One tablespoon of skim milk is 15.3125 grams, so converting tablespoons of skim milk to grams means multiplying by 15.3125. That factor is specific to this ingredient — it comes from its density, not from any relationship between the two units.
The density behind that figure is 1.0356 g per mL, against 1.00 for water. A cup of water weighs 236.6 g and a cup of skim milk weighs 245 g, so this ingredient is 103.6% as heavy as the same volume of water — the single fact the whole page rests on.
A level tablespoon of skim milk is 15.31 g, which puts a teaspoon at 5.104 g and a tablespoon and a half — the quantity recipes are fondest of — at 22.97 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 0.408% of a cup of skim milk, so weighing gets an accuracy no measuring cup can reach. A 500 g pack of it is 2.041 cups, and a 1 kg pack 4.082.
What the number depends on: Marginally denser than whole milk, because the fat removed from it was the lightest part.
The formula
tablespoons- The amount of skim milk you are converting, in tablespoons
15.3125- Grams per tablespoon for skim milk, from its density of 1.0356 g/mL
grams- The equivalent quantity in grams
How it works, step by step
- Enter the quantity in tablespoons.
- It is multiplied by 15.3125, the grams-per-tablespoon figure for skim milk.
- 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 skim milk in grams
2 tbsp of skim milk weighs out at 30.625 grams. Divide 30.625 by 15.3125 and you get back to 2 tbsp, which is the quickest check that the factor is the right way up.
4 tbsp of skim milk in grams
4 tbsp of skim milk weighs out at 61.25 grams. Divide 61.25 by 15.3125 and you get back to 4 tbsp, which is the quickest check that the factor is the right way up.
12 tbsp of skim milk in grams
12 tbsp of skim milk weighs out at 183.75 grams. Divide 183.75 by 15.3125 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 skim milk?
One tablespoon of skim milk is 15.3125 grams. Half that quantity is 7.65625 grams and double it is 30.625 grams, so the figure scales straight up and down — there is no offset in this conversion, only the factor.
Why is a cup of skim milk not 236 g like water?
Because weight per cup depends on what is in the cup. Skim milk has a density of 1.0356 g per mL where water has 1.00, so a cup of it weighs 245 g rather than 236.6 g. That is a difference of 8.4 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?
Barely. Skim milk does not compress, so a cup of it is 245 g however it is poured — within about 1%, which is inside the accuracy of a domestic scale. This is the group where measuring by volume is defensible.
Is a fluid ounce of skim milk 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 skim milk weighs 1.08 oz, so the two readings differ by 8.03%. 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 skim milk would weigh 258.89 g instead of 245 g — 13.9 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 1% for skim milk — roughly 2.45 g on a 245 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 skim milk is 500 g?
500 g of skim milk is 32.653 tablespoons — 0.0653061 tablespoons to one gram, so 500 × 0.0653061 = 32.653. Going that way is a division by 15.3125, or a multiplication by 0.0653061 if you prefer.
Skim milk in tablespoons and grams
| Tablespoons | Grams | Unrounded |
|---|---|---|
| 1/2 tbsp | 7.65625 g | 7.65625 |
| 1 tbsp | 15.3125 g | 15.3125 |
| 2 tbsp | 30.625 g | 30.625 |
| 3 tbsp | 45.9375 g | 45.9375 |
| 4 tbsp | 61.25 g | 61.25 |
| 6 tbsp | 91.875 g | 91.875 |
| 8 tbsp | 122.5 g | 122.5 |
| 12 tbsp | 183.75 g | 183.75 |
| 16 tbsp | 245 g | 245 |
Based on 245 g per cup of skim milk. One tablespoon of skim milk is 15.3125 grams.
| Measure | Grams | Ounces | Millilitres |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 cup | 245 g | 8.64 oz | 236.6 mL |
| 1 tbsp | 15.31 g | 0.54 oz | 14.79 mL |
| 2 tsp | 10.21 g | 0.36 oz | 9.858 mL |
| 1 tsp | 5.104 g | 0.18 oz | 4.929 mL |
| 3/4 tsp | 3.828 g | 0.135 oz | 3.697 mL |
| 1/2 tsp | 2.552 g | 0.09 oz | 2.464 mL |
| 1/4 tsp | 1.276 g | 0.045 oz | 1.232 mL |
| 1/8 tsp | 0.638 g | 0.0225 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) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Half-and-half | 242 g | 8.536 oz | 1.023 |
| Egg whites | 243 g | 8.572 oz | 1.027 |
| Whole milk | 244 g | 8.607 oz | 1.031 |
| Skim milk (this page) | 245 g | 8.642 oz | 1.036 |
| Buttermilk | 245 g | 8.642 oz | 1.036 |
| Plain yogurt | 245 g | 8.642 oz | 1.036 |
| Tomato sauce | 245 g | 8.642 oz | 1.036 |
Ordered by weight. The spread across this group is why a single generic cups-to-grams factor cannot work.