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Cooking Measurement Converter

Everyday

Convert cooking measurements instantly — cups, tablespoons, teaspoons, ml, litres, and fluid ounces. Perfect for scaling Indian and international recipes.

From
To
All conversionsfor 1 Cup — US (c)
Millilitres (ml)236.58824
Centilitres (cl)23.658824
Decilitres (dl)2.3658824
Litres (l)0.23658824
Teaspoon — US (tsp)48
Tablespoon — US (tbsp)16
Fluid Ounce — US (fl oz)8
Cup — US (c)1
Pint — US (pt)0.5
Quart — US (qt)0.25
Gallon — US (gal)0.0625
Fluid Ounce — UK (fl oz)8.3267418
Cup — UK (10 fl oz)0.83267418

What is a Cooking?

A Cooking Measurement Converter translates culinary volume measurements between the unit systems used in recipes from different countries — millilitres (ml), centilitres (cl), decilitres (dl), litres (l), US teaspoons, US tablespoons, US fluid ounces, US cups, US pints, US quarts, US gallons, UK fluid ounces, and UK cups.

Cooking is one of the most common real-world contexts where unit conversion is a daily practical need. The global food web — American food blogs, British recipe books, Indian cooking YouTube channels, and European food magazines — uses different measurement systems simultaneously with no universal standard.

India occupies an interesting position in this landscape. Traditional Indian cooking uses informal measures: the katori (small bowl), the glass, and the handful. Modern Indian recipes for baking and international cuisines overwhelmingly follow the US system (cups, tablespoons, teaspoons) because so much baking content originates from American sources. Yet professional kitchens, packaged food labels (per FSSAI regulations), and nutritional databases use metric units (ml, grams). A home baker following a YouTube recipe in cups, comparing it to a cookbook in ml, and checking calories in grams must convert constantly.

This converter handles all the volume-based kitchen measurements. It covers metric units, the full US customary system (the most common in online recipes), and UK imperial measures. For precise baking at scale, the reference table — showing all 13 units simultaneously for your entered value — eliminates the chain arithmetic of converting through intermediate steps.

Note: This converter handles volume-to-volume conversions only. Converting between volume (cups, ml) and weight (grams, ounces) requires knowing the ingredient's specific density, since 1 cup of flour weighs very differently from 1 cup of honey. For weight conversions, see the Weight Converter.

How to use this Cooking calculator

  1. Select your source unit from the FROM dropdown — e.g. Cup — US (c).
  2. Enter your recipe quantity — e.g. 1.5 for 1.5 cups.
  3. Select the target unit from the TO dropdown — e.g. Millilitres (ml).
  4. The result appears instantly — 1.5 US cups = 354.88 ml.
  5. Use ⇅ to swap FROM and TO for reverse conversion.
  6. View the reference table to see your quantity in all 13 units simultaneously.
  7. Copy the URL to save or share a specific conversion for a recipe.

Formula & Methodology

All units convert to and from millilitres (ml) using exact multipliers:

| Unit | Symbol | Millilitres (toBase) |
|---|---|---|
| Millilitre | ml | 1 (base) |
| Centilitre | cl | 10 |
| Decilitre | dl | 100 |
| Litre | l | 1,000 |
| US Teaspoon | tsp | 4.92892159375 |
| US Tablespoon | tbsp | 14.78676478125 |
| US Fluid Ounce | fl oz | 29.5735295625 |
| US Cup | c | 236.5882365 |
| US Pint | pt | 473.176473 |
| US Quart | qt | 946.352946 |
| US Gallon | gal | 3,785.411784 |
| UK Fluid Ounce | fl oz (UK) | 28.4130625 |
| UK Cup | c (UK) | 284.130625 |

All US customary values derive from the exact US gallon = 231 cubic inches exactly, and 1 inch = 25.4 mm exactly. All UK values derive from the exact UK gallon = 4,546.09 ml exactly.

Conversion formula: Result = Input × (F_from ÷ F_to)

Worked example — scaling a brownie recipe:

A recipe serves 8 and uses 1 cup butter and 2 tbsp cocoa. You want to scale to 20 servings (2.5×).

Butter: 1 cup × 2.5 = 2.5 cups = 2.5 × 236.588 = 591.5 ml Cocoa:  2 tbsp × 2.5 = 5 tbsp  = 5 × 14.787  = 73.9 ml

Pour directly into a metric measuring jug.

Common recipe measurement equivalents:

| US Measure | ml | Tablespoons |
|---|---|---|
| 1 teaspoon | 4.93 | 1/3 tbsp |
| 1 tablespoon | 14.79 | 1 |
| 1/4 cup | 59.15 | 4 |
| 1/3 cup | 78.86 | 5 + 1 tsp |
| 1/2 cup | 118.29 | 8 |
| 3/4 cup | 177.44 | 12 |
| 1 cup | 236.59 | 16 |
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a cooking measurement converter?
A cooking measurement converter translates a volume measurement from one culinary unit to another — such as from US cups to millilitres, or from tablespoons to fluid ounces. Recipes from different countries use different measurement systems: Indian and European recipes typically use grams and millilitres, while American and older British recipes use cups, tablespoons, and teaspoons. This converter covers all major volume-based cooking units so you can follow any recipe regardless of origin.
How many tablespoons are in a cup?
One US cup contains exactly 16 tablespoons (US). This is a fundamental cooking relationship: 1 cup = 16 tbsp = 48 tsp = 8 fluid ounces = 236.6 ml. Knowing that 1 cup = 16 tbsp lets you scale recipes easily — a recipe calling for 3/4 cup is 12 tablespoons, and 1/3 cup is approximately 5 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon.
How many ml is 1 cup?
One US cup equals exactly 236.588 ml (approximately 237 ml for practical purposes). This is the standard American cup measurement. The UK cup is slightly larger at 284.13 ml (10 UK fluid ounces). In Indian cooking, recipes adapted from American sources assume 240 ml per cup in most published cookbooks, which is close enough for most recipes without affecting the outcome.
How many teaspoons make a tablespoon?
Three teaspoons (US) make one tablespoon (US). This 1:3 ratio holds across both US and UK measurement systems: 1 tbsp = 3 tsp. In ml terms: 1 US tsp = 4.929 ml and 1 US tbsp = 14.787 ml. When a recipe calls for fractions of a tablespoon (like 1/2 tbsp), you can measure 1.5 teaspoons instead — useful when you only have one measuring spoon available.
What is a fluid ounce and how does it differ from a weight ounce?
A fluid ounce (fl oz) is a unit of volume, not weight. One US fluid ounce = 29.574 ml; one UK fluid ounce = 28.413 ml. A weight ounce (oz) = 28.35 grams. They are close in number for water (since 1 ml of water weighs approximately 1 gram), which is why the distinction is often ignored for water, milk, and light liquids — but for denser ingredients like honey or oil, using a fluid ounce for weight will give wrong results.
What volume units do Indian recipes typically use?
Most traditional Indian recipes use informal measures — katori (a small steel bowl ≈ 100–150 ml), glass (≈ 200–240 ml), and spoon (undefined but roughly 1 tablespoon). Modern Indian cookbooks and food websites increasingly use metric units (ml, grams) or US-style cups and tablespoons, especially for baking. FSSAI food labelling regulations require metric measures on packaged food, so ml is the growing standard in Indian urban cooking.
How do I convert a US recipe to metric measures?
For liquids: 1 cup = 240 ml (approximate), 1 tablespoon = 15 ml, 1 teaspoon = 5 ml. For dry ingredients measured by volume, the ml equivalent varies by ingredient density — 1 cup of flour ≈ 120–125 g, 1 cup of sugar ≈ 200 g, 1 cup of water = 240 g. This converter handles the volume-to-volume conversions; for volume-to-weight conversions, you need ingredient-specific density values.
What is the difference between a US cup and a UK cup?
A US cup is 236.588 ml (1/16 of a US gallon). A UK cup is 284.131 ml (10 UK fluid ounces = 1/2 Imperial pint). The difference is about 20% — so a British recipe calling for 2 cups of liquid would need 568 ml, while the same measurement in a US recipe is only 473 ml. When following online recipes, always check whether the author is American or British to know which cup standard applies.
How do I use the Cooking Measurement Converter?
Select your source unit from the FROM dropdown — for example, 'Cup — US (c)'. Enter your value, such as 2 for 2 cups. Choose your target unit from the TO dropdown — for example, 'Millilitres (ml)'. The result appears instantly: 2 US cups = 473.18 ml. Use the ⇅ swap button to reverse, and see the reference table to view your measurement in all 13 units simultaneously.
How many ml is a teaspoon?
One US teaspoon equals 4.929 ml — commonly rounded to 5 ml for practical cooking. One UK teaspoon is 5.919 ml. The 5 ml approximation is so widely accepted that most medical measuring spoons (used for liquid medicines in India) are calibrated to exactly 5 ml per teaspoon. For baking where precision matters, use the exact figure of 4.929 ml for US recipes.
What is a pint and how big is it?
A US pint is 473.176 ml (2 US cups = 16 US fluid ounces). A UK/Imperial pint is 568.261 ml (2 UK cups = 20 UK fluid ounces). The UK pint is about 20% larger than the US pint — a difference that matters when following beer brewing recipes or British sauce recipes that specify pints. In India, 'pint' most commonly appears in the context of imported beer bottle sizes (330 ml is a standard beer can; 568 ml is a UK pint glass).
Can this converter handle solid ingredient measurements like cups of flour?
This converter handles volume-to-volume conversions only (ml, cups, tablespoons, etc.). It does not convert between volume and weight (e.g., cups of flour to grams), because the conversion factor depends on the ingredient's density — 1 cup of flour ≈ 120 g, but 1 cup of butter ≈ 227 g. For weight conversions of dry ingredients, use the ingredient's specific density with the [Weight Converter](/weight-converter/) or refer to ingredient-specific density tables. For calorie calculation of ingredients, see the [Calorie Calculator](/calorie-calculator/).

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