There are 64 tablespoons in a quart. That is the answer: 1 US quart equals 64 tablespoons, which equals 4 cups, which equals 2 pints, which equals 32 fluid ounces. You will never measure a quart in tablespoons — that would be 64 spoonfuls — but the number is useful when you are scaling a recipe up to a quart, or when a recipe written in tablespoons adds up to a quart and you want to measure it in a jug instead. If a soup base recipe calls for 16 tablespoons of stock, that is a quarter of a quart. If it calls for 32 tablespoons, that is half a quart. This page gives you the table and the scaling examples.
The conversion table
| Quarts | Tablespoons | Cups | Pints | Teaspoons | Fluid ounces |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1/4 quart | 16 tbsp | 1 cup | 1/2 pint | 48 tsp | 8 fl oz |
| 1/2 quart | 32 tbsp | 2 cups | 1 pint | 96 tsp | 16 fl oz |
| 3/4 quart | 48 tbsp | 3 cups | 1 1/2 pints | 144 tsp | 24 fl oz |
| 1 quart | 64 tbsp | 4 cups | 2 pints | 192 tsp | 32 fl oz |
| 1 1/2 quarts | 96 tbsp | 6 cups | 3 pints | 288 tsp | 48 fl oz |
| 2 quarts | 128 tbsp | 8 cups | 4 pints | 384 tsp | 64 fl oz |
| 3 quarts | 192 tbsp | 12 cups | 6 pints | 576 tsp | 96 fl oz |
| 4 quarts | 256 tbsp | 16 cups | 8 pints | 768 tsp | 128 fl oz |
A US quart is 946.35 ml, and a US tablespoon is 14.79 ml, so 946.35 divided by 14.79 is exactly 64.
Worked example 1: scaling a sauce base to a quart
A sauce base recipe makes 16 tablespoons — 4 tablespoons of butter, 4 tablespoons of flour, and 8 tablespoons of stock — and you want a full quart for a large batch of soup. A quart is 64 tablespoons, which is four times the recipe, so you need 16 tablespoons of butter, 16 tablespoons of flour, and 32 tablespoons of stock. Sixteen tablespoons is 1 cup, and 32 tablespoons is 2 cups, so the scaled recipe is 1 cup of butter, 1 cup of flour, and 2 cups of stock. Doing the maths in tablespoons gives you the scale factor, and converting to cups at the end gives you amounts you can measure in a jug.
Worked example 2: a quart of stock from a tablespoon recipe
An old recipe calls for 64 tablespoons of stock in a stew, and you want to know how much that is in quarts. Sixty-four tablespoons divided by 64 is exactly 1 quart, which is 4 cups. That is a useful amount to know, because a quart jug is a common size, and measuring 4 cups is far quicker than counting 64 spoonfuls. The general rule is to divide tablespoons by 64 to get quarts, by 16 to get cups, and by 32 to get pints — and to convert to the largest unit that gives a whole number.
Worked example 3: a brine for a turkey
A turkey brine recipe calls for 1 quart of water and 4 tablespoons of salt per quart, and you are brining in a 2-quart container. You need 2 quarts of water, which is 128 tablespoons, and 8 tablespoons of salt, which is half a cup. The salt is the ingredient where the conversion matters: 8 tablespoons is easy to measure with a spoon, but half a cup is easier still, and it is less likely to go wrong. For a large batch, convert the small amounts to cups once they pass 16 tablespoons, and weigh the salt if you want to be precise — 8 tablespoons of fine salt weighs about 144 grams, and a scale will not miscount.
Method and source
A US tablespoon is defined as half a US fluid ounce, or 14.79 millilitres. A US quart is 32 fluid ounces, or 946.35 millilitres, and 946.35 divided by 14.79 is exactly 64. The American system is built on powers of two, so the quart chain is clean: 64 tablespoons, 32 fluid ounces, 4 cups, 2 pints, 1 quart. The metric tablespoon is 15 ml, which is very close to the US tablespoon, so 64 metric tablespoons is 960 ml, which is slightly more than a US quart — a difference of about 1 percent, which does not matter in cooking. The Australian tablespoon is 20 ml, so 64 Australian tablespoons is 1,280 ml, which is more than a quart, and that is the one to watch for.
Practical guidance
The anchor numbers to remember are 16 tablespoons in a cup and 4 cups in a quart, which together give 64 tablespoons in a quart. If you know those two, you can work out the third. When a recipe gives an amount in tablespoons that is larger than 16, convert it to cups, because counting spoonfuls is slow and error-prone. When a recipe gives an amount in quarts and you need tablespoons, multiply by 64 — but ask yourself whether you really need tablespoons, because a quart is usually measured in a jug, not in spoonfuls. Use proper measuring spoons for small amounts and a jug for large ones, and level dry ingredients with the back of a knife.
Frequently asked questions
How many tablespoons are in 1 quart?
There are 64 tablespoons in 1 US quart. That is the standard American conversion. An Imperial quart holds about 76 US tablespoons, because it is larger, but you will rarely meet one in a modern recipe.
How many tablespoons are in half a quart?
There are 32 tablespoons in half a quart. Half a quart is also 2 cups, 1 pint, 16 fluid ounces, and about 473 ml. It is a common size for a soup pot or a sauce recipe.
How many quarts are in 64 tablespoons?
There is 1 quart in 64 tablespoons. Sixty-four tablespoons is the definition of a quart in the American system, so if a recipe's tablespoons add up to 64, you can measure a quart instead.
How many tablespoons are in 2 quarts?
There are 128 tablespoons in 2 quarts. Two quarts is also 8 cups, 4 pints, 64 fluid ounces, and about 1.89 litres. It is a common size for a large soup pot.
How many cups are in 64 tablespoons?
There are 4 cups in 64 tablespoons. Sixteen tablespoons make a cup, so 64 tablespoons make 4 cups, which is 1 quart. The three conversions — tablespoons to cups, cups to quarts, tablespoons to quarts — all agree.
Is it practical to measure a quart in tablespoons?
No. Sixty-four spoonfuls is slow and easy to miscount. Use a measuring jug or a cup measure for a quart, and reserve tablespoons for amounts under a quarter cup. The conversion is useful for scaling and for understanding a recipe, not for measuring.
Why the quart is the workhorse of the American kitchen
The quart is the most common bulk size in American cooking: stock comes in quart cartons, mason jars hold a quart, and most soup and sauce recipes are written to fill about a quart. A quart is large enough to matter and small enough to lift and pour safely, which is why it survived while the gallon stayed a shopping size and the cup stayed a measuring size. When you scale a recipe, think in quarts rather than tablespoons — a soup that serves eight needs roughly two quarts, and a stock pot that holds eight quarts will take a doubled batch without overflowing. Tablespoons only enter the picture when you are adjusting seasoning or splitting a quart across small containers.