Tablespoon to Grams: Butter Conversion Guide (US, UK & Australia)
1 tablespoon of butter weighs 14 grams in the US, 14.4 g in the UK and 19.2 g in Australia. Charts for 1 to 9 tbsp, butter sticks, and a free calculator.
Quick answer: 1 tablespoon of butter = 14 grams
1 US tablespoon of butter weighs 14 grams (14.2 g to be exact).
The answer shifts a little depending on where your recipe comes from. Tablespoons aren’t the same size everywhere:
- US tablespoon: 14.2 g of butter
- UK, New Zealand, Canada and Europe (15 ml): 14.4 g, often rounded to 15 g
- Australian tablespoon (20 ml): 19.2 g, often rounded to 20 g
Pick your tablespoon size in the butter calculator below and enter any amount. It converts tbsp to grams and grams to tbsp.
Butter Converter
Density: 0.96 g/mlWhy butter doesn’t convert like water
A tablespoon of water weighs 14.8 g in a US spoon. A tablespoon of butter weighs 14.2 g. Same spoon, less weight.
The reason is what butter is made of. Butter is about 80–82% fat. In the US, butter has to contain at least 80% milkfat by law. The rest is mostly water, with a little milk protein. Fat is lighter than water. You’ve seen this: oil floats on top of water.
So butter weighs about 0.96 g per ml, a bit less than water’s 1 g per ml. USDA’s FoodData Central lists 1 tablespoon of butter at 14.2 g, which is exactly that ratio in a US spoon.
The tablespoon to grams formula for butter:
grams = tablespoons × ml per tablespoon × 0.96
For 3 US tablespoons: 3 × 14.79 × 0.96 = 42.6 g.
Salted vs. unsalted butter
They weigh the same per tablespoon. USDA lists both salted and unsalted butter at 14.2 g per tablespoon.
Salted butter carries a small amount of salt, usually under 2% of its weight. That’s too little to change the grams in a spoon. So you can use every number on this page for unsalted butter, salted butter, European-style butter, or any block butter.
The one exception is whipped butter. It has air beaten in, so a tablespoon weighs roughly a third less. Don’t swap it into baking recipes by volume.
Butter tablespoon to grams: US, UK and Australia
| Tablespoon | Size | Butter per tbsp (exact) | Recipes usually say |
|---|---|---|---|
| US | 14.8 ml | 14.2 g | 14 g |
| UK | 15 ml | 14.4 g | 15 g |
| Australia | 20 ml | 19.2 g | 20 g |
| New Zealand, Canada, Europe | 15 ml | 14.4 g | 15 g |
The US tablespoon is set by NIST at half a US fluid ounce, or 14.79 ml. The UK, New Zealand, Canada and most of Europe use the metric 15 ml tablespoon. The gap between them is 0.2 g of butter per spoon. You won’t notice it.
Australia is the outlier. An Australian tablespoon holds 20 ml, which is 4 teaspoons instead of 3. So an Australian tablespoon of butter weighs about 5 g more than a US one. Over 4 tablespoons, that’s 20 g of extra butter. In a batch of cookies, you’ll see the cookies spread more.
If an Australian recipe lists butter in tablespoons, either use a 20 ml spoon or multiply by 1.35 to get US tablespoons.
Tablespoon to grams butter chart: 1 to 9 tbsp
Look up your amount in the column that matches your recipe’s tablespoon.
| Tablespoons | US tbsp | UK / metric tbsp | Australian tbsp |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 tbsp | 14.2 g | 14.4 g | 19.2 g |
| 2 tbsp | 28.4 g | 28.8 g | 38.4 g |
| 3 tbsp | 42.6 g | 43.2 g | 57.6 g |
| 4 tbsp (½ US stick) | 56.8 g | 57.6 g | 76.8 g |
| 4.5 tbsp | 63.9 g | 64.8 g | 86.4 g |
| 5 tbsp | 71.0 g | 72.0 g | 96.0 g |
| 6 tbsp (¾ US stick) | 85.2 g | 86.4 g | 115.2 g |
| 7 tbsp | 99.4 g | 100.8 g | 134.4 g |
| 7.5 tbsp | 106.5 g | 108.0 g | 144.0 g |
| 8 tbsp (1 US stick) | 113.6 g | 115.2 g | 153.6 g |
| 9 tbsp | 127.8 g | 129.6 g | 172.8 g |
For amounts not in the chart, multiply the number of tablespoons by 14.2 (US), 14.4 (UK) or 19.2 (Australia).
Grams to tablespoons of butter
Going the other way? Divide the grams by the weight of one tablespoon.
| Butter (g) | US tbsp | UK / metric tbsp | Australian tbsp |
|---|---|---|---|
| 25 g | 1.8 | 1.7 | 1.3 |
| 50 g | 3.5 | 3.5 | 2.6 |
| 100 g | 7.0 | 6.9 | 5.2 |
| 125 g | 8.8 | 8.7 | 6.5 |
| 200 g | 14.1 | 13.9 | 10.4 |
| 250 g | 17.6 | 17.4 | 13.0 |
A 250 g block, the standard size in the UK, Europe and Australia, comes to about 17½ metric tablespoons.
Butter sticks vs. tablespoons (US)
In the US, butter comes in sticks, and the math is built into the package:
- 1 stick = 8 tablespoons = ½ cup = 4 oz = 113 g
- ½ stick = 4 tablespoons = ¼ cup = 57 g
- 1 pound box = 4 sticks = 32 tablespoons = 2 cups = 454 g
The wrapper on each stick has lines marking every tablespoon. Cut through the paper at the line you need and you have your amount. No spoon, no scale.
US sticks come in two shapes. East of the Rockies, sticks are long and thin. West of the Rockies, many brands sell short, fat sticks. Both weigh 113 g and hold 8 tablespoons. Only the length of each tablespoon mark changes.
Outside the US, butter is sold in blocks, usually 250 g. Some brands print gram lines on the wrapper. If yours doesn’t, a kitchen scale is the easiest way to cut an exact amount.
How to measure butter without a scale
Use the wrapper markings
For US sticks, this is the most accurate method without a scale. The marks are factory-set to 1 tablespoon each. Cold butter cuts cleanest. Use a sharp knife and cut straight down through the paper.
Use a measuring spoon
Measuring spoons work, but butter is hard to spoon. Here’s how to get it right:
- Let the butter soften a little so it presses into the spoon.
- Push it in firmly with a small knife or spatula. Press out any air pockets.
- Scrape the top flat, level with the rim.
- Slide it out with the knife.
A loose, chunky spoonful of cold butter can come in 1 or 2 grams short. That’s fine for toast. It’s not fine for pastry.
Try the water trick for larger amounts
For ¼ cup or more, use cold water in a clear measuring cup. Fill it to 1 cup. Drop in butter until the water rises by the amount you need. For 4 tablespoons (¼ cup), stop when the water hits 1¼ cups. Then pour off the water.
Softened, melted or cold: does it change the weight?
No. 14 g of cold butter is still 14 g when it melts. The weight doesn’t change. What changes is how well butter fills a spoon:
- Cold butter leaves air gaps, so a spoonful often weighs a little less.
- Softened butter packs flat and gives the most accurate spoon measure.
- Melted butter fills every corner of the spoon.
Watch the wording in recipes. “4 tbsp butter, melted” means measure 4 tbsp, then melt. “4 tbsp melted butter” means melt first, then measure. With butter, the two give nearly the same result. If you’re weighing, it doesn’t matter at all.
Swapping butter for oil
Some recipes let you use oil in place of butter, like muffins, quick breads and brownies. Butter is about 80% fat and oil is 100% fat, so you need less oil.
- By weight: use about 75–80 g of oil for every 100 g of butter.
- By volume: use 3 tablespoons of oil for every 4 tablespoons of butter.
A tablespoon of oil weighs about 13.6 g in a US spoon. See the water, milk & oil tablespoon to grams guide for more amounts.
Don’t use this swap in recipes that need solid butter, like pie crust, shortbread, croissants, or cakes where you cream butter with sugar. Oil can’t hold air the way solid butter does.
Frequently asked questions
Is 1 tablespoon of butter 14 or 15 grams?
Both numbers are in use. A US tablespoon of butter weighs 14.2 g, so US recipes say 14 g. A 15 ml metric tablespoon, used in the UK, Europe and New Zealand, holds 14.4 g, and UK recipes often round that up to 15 g. The 1 g gap won't change a recipe.
How many grams is 8 tablespoons of butter?
8 US tablespoons of butter weigh 113 g. That's one US stick, or half a cup. With 15 ml metric tablespoons, 8 tbsp weigh 115 g. With 20 ml Australian tablespoons, 8 tbsp weigh 154 g.
How many tablespoons in 100g of butter?
100 g of butter is 7 US tablespoons (100 ÷ 14.2). With 15 ml metric tablespoons it's 6.9 tbsp, so call it 7. With 20 ml Australian tablespoons it's about 5 tbsp.
More tablespoon to grams conversions
- Butter tablespoon to grams calculator: converter, formula and a full conversion table for butter.
- How many grams are in a tablespoon?: the full guide, with charts for water, flour, honey, salt and more.
- Sugar tablespoon to grams (white, brown & powdered): 1 tbsp of granulated sugar weighs about 12.5 g (US).
- Flour tablespoon to grams (plain, all-purpose & UK flour): 1 tbsp of all-purpose flour weighs about 7.8 g (US).
- Tablespoon to grams calculator: convert 35 ingredients both ways.