To convert teaspoons of powdered gelatin into grams, multiply by 3.125: one teaspoon comes to 3.125 grams. Every ingredient has its own figure here, because the units are measuring different things and only the density links them.
Water is the yardstick: 1 mL of it weighs 1 g. Powdered gelatin comes in at 0.63401 g per mL, or 63.4% of water, which is why a cup of it is 150 g rather than 236.6 g. Volume and weight only line up for water, and only in metric.
A level teaspoon of powdered gelatin weighs 3.125 g. A kitchen scale that reads to the nearest gram is therefore working at roughly 32% resolution on a single spoonful, which is why measuring spoons beat scales below about 5 g and lose to them above it. Three teaspoons make a tablespoon, so the same spoonful is 9.375 g if the recipe scales up.
Grams are the unit this conversion is really for. A domestic scale resolves to a gram, which is 0.667% of a cup of powdered gelatin, so weighing gets an accuracy no measuring cup can reach. A 500 g pack of it is 3.333 cups, and a 1 kg pack 6.667.
How the figure is arrived at: Unflavoured. A standard envelope is 7 g, which is a little over two and a quarter teaspoons.
The formula
teaspoons- The amount of powdered gelatin you are converting, in teaspoons
3.125- Grams per teaspoon for powdered gelatin, from its density of 0.63401 g/mL
grams- The equivalent quantity in grams
How it works, step by step
- Enter the quantity in teaspoons.
- It is multiplied by 3.125, the grams-per-teaspoon figure for powdered gelatin.
- The result appears in grams, with a second reading in oz beneath it.
- Use the measure table if you want a standard recipe quantity rather than a number you type in.
Worked examples
3/4 tsp of powdered gelatin in grams
3/4 tsp of powdered gelatin weighs out at 2.34375 grams. Divide 2.34375 by 3.125 and you get back to 3/4 tsp, which is the quickest check that the factor is the right way up.
1 1/2 tsp of powdered gelatin in grams
A recipe calling for 1 1/2 tsp of powdered gelatin needs 4.6875 grams on the scale. The arithmetic is 1.5 × 3.125 = 4.6875, and halving the recipe halves the weight to 2.34375 grams.
4 tsp of powdered gelatin in grams
Take 4 tsp of powdered gelatin: 4 × 3.125 gives 12.5 grams. Doubling the batch takes it to 25 grams, because the relationship is a straight proportion once the density is known.
How to read your score
Frequently asked questions
How many grams are in 1 tsp of powdered gelatin?
One teaspoon of powdered gelatin is 3.125 grams. Half that quantity is 1.5625 grams and double it is 6.25 grams, so the figure scales straight up and down — there is no offset in this conversion, only the factor.
Why is a cup of powdered gelatin not 236 g like water?
Because weight per cup depends on what is in the cup. Powdered gelatin has a density of 0.63401 g per mL where water has 1.00, so a cup of it weighs 150 g rather than 236.6 g. That is a difference of 86.6 g per cup, and it is the reason a single volume-to-weight factor cannot be applied to every ingredient.
Does how I measure it change the weight?
Yes, and by more than most people expect. Handling changes the weight of a cup of powdered gelatin by roughly 20% — about 15 g either side of 150 g — because unflavoured. Weighing removes the question entirely.
Is a fluid ounce of powdered gelatin the same as an ounce?
No. A fluid ounce is a volume — one eighth of a US cup, 29.57 mL — and an ounce is a weight. One fluid ounce of powdered gelatin weighs 0.6614 oz, so the two readings differ by 33.9%. They coincide only for something with the density of water, and then only roughly.
Is this a US cup or a metric cup?
US customary: 236.59 mL, which is the cup every US recipe means. A metric cup is 250 mL, so the same cup of powdered gelatin would weigh 158.5 g instead of 150 g — 8.5 g more, or 5.67%. Australian and some European recipes use the metric cup, and the difference is large enough to matter in baking.
Do I need a scale for this, or will measuring cups do?
At this size the spoon wins. One teaspoon of powdered gelatin is 3.125 g, and a scale reading to the nearest gram is working at 32% resolution on that — a measuring spoon is the more accurate instrument below about 5 g, which is why spice quantities are still written in spoons.
How many teaspoons of powdered gelatin is 500 g?
500 g of powdered gelatin is 160 teaspoons — 0.32 teaspoons to one gram, so 500 × 0.32 = 160. Going that way is a division by 3.125, or a multiplication by 0.32 if you prefer.
Powdered gelatin in teaspoons and grams
| Teaspoons | Grams | Unrounded |
|---|---|---|
| 1/4 tsp | 0.78125 g | 0.78125 |
| 1/2 tsp | 1.5625 g | 1.5625 |
| 3/4 tsp | 2.34375 g | 2.34375 |
| 1 tsp | 3.125 g | 3.125 |
| 1 1/2 tsp | 4.6875 g | 4.6875 |
| 2 tsp | 6.25 g | 6.25 |
| 3 tsp | 9.375 g | 9.375 |
| 4 tsp | 12.5 g | 12.5 |
| 6 tsp | 18.75 g | 18.75 |
Based on 150 g per cup of powdered gelatin. One teaspoon of powdered gelatin is 3.125 grams.
| Measure | Grams | Ounces | Millilitres |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 cup | 150 g | 5.29 oz | 236.6 mL |
| 1 tbsp | 9.375 g | 0.331 oz | 14.79 mL |
| 2 tsp | 6.25 g | 0.22 oz | 9.858 mL |
| 1 tsp | 3.125 g | 0.11 oz | 4.929 mL |
| 3/4 tsp | 2.344 g | 0.0827 oz | 3.697 mL |
| 1/2 tsp | 1.562 g | 0.0551 oz | 2.464 mL |
| 1/4 tsp | 0.7812 g | 0.0276 oz | 1.232 mL |
| 1/8 tsp | 0.3906 g | 0.0138 oz | 0.6161 mL |
US customary measures: 1 cup = 236.59 mL, 1 tbsp = 14.79 mL, 1 tsp = 4.93 mL.
| Ingredient | Grams per cup | Ounces per cup | Density (g/mL) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Garlic powder | 134 g | 4.727 oz | 0.5664 |
| Instant yeast | 144 g | 5.079 oz | 0.6087 |
| Ground turmeric | 144 g | 5.079 oz | 0.6087 |
| Powdered gelatin (this page) | 150 g | 5.291 oz | 0.634 |
| Baking powder | 192 g | 6.773 oz | 0.8115 |
| Vanilla extract | 202 g | 7.125 oz | 0.8538 |
| Kosher salt | 240 g | 8.466 oz | 1.014 |
Ordered by weight. The spread across this group is why a single generic cups-to-grams factor cannot work.