You’re standing over a bowl of half-mixed brownie batter, the dry ingredients are clumped, and suddenly you realize your 2/3 cup measuring tool is missing. It’s probably at the bottom of the dishwasher or buried in a sandbox outside. You need to know how many tablespoons equal 2/3 cup right now, or the texture of your bake is toast.
Kitchen panic is real.
Most people guess. They shouldn't. Baking is basically a chemistry experiment where the lab equipment is made of plastic and kept in a messy drawer. If you’re off by even a little bit, those "chewy" cookies turn into hockey pucks. Here is the straight answer: 2/3 cup is equal to 10 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons. It sounds messy because it is. Unlike a half cup or a quarter cup, 2/3 doesn't divide into a clean, whole number of tablespoons. It’s a recurring decimal—0.666—and that’s where the trouble starts for most home cooks.
The Raw Math of How Many Tablespoons Equal 2/3 Cup
Let’s break down the standard US Imperial system, which, honestly, feels like it was designed to confuse us on purpose. A single US cup holds 16 tablespoons. If you do the division, 1/3 of a cup is exactly 5 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon. Since we’re looking for 2/3, we just double that.
5 + 5 = 10.
1 + 1 = 2.
So, you’re looking at 10 tablespoons and 2 teaspoons.
If you try to use only tablespoons, you’ll end up with 10.67 tablespoons. Good luck measuring 0.67 of a tablespoon with any accuracy while a toddler is screaming or your oven timer is chiming. Just use the two teaspoons. It’s easier.
Why does this matter so much? Because 2/3 of a cup is a significant volume. If you just rounded down to 10 tablespoons, you’d be missing nearly an entire ounce of liquid or flour. In a delicate souffle or a precise sourdough hydration calculation, that’s a disaster. Even in a basic pancake mix, missing those two teaspoons can make the difference between a fluffy stack and a rubbery mess.
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Why Liquid and Dry Measurements Feel Different
Technically, a tablespoon of water weighs more than a tablespoon of flour. Volume is volume, though. A 2/3 cup vessel holds the same "space" regardless of what’s inside. But how you fill those 10 tablespoons and 2 teaspoons changes everything.
If you're measuring flour, don't scoop it directly with the tablespoon. You'll pack it down. The flour becomes dense. You’ll end up with way more than you actually need. Instead, spoon the flour into the tablespoon and level it off with a knife. This is the "spoon and level" method.
For liquids, it’s a different game. Surface tension is your enemy. When you’re measuring out how many tablespoons equal 2/3 cup using milk or oil, the liquid slightly domes over the top of the spoon. If you do that 10 times, those tiny domes add up to an extra tablespoon of fat or moisture. Pour carefully. Stay level.
The Metric Twist
If you’re following a recipe from a UK or Australian blog, things get weirder. A standard US tablespoon is 14.78 milliliters. In Australia, a tablespoon is 20 milliliters. If you use 10 Australian tablespoons to make up 2/3 of a US cup, you’re going to have a massive overflow. Always check the origin of your recipe. Most modern digital scales allow you to toggle between grams and ounces, which honestly solves this whole headache.
When Accuracy Actually Matters (And When It Doesn’t)
Let’s be real for a second.
If you’re making a beef stew and the recipe calls for 2/3 cup of red wine, and you just eyeball 10 tablespoons? You’re fine. The stew will taste great. Maybe it’ll be a little more or less "winey," but it won't break the dish.
But if you’re making French Macarons? Or a delicate sponge cake? You cannot wing it.
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Baking relies on the interaction between leavening agents like baking soda and acidic or liquid components. If the ratio of how many tablespoons equal 2/3 cup is off, the carbon dioxide bubbles created during baking might not be strong enough to lift the weight of the extra flour you accidentally added. Or, if you didn't add enough, the cake might rise and then immediately collapse because there wasn't enough structural protein (flour) to hold the air.
Tips for Measuring Without the Right Tools
Sometimes you don't even have a tablespoon. I've been there in a rental cabin with nothing but a coffee mug and some plastic cutlery.
- The Teaspoon Method: There are 3 teaspoons in a tablespoon. Since 2/3 cup is 32 teaspoons (10 tablespoons x 3 + 2 teaspoons), you could technically count out 32 teaspoons. It’s tedious. You’ll probably lose count around 14.
- The Ounce Method: 2/3 cup is approximately 5.33 fluid ounces. If you have a cocktail jigger or a baby bottle, you can use the ounce markings to get a much more accurate read than guessing with a dinner spoon.
- The Scale: This is the gold standard. 2/3 cup of water weighs 157.7 grams. Flour is different—usually around 83 to 95 grams depending on how it’s sifted.
Honestly, buy a digital scale. They cost twenty bucks and they stop you from having to google "how many tablespoons in a cup" every three days.
Common Mistakes When Converting 2/3 Cup
I see people all the time thinking they can just use two 1/3 cup scoops. That’s the easiest way, obviously. But if you don't have that 1/3 cup scoop, the next instinct is to use the 1/4 cup.
Can you make 2/3 cup out of 1/4 cups? Not easily.
Two 1/4 cups give you 1/2 cup (which is 8 tablespoons).
To get to 2/3 cup from there, you still need another 2 tablespoons and 2 teaspoons.
It’s easy to see why people just give up and guess. The math isn't "clean." We like 4s, 8s, and 16s. The number 3 is the chaotic neutral of the kitchen. It refuses to play nice with the base-2 system we use for measuring cups.
The History of These Weird Measurements
Ever wonder why we're even dealing with tablespoons and cups instead of just grams? It's a holdover from "receipts" (the old word for recipes) where ingredients were measured by the handful or by the weight of a silver coin. The US stayed with the Imperial system while the rest of the world moved to the logical, base-10 metric system.
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The "cup" wasn't even standardized in the US until Fannie Farmer, the principal of the Boston Cooking School, insisted on it in her 1896 cookbook. Before her, a "cup" was literally any cup you had in your cupboard. You can imagine how that went for people trying to swap recipes.
Even today, a "cup" in the US is technically 236.59 ml, while a "legal cup" used for nutrition labeling is exactly 240 ml. When you're trying to figure out how many tablespoons equal 2/3 cup, you're navigating a century of overlapping standards and regional math.
Practical Steps for Your Next Recipe
Don't let a missing measuring cup ruin your dinner. If you find yourself frequently converting 2/3 cup, do yourself a favor and memorize the "10 and 2" rule.
- Step 1: Grab your tablespoon.
- Step 2: Measure out 10 level tablespoons into your mixing bowl.
- Step 3: Grab your teaspoon.
- Step 4: Add 2 level teaspoons.
If you are working with dry ingredients like cocoa powder or powdered sugar, make sure to sift them before measuring if the recipe asks for it. Sifted cocoa occupies much more volume than clumped cocoa. 10 tablespoons of clumped cocoa is way more chocolate than you probably want. Actually, maybe there's no such thing as too much chocolate, but your cake's texture will definitely suffer.
For those who want to be even more precise, consider the "weight" of your specific ingredient. A 2/3 cup of granulated sugar weighs about 135 grams. A 2/3 cup of packed brown sugar weighs about 145 grams. A 2/3 cup of whole milk weighs about 162 grams. See the variance? The volume (tablespoons) stays the same, but the mass changes.
If you’re serious about your kitchen game, stop relying on volume for everything. Start a "cheat sheet" on the inside of your pantry door. Write down that 2/3 cup = 10 Tbsp + 2 tsp. Put it right next to the conversion for 3/4 cup (12 tablespoons) and 1/3 cup (5 Tbsp + 1 tsp).
Your future self, halfway through a complicated holiday meal, will thank you. No more frantically searching the internet with flour-covered fingers. Just a quick glance at the door, 10 quick scoops, 2 small ones, and you’re back in business. It’s about building a workflow that handles the "math" for you so you can focus on the actual cooking.
Go check that batter. If you haven't added the liquid yet, get your 10 tablespoons and 2 teaspoons ready. Your recipe is going to turn out just fine.
Next time you’re at the store, maybe buy a second set of measuring cups. Keep the 2/3 cup one on a separate ring. It’s the one that always goes missing right when you need it most.
Quick Reference Summary
- Standard Conversion: 10 Tablespoons + 2 Teaspoons.
- Fluid Ounces: 5.33 fl oz.
- Total Teaspoons: 32 tsp.
- Metric (Approximate): 158 ml.
- Best Practice: Use a digital scale for dry ingredients like flour or sugar to avoid packing errors.