How to convert tablespoons to grams
Grams depend on the ingredient's density, because a tablespoon is a volume (about 14.79 mL in the US): grams = tbsp × 14.79 × density (g/mL). For water (density 1), 2 tbsp ≈ 29.6 g. Sugar (~0.85) and flour (~0.53) weigh less per spoon; honey (~1.42) weighs more.
Worked examples at 2 tablespoons: water (1.00 g/mL) gives 29.6 g, granulated sugar (0.85) gives 25.1 g, all-purpose flour (0.53) gives 15.7 g and honey (1.42) gives 42.0 g. Same spoon and same volume, yet nearly three times the weight from flour to honey.
How you fill the spoon matters too: a heaped tablespoon of flour can hold up to 50% more than a levelled one, so level every spoon with a straight edge when the recipe is sensitive.
Many people follow this up with the grams to tablespoons calculator.
Pair this with the cups to grams calculator when you need the fuller picture.
How to use this calculator
Enter the number of tablespoons and the ingredient density in g/mL (1 for water, ~0.53 flour, ~0.85 sugar, ~1.42 honey). The result is grams. Densities are approximate — use a scale for baking precision.
Useful sub-units: 1 US tablespoon is 3 teaspoons and one sixteenth of a cup, so 4 tablespoons make a quarter cup (59.16 mL) and 16 tablespoons make a full cup. That puts a teaspoon at 4.93 mL, or about 4.9 g of water.
Butter is the one ingredient most US recipes handle separately: the wrapper is marked in tablespoons, with 8 tablespoons to a stick, and one tablespoon weighs about 14.2 g at a density of 0.96 g/mL.
People working on this usually reach for the grams to teaspoons calculator too.
Frequently asked questions
- How many grams is a tablespoon?
- For water, about 14.8 g. For other ingredients it depends on density — flour is roughly 8 g, sugar about 12.6 g per tablespoon.
- How do I convert tablespoons to grams?
- Multiply tablespoons by 14.79 mL and by the ingredient's density in g/mL.
- Why does the ingredient matter?
- A tablespoon measures volume, not weight, so denser ingredients weigh more for the same spoon.
- What density should I use for flour?
- About 0.53 g/mL, giving roughly 8 grams per tablespoon.
- Is a tablespoon the same size in every country?
- No — the US tablespoon is 14.79 mL, the metric and UK tablespoon is 15 mL, and the Australian tablespoon is 20 mL. This calculator uses the US spoon, so an Australian recipe measured with a 20 mL spoon delivers about a third more per tablespoon.