Exactly How Many Tbsp of Butter in 2/3 Cup for Perfect Baking Results

You're standing in the kitchen, flour on your apron, and the recipe calls for two-thirds of a cup of softened butter. You look at the sticks in your hand. The little lines are there, sure, but they only go up to eight. Most of us just start hacking away at the wrapper, hoping the displacement in the bowl looks "about right." But baking is chemistry, not a guessing game. If you're wondering how many tbsp of butter in 2/3 cup, the answer is ten tablespoons plus two teaspoons.

That’s the hard number.

Getting there without making a greasy mess of your counter is the real trick.

Honestly, most people trip up because they try to eyeball a third of a stick. Don't do that. It ruins cookies. It makes pie crusts slumped and sad. When you realize that a standard stick of butter in the U.S. is exactly 8 tablespoons (or 1/2 cup), the math for 2/3 cup starts to feel a bit more annoying. You need more than one stick, but significantly less than two.

The Math Behind the Measurements

Let's break the logic down so you never have to Google this again while your oven is preheating. One cup contains 16 tablespoons. This is the universal constant of American volume measurements. If you divide that 16 by three to get a "third," you get 5.333 tablespoons. Since we need two of those thirds, we are looking at 10.666 tablespoons.

Kitchen spoons don't come in "point six six" increments.

To make this practical, we convert that decimal into something you actually own. That 0.66 of a tablespoon is exactly two teaspoons. So, for your 2/3 cup, you are unwraping one full stick (8 tbsp) and then cutting exactly 2 tablespoons and 2 teaspoons from the second stick.

It feels like a lot of work for a batch of muffins. But if you’re making something delicate like a French pâte à choux or a laminated dough, that extra teaspoon of fat determines whether your pastry rises or turns into a lead weight.

Why Volume is Kind of a Liar

Professional bakers like Joanne Chang or the team over at King Arthur Baking generally roll their eyes at these conversations. Why? Because volume is fickle.

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If your butter is cold and rock-hard, you might pack it into a measuring cup and leave air gaps at the bottom. If it's melted, it settles differently. Even the way you level off a tablespoon can vary by a gram or two. This is why the most accurate way to handle the question of how many tbsp of butter in 2/3 cup is to actually ignore the spoons and use a scale.

In the world of professional pastry, 2/3 cup of butter weighs 151.5 grams.

If you use a scale, you just put the bowl on the platform, hit tare, and slice until the number hits 151 or 152. Done. No dirty measuring cups to wash. No scraping grease out of the corners of a plastic 1/3 cup scoop. It’s faster. It’s cleaner.

Different Sticks, Different Problems

Are you in the Western U.S. or the East Coast? It actually matters for your visual estimation. East Coast sticks (Elgin style) are long and skinny. West Coast sticks (Western Stubby) are short and fat.

While they weigh the same, the markings on the wrapper of a "stubby" stick are closer together. If you are trying to slice off that extra bit to reach your 10 tablespoons and 2 teaspoons, a wide knife on a skinny East Coast stick is much easier to control than trying to shave a sliver off a fat Western stick.

Common Mistakes When Measuring Butter

The biggest mistake? Melting it first.

Unless the recipe explicitly says "2/3 cup melted butter," you should be measuring it in its solid or softened state. Melting butter changes its volume slightly, but more importantly, it changes how it interacts with sugar. If you melt the butter to make it easier to measure into those tablespoons, and then the recipe asks you to "cream the butter and sugar," you’ve already failed. The sugar won't aerate. Your cake will be dense.

Another weird one is the "water displacement" method. Some old-school cookbooks suggest filling a measuring cup with water and adding butter until the level rises. Don't do this. You end up with wet butter. It’s gross and it messes with the hydration of your flour.

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Dealing with the Remnants

When you take your 2/3 cup out of those two sticks, you're left with a weirdly sized nub of butter—roughly 5 tablespoons and 1 teaspoon left over.

Don't just throw it in a baggy. If you bake often, that leftover bit is going to get lost in the back of the fridge and start smelling like last night's onions. Wrap it tightly in the original foil or parchment. Better yet, use those leftovers for greasing your pans.

Real-World Conversions for Quick Reference

Sometimes you just need a quick mental map.

If a recipe calls for 2/3 cup, and you’re staring at a pile of tablespoons, remember that 10 tablespoons is nearly there, but not quite. That extra 2 teaspoons is about the size of a large marble. It’s the difference between a dough that is slightly dry and crumbly and one that holds together perfectly.

• 1/3 cup = 5 tbsp + 1 tsp
• 2/3 cup = 10 tbsp + 2 tsp
• 1 cup = 16 tbsp

In the UK or Australia, they often use "dessert spoons," which are different from tablespoons. If you’re using a British recipe, stop everything. Their tablespoons are often 20ml, whereas American ones are roughly 15ml. If you try to use 10 Australian tablespoons for a 2/3 cup American recipe, you’re going to have a greasy disaster on your hands.

The Temperature Factor

When you're measuring out those 10 tablespoons and 2 teaspoons, temperature is your best friend or your worst enemy.

Cold butter is easier to cut precisely. If you’re trying to get that exact 2-teaspoon slice off the end of a stick, do it while the butter is straight from the fridge. Once it’s measured, then let it soften to room temperature.

If you try to measure "room temperature" butter into tablespoons, it sticks to the spoon. You lose half a teaspoon just in the film left behind on the metal. It’s frustrating.

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For those who are serious about their sourdough or their brioche, remember that "room temperature" in a professional kitchen is usually around 65-68°F. If your kitchen is a balmy 80°F in July, your "softened" butter is actually a puddle. At that point, your tablespoon measurements are going to be wildly inaccurate because the density has changed.

Why Does This Measurement Even Exist?

You might wonder why recipe developers even use 2/3 cup. It seems designed to annoy us.

Usually, it’s a result of scaling. A recipe that originally called for 1 cup might have been cut down by a third. Or, more likely, the ratio of fat to flour required exactly that much moisture to achieve a specific crumb structure.

In a standard pie crust, 2/3 cup of butter to 2 cups of flour is a classic ratio for a very flaky, "short" crust. If you bumped it up to 3/4 cup because you didn't want to deal with the teaspoons, the crust might taste great, but it will lose its shape in the oven and slide down the sides of the pie plate.

Actionable Steps for Your Kitchen

Stop guessing and start measuring with intent. Here is how you handle 2/3 cup of butter like a pro:

1. Check the Wrapper First: Look at the markings. Use a sharp, thin knife to cut through the paper and the butter at the 8-tablespoon mark (one full stick).
2. The Second Stick: On the new stick, find the 2-tablespoon mark. Cut it.
3. The Teaspoons: Since a tablespoon is 3 teaspoons, you are basically cutting two-thirds of one tablespoon. If your wrapper doesn't have teaspoon markings, just eyeball a slice that is two-thirds the width of one of the tablespoon segments.
4. Confirm by Weight: If you have a digital scale, just aim for 151 grams. It is the only way to be 100% sure.
5. Watch the Salt: If you are substituting salted butter for unsalted in that 2/3 cup, remember that you’re adding about 1/4 teaspoon of extra salt to your recipe. Adjust your dry ingredients accordingly.

Next time you see 2/3 cup in a recipe, don't panic. Grab your two sticks, cut the full one, then take your two tablespoons and two teaspoons from the second. Your cookies will thank you for the precision.

Summary Table of Conversions

Knowing how many tbsp of butter in 2/3 cup is a fundamental skill that separates the "okay" bakers from the ones who get asked for their recipes at every potluck. Precision matters. Now go preheat that oven.