To convert tablespoons of potato starch into grams, multiply by 10: one tablespoon comes to 10 grams. Every ingredient has its own figure here, because the units are measuring different things and only the density links them.
The density behind that figure is 0.67628 g per mL, against 1.00 for water. A cup of water weighs 236.6 g and a cup of potato starch weighs 160 g, so this ingredient is 67.63% as heavy as the same volume of water — the single fact the whole page rests on.
A level tablespoon of potato starch is 10 g, which puts a teaspoon at 3.333 g and a tablespoon and a half — the quantity recipes are fondest of — at 15 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 0.625% of a cup of potato starch, so weighing gets an accuracy no measuring cup can reach. A 500 g pack of it is 3.125 cups, and a 1 kg pack 6.25.
How the figure is arrived at: Denser than cornstarch, and not the same product as potato flour despite the similar name.
The formula
tablespoons- The amount of potato starch you are converting, in tablespoons
10- Grams per tablespoon for potato starch, from its density of 0.67628 g/mL
grams- The equivalent quantity in grams
How it works, step by step
- Enter the quantity in tablespoons.
- It is multiplied by 10, the grams-per-tablespoon figure for potato starch.
- 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
2 tbsp of potato starch in grams
Take 2 tbsp of potato starch: 2 × 10 gives 20 grams. Doubling the batch takes it to 40 grams, because the relationship is a straight proportion once the density is known.
4 tbsp of potato starch in grams
A recipe calling for 4 tbsp of potato starch needs 40 grams on the scale. The arithmetic is 4 × 10 = 40, and halving the recipe halves the weight to 20 grams.
12 tbsp of potato starch in grams
12 tbsp of potato starch weighs out at 120 grams. Divide 120 by 10 and you get back to 12 tbsp, which is the quickest check that the factor is the right way up.
How to read your score
Frequently asked questions
How many grams are in 1 tbsp of potato starch?
One tablespoon of potato starch is 10 grams. Half that quantity is 5 grams and double it is 20 grams, so the figure scales straight up and down — there is no offset in this conversion, only the factor.
Why is a cup of potato starch not 236 g like water?
Because weight per cup depends on what is in the cup. Potato starch has a density of 0.67628 g per mL where water has 1.00, so a cup of it weighs 160 g rather than 236.6 g. That is a difference of 76.6 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 potato starch by roughly 20% — about 16 g either side of 160 g — because denser than cornstarch, and not the same product as potato flour despite the similar name. Weighing removes the question entirely.
Is a fluid ounce of potato starch 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 potato starch weighs 0.7055 oz, so the two readings differ by 29.5%. 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 potato starch would weigh 169.07 g instead of 160 g — 9.07 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 potato starch — roughly 32 g on a 160 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 many tablespoons of potato starch is 500 g?
500 g of potato starch is 50 tablespoons — 0.1 tablespoons to one gram, so 500 × 0.1 = 50. Going that way is a division by 10, or a multiplication by 0.1 if you prefer.
Potato starch in tablespoons and grams
| Tablespoons | Grams | Unrounded |
|---|---|---|
| 1/2 tbsp | 5 g | 5 |
| 1 tbsp | 10 g | 10 |
| 2 tbsp | 20 g | 20 |
| 3 tbsp | 30 g | 30 |
| 4 tbsp | 40 g | 40 |
| 6 tbsp | 60 g | 60 |
| 8 tbsp | 80 g | 80 |
| 12 tbsp | 120 g | 120 |
| 16 tbsp | 160 g | 160 |
Based on 160 g per cup of potato starch. One tablespoon of potato starch is 10 grams.
| Measure | Grams | Ounces | Millilitres |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 cup | 160 g | 5.64 oz | 236.6 mL |
| 1 tbsp | 10 g | 0.353 oz | 14.79 mL |
| 2 tsp | 6.667 g | 0.235 oz | 9.858 mL |
| 1 tsp | 3.333 g | 0.118 oz | 4.929 mL |
| 3/4 tsp | 2.5 g | 0.0882 oz | 3.697 mL |
| 1/2 tsp | 1.667 g | 0.0588 oz | 2.464 mL |
| 1/4 tsp | 0.8333 g | 0.0294 oz | 1.232 mL |
| 1/8 tsp | 0.4167 g | 0.0147 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) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cornmeal | 138 g | 4.868 oz | 0.5833 |
| Graham cracker crumbs | 142 g | 5.009 oz | 0.6002 |
| Rice flour | 158 g | 5.573 oz | 0.6678 |
| Potato starch (this page) | 160 g | 5.644 oz | 0.6763 |
| Steel-cut oats | 160 g | 5.644 oz | 0.6763 |
| Semolina | 167 g | 5.891 oz | 0.7059 |
| Uncooked quinoa | 170 g | 5.997 oz | 0.7185 |
Ordered by weight. The spread across this group is why a single generic cups-to-grams factor cannot work.