1 tablespoon of all-purpose flour weighs 7.5 g. A tablespoon is one sixteenth of a cup, and a cup of all-purpose flour is 120 g spooned and levelled, so the maths is simple. The tablespoon figure is the one you need when a recipe calls for a spoonful of flour to thicken a sauce or dust a tin, and it is also the unit that shows how much a scooped spoon can be wrong.
All figures on this page are approximate, and they come from King Arthur Baking, measured spooned and levelled. When a recipe has to work the first time, verify with a kitchen scale.
Conversion table
| Amount | Grams of all-purpose flour |
|---|---|
| 1 teaspoon | 2.5 g |
| 1 tablespoon | 7.5 g |
| 2 tablespoons | 15 g |
| 3 tablespoons | 22.5 g |
| 1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) | 30 g |
| 1/3 cup | 40 g |
| 1/2 cup (8 tablespoons) | 60 g |
| 3/4 cup (12 tablespoons) | 90 g |
| 1 cup (16 tablespoons) | 120 g |
One tablespoon is one sixteenth of a cup, so every figure above is simply the cup weight divided by 16, rounded to one decimal place. All figures are approximate; verify with a kitchen scale when it matters.
How the measurement works
The figure on this page comes from King Arthur Baking, measured spooned and levelled. The standard white wheat flour for most baking, milled from a blend of hard and soft wheat. Cakes, cookies, breads, pastry and sauces.
A note on disputed figures. Flour weight is the most disputed conversion in baking: King Arthur lists 120 g per cup spooned and levelled, while other sources quote 125 g, 130 g and up to 142 g for a scooped cup. We use the King Arthur spooned-and-levelled value as primary.
All results on this page are approximate. Ingredient weights vary with brand, humidity, temperature and how firmly you pack the cup, so when a recipe has to work the first time, weigh the ingredient on a kitchen scale and use the numbers here as a guide.
Worked examples
Thickening a pan sauce
A pan sauce for two steaks needs 2 tablespoons of flour, about 15 g, whisked into the pan juices with butter to make a roux. Cook the roux for a minute before adding the stock, so the flour loses its raw taste. The flour quantity matters here: too much and the sauce is gluey, too little and it will not coat the meat.
Dusting a cake tin
A cake tin needs about 1 tablespoon of flour, 7.5 g, dusted over the greased surface so the cake releases cleanly. Tap the tin upside down to remove the excess, because too much flour leaves a white coating on the outside of the cake.
A roux for a cheese sauce
A cheese sauce for macaroni starts with 3 tablespoons of flour, about 22.5 g, cooked in butter before the milk is added. The ratio of flour to butter to milk decides the thickness, and the tablespoon is the natural unit for a sauce made in a small pan. Level each spoon with a knife.
Practical guidance
Spoon the flour into the cup and level it off with a straight edge. Scooping straight from the bag packs the flour down and can add 20 g or more per cup, which is enough to turn a tender cake dry and dense. Do not sift before measuring unless the recipe says sifted, because sifting adds air and changes the weight. If you bake often, the single best upgrade is a kitchen scale: weighing flour removes the biggest source of variation in home baking entirely. Until then, spoon and level every time, and use the same cup for the whole recipe so any small error stays consistent.
Scaling with tablespoons is easy once you know the weight of one spoon. To measure 100 g of all-purpose flour, count out about 13.3 tablespoons, and for 50 g, about 6.7 tablespoons. Halving a recipe that calls for 4 tablespoons means using 2 tablespoons, or 15 g, and doubling it means 8 tablespoons, or 60 g. The key is to scale every ingredient by the same factor, because changing one ingredient without changing the others throws the recipe out of balance. For large amounts, switch to a cup measure or a scale: counting out 16 tablespoons is slow and error-prone, and a cup is faster and more accurate.
When should you weigh all-purpose flour instead of measuring it? Whenever the recipe has to work the first time, and whenever the amount is large. A kitchen scale costs less than a single failed cake, and it removes the biggest source of variation in home cooking: the way ingredients pack into a cup or a spoon. Put the bowl on the scale, press tare, and add the all-purpose flour until the display shows the number you need. There is nothing to wash afterwards except the bowl, and the result is the same every time. For small amounts, a level spoon is accurate enough, and for liquids, a jug is fine, but for anything where precision matters, the scale is the tool to reach for.
Storage. Airtight container in a cool, dry place for up to 1 year.
- Level every spoon with the back of a knife.
- A heaped tablespoon can weigh 11 g, not 7.5 g.
- Use tablespoons for sauces; use a scale for cakes.
Frequently asked questions
How many grams is a tablespoon of flour?
One level tablespoon of all-purpose flour weighs 7.5 g, and one teaspoon is 2.5 g. These figures assume the flour is spooned and levelled, not scooped from the bag.
Why does the tablespoon weight matter if I have cups?
Cups are awkward for small amounts. A recipe calling for 2 tablespoons of flour to thicken a sauce does not need a cup measure, and a tablespoon is more accurate for small quantities than trying to measure an eighth of a cup.
Does a heaped tablespoon weigh more?
Yes, considerably. A heaped tablespoon of flour can weigh 11 g or more, against 7.5 g for a level tablespoon. Always level the spoon with the back of a knife unless the recipe says heaped.
Is the weight the same for bread flour and cake flour?
Yes, near enough. A tablespoon of bread flour is 7.5 g and a tablespoon of cake flour is 7.5 g, because both are listed at 120 g per cup. Whole wheat flour is slightly lighter at 7.1 g per tablespoon.
Should I weigh flour or measure it in spoons?
For large amounts, weigh it: a scale is the most accurate method. For a tablespoon or two, a level spoon is accurate enough, and it is faster than getting the scale out for a sauce.
Why recipes disagree: if you have ever found two charts giving different weights for the same ingredient, the reason is almost always the method. One chart measured the ingredient spooned and levelled, the other scooped it from the bag, and the two can differ by twenty percent. Brand and humidity add a few more grams of variation. That is why this page states the method alongside every figure, and why a kitchen scale is the only way to be certain. When two sources disagree, trust the one that tells you how it measured.