What Is a Third of 3 Cups?
A third of 3 cups is 1 cup — that's 16 tablespoons.
Measure it as: 1 cup
How to measure 1 cup
- With standard cups & spoons: 1 cup
- Tablespoon method: count out 16 level tablespoons. A cup is 16 tablespoons, so awkward cup fractions often come out to a clean number of spoons.
- By volume: 237 ml, or 8 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: 3 cups is 48 tablespoons. Take a third of that and you get 16 tablespoons, which is 1 cup. Working in spoons instead of cup fractions is the trick professional bakers use to scale recipes without special equipment.
1 cup in grams
Volume-to-weight depends on the ingredient — a cup of flour weighs far less than a cup of honey. For 1 cup:
| Ingredient | 1 cup weighs about |
|---|---|
| All-purpose flour | 120 g |
| Granulated sugar | 200 g |
| Brown sugar (packed) | 220 g |
| Powdered sugar | 120 g |
| Butter | 227 g |
| Milk | 240 g |
| Water | 237 g |
| Vegetable oil | 218 g |
| Honey | 340 g |
Recipe Thirds Chart: nearby amounts
| Original | A third | Measure it as |
|---|---|---|
| 2¼ cups | ¾ cup | 3/4 cup |
| 2½ cups | ⅚ cup | 1/3 cup + 8 tbsp |
| 2¾ cups | 11/12 cup | 2/3 cup + 4 tbsp |
| 3 cups | 1 cup | 1 cup |
| 3½ cups | 1⅙ cups | 1 cup + 2 tbsp + 2 tsp |
| 4 cups | 1⅓ cups | 1 cup + 1/3 cup |
See the full recipe thirds chart →
Frequently asked questions
How many tablespoons is 1 cup?
1 cup equals exactly 16 tablespoons. That's often the easiest way to measure it: just count out level tablespoons.
What is a third of 3 cups in milliliters?
A third of 3 cups is about 237 ml (8 fl oz).
What's the easiest way to measure 1 cup without special cups?
Use standard measures: 1 cup. Every part of that comes from a standard measuring cup and spoon set.