1 Tablespoon Vegetable Shortening in Grams
1 tablespoon of vegetable shortening weighs 11.5 g (scooped, King Arthur Baking). The working is simple: one cup of vegetable shortening weighs 184 g, and one tablespoon is one sixteenth of a cup, so 184 divided by 16 is 11.5. Solid white fat made from hydrogenated vegetable oil. All the figures on this page are approximate conversions based on the King Arthur Baking value, so when a recipe really matters, verify with a kitchen scale.
Bakers reach for tablespoons when the recipe needs precision in a small dose, and vegetable shortening is a classic case, because it is used in spoonfuls to adjust texture, flavour and colour, and getting those spoonfuls right is what separates a reliable bake from a lucky one.
Vegetable Shortening tablespoons to grams table
| Tablespoons | Grams |
|---|---|
| 1 tbsp | 11.5 g |
| 2 tbsp | 23 g |
| 3 tbsp | 34.5 g |
| 4 tbsp | 46 g |
| 5 tbsp | 57.5 g |
| 6 tbsp | 69 g |
| 7 tbsp | 80.5 g |
| 8 tbsp | 92 g |
| 9 tbsp | 103.5 g |
| 10 tbsp | 115 g |
| 11 tbsp | 126.5 g |
| 12 tbsp | 138 g |
| 13 tbsp | 149.5 g |
| 14 tbsp | 161 g |
| 15 tbsp | 172.5 g |
| 16 tbsp | 184 g |
Every row is the same calculation: the number of tablespoons times 11.5 g, which is 184 g per cup divided by 16. Four tablespoons is a quarter cup (46 g), eight tablespoons is half a cup (92 g), and sixteen tablespoons is a full cup (184 g). The table is the fastest way to answer the question in the middle of a recipe, and the worked examples below show how to use it when the recipe gives you a different amount.
Teaspoon weights for Vegetable Shortening
| Teaspoons | Grams |
|---|---|
| 1 tsp | 3.8 g |
| 2 tsp | 7.7 g |
| 3 tsp | 11.5 g |
| 4 tsp | 15.3 g |
| 5 tsp | 19.2 g |
| 6 tsp | 23 g |
One teaspoon is a third of a tablespoon, so one teaspoon of vegetable shortening weighs about 3.8 g. Teaspoons are the right tool for amounts under a tablespoon, and for amounts under a teaspoon the only reliable option is a scale that reads to a tenth of a gram, because no spoon that small can be levelled consistently by hand.
Cups to grams for Vegetable Shortening
| Cups | Grams |
|---|---|
| 1/4 cup | 46 g |
| 1/3 cup | 61 g |
| 1/2 cup | 92 g |
| 2/3 cup | 123 g |
| 3/4 cup | 138 g |
| 1 cup | 184 g |
| 1 1/2 cups | 276 g |
| 2 cups | 368 g |
| 3 cups | 552 g |
This table is the same 184 g per cup figure read the other way round, and it is here because recipes switch between cups, tablespoons and grams without warning. One cup is 184 g, half a cup is 92 g, and a quarter cup is 46 g, all measured scooped. Because all three tables on this page are calculated from the same figure, they always agree with each other.
Worked examples
One tablespoon to adjust a dough
A single tablespoon of vegetable shortening weighs 11.5 g, and that is often the difference between a dough that is too stiff and one that handles properly. Add one level tablespoon, mix, and judge the dough before adding a second, because dough tells you what it needs and a second tablespoon added too soon cannot be undone. Weigh the tablespoon if the dough is for a recipe you have not made before.
Three tablespoons in a cake batter
Three tablespoons of vegetable shortening weigh 34.5 g, because 3 times 11.5 g is 34.5 g. In a cake batter that amount is doing real work, so measure three level tablespoons into a small bowl before you start, and tip the whole bowl in at once. That way the batter gets the full amount at the right moment, rather than a spoonful at a time while the batter sits and the leavening starts working.
Sixteen tablespoons, or a full cup
Sixteen tablespoons of vegetable shortening weigh 184 g, which is a full cup. Recipes rarely call for sixteen tablespoons, but knowing the equivalence lets you switch between spoon and cup measures whenever a recipe changes systems halfway through. If you find yourself counting past eight tablespoons, stop counting and weigh the cup amount instead, because the scale is faster and more accurate than a long count.
How the weight was measured
Scooped means spooning the ingredient into the measure until it is heaped, then sweeping a straight knife across the top to level it off, unless the ingredient is a liquid, in which case it is poured to the line. Never scoop the spoon through the bag or jar, and never tap the spoon down, because both pack the ingredient and add weight.
The source for the 184 g per cup figure is King Arthur Baking, and the confidence in the value is high where the source is a published ingredient chart and medium where it is a USDA food-data value. King Arthur Baking publishes a standard ingredient weight chart that recipe developers use as a reference, and this page follows it exactly rather than averaging across sources, because an average of two different measuring methods is a number that matches nobody's spoon. Use the tables above, which follow the same source, and your conversions will be consistent with the recipes on this site.
Vegetable Shortening in baking: when spoonfuls matter
In baking, vegetable shortening is rarely the main ingredient, which is exactly why its tablespoon weight matters: a small ingredient that is wrong by half throws the balance of the whole recipe off, while a bulk ingredient that is wrong by the same proportion is barely noticed. Flaky pie crusts, frying and frosting. Those uses explain why the recipe gives the amount in tablespoons rather than cups, since a cup would be far too much and a teaspoon far too little. The practical rule for baking is to weigh the tablespoons whenever the recipe is one you care about, because a scale removes the two biggest sources of error, the heaped spoon and the packed spoon, in one step. If you must use spoons, spoon the ingredient into the measure, level it, and do not tap the spoon down, because tapping packs it and adds weight you did not intend.
Common mistakes with vegetable shortening
The baking mistake with vegetable shortening is adding it by eye to a batter that is already mixed, because once it is in the bowl you cannot take it out, and a spoonful too much of a strong ingredient changes the flavour of the whole batch. Measure it before you start mixing, set it aside in a small bowl, and add it when the recipe says to. A second mistake is using the same spoon for wet and dry ingredients without washing it, since a damp spoon makes a dry ingredient clump and weigh more per spoon. A third mistake is scaling a recipe by doubling the tablespoons without checking the total, because sixteen tablespoons is a full cup, and at that point the cup table below is the easier and more accurate measure.
Storing vegetable shortening
Cool, dry cupboard, up to 1 year after opening. Flaky pie crusts, frying and frosting. Keeping vegetable shortening in good condition protects the conversion as well as the flavour, because a stale, damp or clumped ingredient does not weigh the same per spoon as a fresh one, and the tables above assume the ingredient is in its normal state. If a bag or jar has been open for months, check it before you measure, and replace it if it smells off, feels damp or has changed colour.
Frequently asked questions
How many grams is 1 teaspoon of vegetable shortening?
One level teaspoon weighs about 3.8 g, because one tablespoon is three teaspoons, so 11.5 divided by 3 is 3.8. Teaspoons are the smallest useful measure for vegetable shortening, and for amounts under a teaspoon a scale is the only reliable option.
How many tablespoons are in a cup of vegetable shortening?
Sixteen tablespoons make one cup, so a cup of vegetable shortening is 16 tablespoons and weighs 184 g. Four tablespoons is a quarter cup (46 g), eight tablespoons is half a cup (92 g), and twelve tablespoons is three quarters of a cup (138 g).
How do I measure a tablespoon of vegetable shortening without a scale?
Use a real measuring tablespoon, fill it scooped style, and level it with a straight knife. Do not use a cutlery tablespoon, because cutlery spoons are not standard measures, and do not heap the spoon, because a heaped tablespoon can hold half as much again as a level one.
How many tablespoons is 100 g of vegetable shortening?
100 g divided by 11.5 g per tablespoon is about 8.7 tablespoons, which is roughly 0.54 cups. That is more than six tablespoons, so for 100 g it is easier to use the cup measure, which is 1/2 cup, than to count out the tablespoons one by one.
Is the tablespoon weight exact or approximate?
Approximate. All density conversions are approximate, because the weight of a spoonful varies with measuring method, moisture, brand and how finely the ingredient is ground. The figure is accurate enough for everyday cooking and for most baking, and when it has to be exact, verify it with a kitchen scale.