What Is a Third of 1½ Cups?
A third of 1½ cups is ½ cup — that's 8 tablespoons.
Measure it as: 1/2 cup
How to measure ½ cup
- With standard cups & spoons: 1/2 cup
- Tablespoon method: count out 8 level tablespoons. A cup is 16 tablespoons, so awkward cup fractions often come out to a clean number of spoons.
- By volume: 118 ml, or 4 fluid ounces — handy if you have a measuring jug.
- By weight (most accurate): see the gram table below for common ingredients.
Here's the math: 1½ cups is 24 tablespoons. Take a third of that and you get 8 tablespoons, which is ½ cup. Working in spoons instead of cup fractions is the trick professional bakers use to scale recipes without special equipment.
½ cup in grams
Volume-to-weight depends on the ingredient — a cup of flour weighs far less than a cup of honey. For ½ cup:
| Ingredient | ½ cup weighs about |
|---|---|
| All-purpose flour | 60 g |
| Granulated sugar | 100 g |
| Brown sugar (packed) | 110 g |
| Powdered sugar | 60 g |
| Butter | 114 g |
| Milk | 120 g |
| Water | 119 g |
| Vegetable oil | 109 g |
| Honey | 170 g |
Recipe Thirds Chart: nearby amounts
| Original | A third | Measure it as |
|---|---|---|
| 1 cup | ⅓ cup | 1/3 cup |
| 1¼ cups | 5/12 cup | 1/3 cup + 1 tbsp + 1 tsp |
| 1⅓ cups | 4/9 cup | 1/3 cup + 1 tbsp + 2 tsp + 1/4 tsp + 1/8 tsp |
| 1½ cups | ½ cup | 1/2 cup |
| 1⅔ cups | 5/9 cup | 1/2 cup + 2 tsp + 1/2 tsp + 1/8 tsp |
| 1¾ cups | 7/12 cup | 1/3 cup + 4 tbsp |
| 2 cups | ⅔ cup | 2/3 cup |
See the full recipe thirds chart →
Frequently asked questions
How many tablespoons is ½ cup?
½ cup equals exactly 8 tablespoons. That's often the easiest way to measure it: just count out level tablespoons.
What is a third of 1½ cups in milliliters?
A third of 1½ cups is about 118 ml (4 fl oz).
What's the easiest way to measure ½ cup without special cups?
Use standard measures: 1/2 cup. Every part of that comes from a standard measuring cup and spoon set.