Tablespoons of butter in grams, 1 to 16
This is the table to keep open while you cook from an American recipe. Each row is the weight of a level tablespoon of butter multiplied out, so you can read the gram figure straight onto a kitchen scale.
| Tablespoons | Grams | Ounces | Share of a US stick |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 tbsp | 14.2 | 0.5 | 0.125 stick |
| 2 tbsp | 28.4 | 1 | 1/4 stick |
| 3 tbsp | 42.6 | 1.5 | 0.375 stick |
| 4 tbsp | 56.8 | 2 | 1/2 stick |
| 5 tbsp | 70.9 | 2.5 | 0.625 stick |
| 6 tbsp | 85.1 | 3 | 3/4 stick |
| 7 tbsp | 99.3 | 3.5 | 0.875 stick |
| 8 tbsp | 113.5 | 4 | 1 stick |
| 10 tbsp | 141.9 | 5 | 1.25 stick |
| 12 tbsp | 170.2 | 6.01 | 1 1/2 sticks |
| 14 tbsp | 198.6 | 7.01 | 1.75 stick |
| 16 tbsp | 227 | 8.01 | 2 sticks (1 cup) |
Computed at 227 g per US cup of butter, which is 14.19 g per level tablespoon. Rounded to 0.1 g.
Half a stick is 4 tablespoons and 56.8 grams. A whole stick is 8 tablespoons and 113.5 grams, which the wrapper usually prints as 113 g, because a US stick is sold as a quarter pound, and a quarter pound is 113.4 grams.
Grams of butter in tablespoons
Recipes from Europe, Australia and most of Asia give butter in grams, and the packs there are sold in 125 g, 200 g or 250 g blocks with no spoon marks. Read this table in the other direction to turn those weights into spoons and sticks.
| Grams of butter | Tablespoons | Measure as (US spoons and cups) |
|---|---|---|
| 5 g | 0.35 | 1 tsp |
| 10 g | 0.7 | 2 tsp |
| 14 g | 0.99 | 1 tbsp |
| 15 g | 1.06 | 1 tbsp + 1/4 tsp |
| 20 g | 1.41 | 1 tbsp + 1 1/4 tsp |
| 25 g | 1.76 | 1 tbsp + 2 1/4 tsp |
| 28 g | 1.97 | 2 tbsp |
| 30 g | 2.11 | 2 tbsp + 1/4 tsp |
| 40 g | 2.82 | 2 tbsp + 2 1/2 tsp |
| 50 g | 3.52 | 3 tbsp + 1 1/2 tsp |
| 57 g | 4.02 | 1/4 cup |
| 75 g | 5.29 | 1/4 cup + 1 tbsp + 3/4 tsp |
| 100 g | 7.05 | 1/4 cup + 3 tbsp + 1/4 tsp |
| 113 g | 7.96 | 1/2 cup |
| 125 g | 8.81 | 1/2 cup + 2 1/2 tsp |
| 150 g | 10.57 | 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp + 1 3/4 tsp |
| 200 g | 14.1 | 3/4 cup + 2 tbsp + 1/4 tsp |
| 225 g | 15.86 | 3/4 cup + 3 tbsp + 2 1/2 tsp |
| 250 g | 17.62 | 1 cup + 1 tbsp + 1 3/4 tsp |
The last column rounds to the nearest 1/4 teaspoon, which is as close as kitchen spoons get.
Two rows come up often. 14 grams is very close to one tablespoon (0.99 tbsp), which is why so many charts round the butter spoon to 14 g. 100 grams is 7.05 tablespoons, just under one stick.
The formula
Butter weighs 227 grams per US cup in the density set this site publishes on the cups to grams page. A US cup holds 16 tablespoons, so one tablespoon of butter weighs 227 ÷ 16 = 14.19 grams.
Grams = tablespoons × 14.19. Tablespoons = grams ÷ 14.19. For teaspoons, divide the tablespoon weight by 3: one teaspoon of butter is 4.73 grams. For sticks, multiply the stick count by 8 tablespoons, or by about 113.5 grams.
Put another way, butter has a density of about 0.959 grams per millilitre. It is a little lighter than water.
Worked examples
A cookie recipe asks for 10 tablespoons of butter. 10 × 14.19 = 141.9 grams. On the wrapper that is one full stick plus 2 tablespoons from a second stick.
A British recipe asks for 125 g of butter. 125 ÷ 14.19 = 8.81 tablespoons. With US spoons that is 1/2 cup + 2 1/2 tsp: one stick plus about 2 1/2 teaspoons. If you only have sticks, use one stick and add a thin slice from the next.
You have a 250 g block and the recipe wants tablespoons. 250 ÷ 14.19 = 17.6 tablespoons, a little over two sticks. Cut the block in half for 125 g, then use the 125 g row above to mark each half.
Using the marks on the wrapper
A US stick has tablespoon lines printed on the paper. Each line is one tablespoon, so you can slice through the paper with a knife and skip the measuring spoon altogether. Pressing cold butter into a spoon leaves air gaps and gives a light spoon, so the wrapper method is usually the more accurate one.
Sticks come in two shapes in the United States: long and thin, and short and wide. Both are a quarter pound, so the gram figures on this page apply to either. Butter sold in a tub or in a block without marks is easiest to weigh.
Melted, softened and whipped butter
Melting does not change the weight. If a recipe asks for 6 tablespoons of melted butter, measure 6 tablespoons of solid butter (85 grams) and then melt it. That is more reliable than melting first and pouring into a spoon.
Salted and unsalted butter use the same conversion here. Whipped butter is different: air is beaten into it, so a spoonful weighs less than a spoonful of stick butter. For whipped butter, ghee or a spread, use the gram weight on the tub label rather than the figures above.
Questions about butter measurements
- How many grams is 1 tablespoon of butter?
- About 14.2 grams. That is 227 grams per cup divided by 16 tablespoons. Most charts round it to 14 grams.
- How many tablespoons is 100 grams of butter?
- 7.05 tablespoons, a little less than one stick (8 tablespoons). Measure 7 tablespoons and you are within half a gram.
- How many grams is a stick of butter?
- A US stick is a quarter pound, which is 113.4 grams. Wrappers print 113 g. It holds 8 tablespoons.
- Is a tablespoon of butter the same in Australia?
- No. An Australian tablespoon holds 20 ml, so a level spoon of butter weighs about 19.2 grams. The 1 tablespoon in grams page compares all four spoon sizes.
Where these numbers come from
The 227 grams per cup figure is the butter value in the density set behind the cups to grams converter. USDA FoodData Central lists the same household weights for butter: 14.2 g for a tablespoon, 113 g for a stick and 227 g for a cup. King Arthur Baking lists 113 g for 8 tablespoons. The tablespoon itself is half a US fluid ounce, 14.79 ml, by definition.