Measuring Equivalents- How to cut a recipe in half or thirds (2024)

Sometimes when you’re cooking up a storm in the kitchen for the family, a measuring cup comes up among the missing- leaving you desperately searching through the drawer or cupboards- or staring at the measuring spoons and quickly doing some math in your head. Here are some simple measuring equivalents charts that will take the effort out of baking so you can reduce your recipe or double it with ease.

Measuring Equivalents

Essentially- this is precisely how many tablespoons or teaspoons are in each measuring cup size. If you happen to be missing a measuring cup, you can use the equivalent measure in tablespoons (or teaspoons). For Example: 1 cup EQUALS (or is the same as) 16 Tablespoons.
1 How to Cut a Recipe in Half (1/2)
2 How to Cut a Recipe in Thirds (1/3)
3 Common Measurement Equivalents
4 Convert Common Measurements to Tablespoons and Teaspoons
5 Oven Temperature Equivalents

Reducing a Recipe in Half

Occasionally you may find yourself need to cut a recipe in half. Perhaps it’s a big family recipe or a potluck recipe that feeds 6 or 8 and you don’t need those extra servings- these measurements are how to reduce the recipe to half.

Example: Half of 1/3 of a cup equals 2 tablespoons PLUS 2 teaspoons.

Reducing a Recipe into One-Third

There are occasions we’ve frequently encountered where we’d like to cut a recipe by 1/3. This one is particularly effective for the mix recipes area of our site.

Many of our make ahead mixes create 6-12 servings. If you happen to be trying one for the first time, you may prefer to make a smaller version to test it out and see if your family likes it or not.

Common Measurement Equivalents to Remember

Additionally, when attempting to divide or reduce recipes it helps to remember the following:

16 Tbs = 1 Cup
1 Cup = 8 Fluid Ounces
1 Fluid Ounce = 2 Tablespoons
1 pound = 16 Ounces
1 Pint = 2 Cups
2 Pints = 1 Quart
1 Quart = 4 Cups = 32 Ounces
2 Quarts = 8 Cups = 1/2 Gallon = 64 Ounces
4 Quarts = 16 Cups = 1 Gallon = 128 Ounces

1 Stick of Butter = 8 tbs = 1/2 cup
1 Medium Egg = 3 Tablespoons; to easily divide it, beat the raw egg in a bowl and measure out 1 Tablespoon

How to Convert Measurements to Tablespoons (Tbs) and Teaspoons (tsp)

1. 1 cup = 16 Tbs
2. Half of 1 cup = 8 Tbs
3. 3/4 cup = 12 Tbs
4. Half of 3/4 cup = 6 Tbs
5. 1/2 cup = 8 Tbs
6. Half of 1/2 cup = 4 Tbs
7. 1/3 cup = 5 Tbs+ 1 tsp
8. Half of 1/3 cup = 2 Tbs+ 2 tsp
9. 1/4 cup = 4 Tbs
10. Half of 1/4 cup = 2 Tbs
11. 1/8 cup = 2 Tbs
12. Half of 1/8 cup = 1 Tbs
13. 1/2 Tbs= 1-1/2 tsp

In our own kitchen, since our sons both enjoy cooking, I transformed the inside of my kitchen cupboard doors into chalkboards and have several of the equivalents written there as a handy reference if needed as a reminder!

Oven Temperature Equivalents

Additionally, there are times when old school recipes call for an ingredient that may not have ever even heard of, such as Oleo, which is actually butter. Here are the most common “Use This For That” for ingredients in American/USA based recipes, and use this one for foreign-based recipes.