How Many Teaspoons Are in a Tablespoon?

When cooking, and especially baking, measurements and their related units regularly need to be converted. It’s a pain in the butt but it’s pretty easy to learn how to convert these measurements.

Think gallons and liters. Or ounces and cups.

There’s a plethora of measurement units used in cooking but one of the most asked questions are related to the humble spoon – teaspoons and tablespoons to be exact.

Kitchen Measurements: Teaspoons and Tablespoons

Tablespoons and teaspoons are the favored units of volume when measuring very small amounts of ingredients – spices, oils, sugar to name a few.

They are used extensively in cooking and baking and are used in both the Imperial and Metric systems.

The agreed upon standard answer to this question is a 3 to 1 ration – three teaspoons add up to one tablespoon.

Imperial Measuring Spoons vs. Metric Measuring Spoons

Only three countries in the world continue to cling to the old Imperial measurements – the U.S., Myanmar and Liberia.

When it comes to teaspoons and tablespoons the difference is negligible.

A metric tablespoon comes in at 15 milliliters and an Imperial tablespoon is 14.79 milliliters.

A metric teaspoon is 5 milliliters and an Imperial teaspoon is 4.93 milliliters.

Is a Dessert Spoon Different?

The dessert spoon as a measurement is primarily used in Commonwealth countries – Canada, UK, Australia and New Zealand.

The dessert spoon is exactly 10 milliliters so it’s right in the middle between the teaspoon and tablespoon measurement.

We hope we’ve answered your how many teaspoons in a tablespoon question – just remember its 3 to 1. Three teaspoons equals a tablespoon.

Happy Measuring!