To convert grams of table salt into tablespoons, multiply by 0.055555556: one gram comes to 0.055555556 tablespoons. 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. Table salt comes in at 1.2173 g per mL, or 121.7% of water, which is why a cup of it is 288 g rather than 236.6 g. Volume and weight only line up for water, and only in metric.
A level tablespoon of table salt is 18 g, which puts a teaspoon at 6 g and a tablespoon and a half — the quantity recipes are fondest of — at 27 g. Levelling twice is where the error comes from, so the scale is the faster instrument once the quantity passes a couple of spoons.
Grams are the unit this conversion is really for. A domestic scale resolves to a gram, which is 0.347% of a cup of table salt, so weighing gets an accuracy no measuring cup can reach. A 500 g pack of it is 1.736 cups, and a 1 kg pack 3.472.
What the number depends on: Fine cubic crystals that pack tightly — the densest thing in the cupboard, and the reason a salt swap by volume goes so badly wrong.
The formula
grams- The amount of table salt you are converting, in grams
0.0555555555556- Tablespoons per gram for table salt, from its density of 1.2173 g/mL
tablespoons- The equivalent quantity in tablespoons
How it works, step by step
- Enter the quantity in grams.
- It is multiplied by 0.0555555555556, the tablespoons-per-gram figure for table salt.
- The result appears in tablespoons, with a second reading in tsp beneath it.
- Use the measure table if you want a standard recipe quantity rather than a number you type in.
Worked examples
50 g of table salt in tablespoons
50 g of table salt weighs out at 2.77778 tablespoons. Divide 2.77778 by 0.055555556 and you get back to 50 g, which is the quickest check that the factor is the right way up.
150 g of table salt in tablespoons
150 g of table salt weighs out at 8.33333 tablespoons. Divide 8.33333 by 0.055555556 and you get back to 150 g, which is the quickest check that the factor is the right way up.
500 g of table salt in tablespoons
A recipe calling for 500 g of table salt needs 27.7778 tablespoons on the scale. The arithmetic is 500 × 0.055555556 = 27.777778, and halving the recipe halves the weight to 13.8889 tablespoons.
How to read your score
Frequently asked questions
How many tablespoons are in 1 g of table salt?
One gram of table salt is 0.055555556 tablespoons. Half that quantity is 0.0277778 tablespoons and double it is 0.111111 tablespoons, so the figure scales straight up and down — there is no offset in this conversion, only the factor.
Why is a cup of table salt not 236 g like water?
Because weight per cup depends on what is in the cup. Table salt has a density of 1.2173 g per mL where water has 1.00, so a cup of it weighs 288 g rather than 236.6 g. That is a difference of 51.4 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 table salt by roughly 20% — about 28.8 g either side of 288 g — because fine cubic crystals that pack tightly — the densest thing in the cupboard, and the reason a salt swap by volume goes so badly wrong. Weighing removes the question entirely.
Is a fluid ounce of table salt 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 table salt weighs 1.27 oz, so the two readings differ by 27%. 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 table salt would weigh 304.33 g instead of 288 g — 16.3 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?
A scale, if the result matters. Volume measuring carries a spread of about 20% for table salt — roughly 57.6 g on a 288 g cup — while a domestic scale is accurate to a gram or two. For anything where the ratio of ingredients drives the outcome, bread and pastry above all, weigh it.
How much does 3 tbsp of table salt weigh?
3 tbsp of table salt comes to 54 g, or 54 grams. This page runs that calculation in reverse — enter a weight and it returns the volume — and the tablespoons-to-grams page does it in the direction the question is usually asked.
Table salt in grams and tablespoons
| Grams | Tablespoons | Unrounded |
|---|---|---|
| 5 g | 0.277778 tbsp | 0.2777777778 |
| 10 g | 0.555556 tbsp | 0.5555555556 |
| 25 g | 1.38889 tbsp | 1.388888889 |
| 50 g | 2.77778 tbsp | 2.777777778 |
| 100 g | 5.55556 tbsp | 5.555555556 |
| 125 g | 6.94444 tbsp | 6.944444444 |
| 150 g | 8.33333 tbsp | 8.333333333 |
| 200 g | 11.1111 tbsp | 11.11111111 |
| 250 g | 13.8889 tbsp | 13.88888889 |
| 300 g | 16.6667 tbsp | 16.66666667 |
| 500 g | 27.7778 tbsp | 27.77777778 |
| 1000 g | 55.5556 tbsp | 55.55555556 |
Based on 288 g per cup of table salt. One gram of table salt is 0.055555556 tablespoons.
| Measure | Grams | Ounces | Millilitres |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 cup | 288 g | 10.2 oz | 236.6 mL |
| 1 tbsp | 18 g | 0.635 oz | 14.79 mL |
| 2 tsp | 12 g | 0.423 oz | 9.858 mL |
| 1 tsp | 6 g | 0.212 oz | 4.929 mL |
| 3/4 tsp | 4.5 g | 0.159 oz | 3.697 mL |
| 1/2 tsp | 3 g | 0.106 oz | 2.464 mL |
| 1/4 tsp | 1.5 g | 0.0529 oz | 1.232 mL |
| 1/8 tsp | 0.75 g | 0.0265 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) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ground turmeric | 144 g | 5.079 oz | 0.6087 |
| Powdered gelatin | 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 |
| Table salt (this page) | 288 g | 10.16 oz | 1.217 |
| Baking soda | 288 g | 10.16 oz | 1.217 |
Ordered by weight. The spread across this group is why a single generic cups-to-grams factor cannot work.