cup equals exactly 16 tablespoons, and each tablespoon contains 3 teaspoons, creating a 48-teaspoon cup.
Fluid ounces connect cups to smaller measurements:
- 8 fluid ounces = 1 cup
- 2 tablespoons = 1 fluid ounce
- 1/4 cup = 2 fluid ounces
- 1/3 cup ≈ 2.67 fluid ounces
- 1/2 cup = 4 fluid ounces
American measuring cups hold 236.588 milliliters, tablespoons hold 14.787 milliliters, and teaspoons hold 4.929 milliliters. These odd decimal values explain why metric conversions rarely come out to round numbers. American measurements weren't designed with metric in mind.
Metric Cooking Measurements
Metric measurements use base-10 relationships: 1000 milliliters equal 1 liter, and everything scales by factors of 10. No memorizing that 16 tablespoons make a cup or 3 teaspoons make a tablespoon. Professional kitchens worldwide have adopted metric because scaling recipes becomes basic multiplication instead of fraction wrestling.
Metric cooking standardized the tablespoon at exactly 15 milliliters and the teaspoon at exactly 5 milliliters. Australia and some other countries use a 250-milliliter metric cup. Because these are round numbers, metric recipes convert between units cleanly, without awkward decimals. Adapting American recipes requires attention to small differences between US and metric spoons. A US tablespoon is about 1.5% smaller than a metric tablespoon: negligible for one measure, but noticeable with several tablespoons of vanilla extract or a strong spice.
UK and Imperial Measurements
British recipes often confuse American cooks because UK imperial measurements differ from both US customary and metric systems. A UK cup holds 284.131 milliliters, about 20% more than an American cup. UK tablespoons measure 17.758 milliliters versus the US tablespoon's 14.787 milliliters. UK teaspoons hold 5.919 milliliters compared to 4.929 milliliters for US teaspoons. The British imperial system was formalized in 1824 based on the imperial gallon, while American measurements kept older English standards from before that reform. Same names, different volumes.
Adapting British recipes requires looking for clues about which system applies. Modern UK recipes often use metric or weights, especially for baking. Older recipes and traditional British cookbooks still use imperial. If a recipe produces wrong proportions, double-check whether you've mixed up US and UK measurements.
The Australian Tablespoon Difference
The Australian tablespoon measures 20 milliliters, larger than both the US tablespoon (14.787 mL) and the UK tablespoon (17.758 mL). Australia's British measurement roots combined with metric standardization produced a tablespoon rounded to a clean 20 mL.
Four Australian tablespoons equal exactly 80 mL, while four US tablespoons yield only about 59 mL. The gap matters most for precision ingredients: baking powder, yeast, salt, and strong flavorings. For vegetables, broths, and other forgiving ingredients, you probably won't notice the difference.
To convert Australian recipes, reduce tablespoon amounts by about 25% when using US tablespoons, or substitute with the metric measure (20 mL equals 4 US teaspoons). Many newer Australian cookbooks list both tablespoon counts and milliliter amounts.
Working with Fractions in Cooking
Recipes call for fractional amounts (1/3 cup, 2/3 cup, 3/4 teaspoon) because these proportions produce reliable results. Halving or doubling those fractions takes some math that's easy to get wrong. Half of 1/3 cup equals 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons (about 1/6 cup). Half of 3/4 cup equals 6 tablespoons. When an exact conversion lands on something awkward like 10.67 tablespoons, "10 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons" is the practical equivalent. Real cooking uses real measuring spoons, not laboratory pipettes.
Scaling recipes with multiple fractional ingredients works best by converting each one separately and rounding to practical measurements. Small rounding errors typically balance out. Leavening is the exception: baking powder, baking soda, and yeast require precision. For those, stick as close to calculated amounts as your tools allow.
Butter Measurements Decoded
Butter measurement in American recipes relies heavily on the "stick" format, a 4-ounce (113 gram) bar that equals half a cup or 8 tablespoons. Most US butter packaging prints tablespoon markings directly on the wrapper, so you can slice off precise amounts without measuring. One stick divided into 8 segments gives tablespoon portions.
European butter comes in different formats, typically 250-gram blocks without tablespoon markings. One US stick equals 113 grams. Many European recipes specify butter by weight rather than volume, which is actually more precise since butter volume changes slightly with temperature.
Softened butter keeps the same volume as cold butter, but the texture matters for creaming and incorporating air.
Melted butter compacts and measures slightly less due to eliminated air pockets. For melted butter measurements, add about 10% more than the solid butter amount called for. Alternatively, measure after melting, not before.
Why Recipe Precision Matters
Cooking and baking require different amounts of precision. Savory cooking tolerates variation: an extra tablespoon of olive oil won't ruin a stir-fry, and more garlic usually improves a dish. Baking chemistry is less forgiving. Leavening ratios, liquid-to-flour proportions, and sugar amounts directly affect whether your cake rises or your cookies spread correctly.
Volume measurements introduce variability that weight measurements avoid. How you scoop flour (dipping versus spooning) can vary the amount by 20% or more. Brown sugar packed firmly versus loosely can differ by 30%.
Professional bakers use weight measurements precisely because they eliminate variability. When recipes provide both volume and weight, using weight produces more consistent results. For everyday cooking, volume measurements are fine. Don't stress over decimal places when making soup or salad dressing. Save the precision for baking and for ingredients where small differences matter: salt, spices, acids, and leavening agents.
Converting International Recipes
Recipe origin shows in measurement style. American recipes favor cups, tablespoons, and Fahrenheit temperatures. British recipes might use imperial measures or increasingly metric. European recipes typically specify weights in grams. Japanese recipes use grams and milliliters. Once you identify the measurement system, accurate conversion becomes possible.
Weight-based European recipes need a kitchen scale, not a volume converter. A recipe calling for 200 grams of flour means weight, not volume, and measuring 200 milliliters of flour would give you the wrong amount since flour's density varies with packing. Use this converter for liquid measurements and recipes that specify volume.
Watch for regional terms that don't translate directly. A French "cuillère à soupe" (soup spoon) historically differed from standardized tablespoons. Japanese rice cooker cups hold 180 mL, not 240 mL. Indian recipes may reference "cups" that are actually metric (250 mL) or traditional katoris of varying sizes. If a recipe produces unexpected results, check whether regional measurement conventions are the culprit.
Quick Reference Memory Tricks
Memorize these three relationships and you can calculate most common conversions in your head:
- 1 cup = 16 tablespoons
- 1 tablespoon = 3 teaspoons
- 1 cup = 8 fluid ounces
From there, a quarter cup is 4 tablespoons, a half cup is 8 tablespoons, and so on.
For metric approximations: 1 cup is about 240 milliliters (actual: 236.588 mL, close enough for cooking). A tablespoon is about 15 mL, and a teaspoon is about 5 mL. These round numbers make mental math easier when cooking from metric recipes with US tools.
Visual estimation helps in a pinch. A tablespoon roughly equals a large thumb tip. A teaspoon fits in a typical spoon head. A cup fills a standard coffee mug most of the way. Good enough for forgiving recipes where relative proportions matter more than exact amounts.
Common Measurement Mistakes
Brown sugar packing: Brown sugar must be packed firmly into the measuring cup until it holds its shape when turned out. Without packing, your measurement runs significantly short. White sugar is the opposite: never pack it. Just fill and level with a straight edge.
Flour scooping: How you measure flour changes the amount by 20% or more. Scooping directly from the bag compacts the flour and overmeasures. Proper technique: spoon flour into the cup and level without tapping or shaking. Many bakers use "spoon and sweep," spooning flour into the cup and then sweeping off excess with a straight edge.
Liquid versus dry cups: Liquid ingredients need liquid measuring cups, the glass or plastic pitchers with pour spouts and measurement lines. Dry measuring cups designed for leveling don't work for liquids because you can't fill them without spilling. For sticky ingredients like honey or molasses, a light oil coating helps contents slide out completely.
Scaling Recipes Up and Down
Doubling recipes is usually simple: double everything, use a larger pan, and adjust cooking time. Cooking time increases for larger volumes but not proportionally. A doubled cake might need 25% more baking time, not twice as long. Check for doneness, not the timer.
Halving recipes gets tricky with fractions. Half of 1/3 cup means calculating 1/6 cup (2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons). Some ingredients don't halve gracefully; one egg doesn't become "1/2 egg" very easily. For egg-heavy recipes, consider making the full batch or look up egg substitution ratios.
Some recipe elements shouldn't scale linearly. Spices in doubled recipes often need less than double, so start with 1.5 times the amount and adjust to taste. Baking times depend on pan geometry more than ingredient volume. Leavening needs careful attention: too much causes collapse, too little prevents rising. Significantly scaling yeast breads requires conservative yeast increases and extended rising times.