Tablespoons to Fluid Ounces (tbsp to fl oz)

How to convert tablespoons to ounces

Divide the tablespoons by 2:

fl oz = tbsp ÷ 2

3 tbsp ÷ 2 = 1.5 fl oz. The factor is exact in U.S. customary measure: a fluid ounce is 2 tablespoons, and a tablespoon is 3 teaspoons. The result also shows teaspoons, milliliters and cups. To go the other way, multiply fluid ounces by 2.

Tablespoons to ounces chart

Shots, jiggers and medicine cups

Bar and pharmacy measures are marked in ounces or milliliters, and tablespoons fill in when they are missing:

A cocktail recipe that calls for 3/4 ounce of lime juice needs 1 1/2 tablespoons. For medicine, use the cup or syringe that comes with the product rather than a kitchen spoon — this page converts units and does not give dosing advice.

Fluid ounces are not weight ounces

A fluid ounce measures volume; an ounce on a scale measures weight. For water they nearly match — a fluid ounce of water weighs 1.04 oz — and for butter a tablespoon happens to weigh half an ounce. For dry ingredients they do not: a tablespoon of flour weighs about 0.28 oz (8 g), a tablespoon of granulated sugar about 0.44 oz (12.5 g), and a tablespoon of honey about 0.74 oz (21 g). When a recipe gives ounces for something dry, weigh it; when it gives ounces for a liquid, measure the volume.

Oil, vinegar and dressings

Salad dressing recipes are often written as ratios — three parts oil to one part vinegar — and converting to tablespoons makes a small batch easy: 6 tablespoons of oil and 2 of vinegar give 4 fluid ounces, enough for a large salad. A 16-ounce bottle of olive oil holds 32 tablespoons, so at 2 tablespoons a day it lasts a little over two weeks. Spray bottles and oil misters are rated in milliliters per spray, typically under 1 mL, which is why a “1-second spray” is far less oil than a tablespoon.

Tablespoons, cups and milliliters

Sixteen tablespoons make a cup, so 8 fluid ounces is 16 tbsp. For cups, see cups to ounces; for milliliters, oz to mL, where a fluid ounce is 29.57 mL and a tablespoon 14.79 mL. For teaspoons in milliliters, use tsp to mL. Recipes from Australia use a 20 mL tablespoon, so four of their tablespoons are 2.7 U.S. fluid ounces rather than 2.