One gram of tahini is 0.066666667 tablespoons, so converting grams of tahini to tablespoons means multiplying by 0.066666667. 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 1.0144 g per mL, against 1.00 for water. A cup of water weighs 236.6 g and a cup of tahini weighs 240 g, so this ingredient is 101.4% as heavy as the same volume of water — the single fact the whole page rests on.
A level tablespoon of tahini is 15 g, which puts a teaspoon at 5 g and a tablespoon and a half — the quantity recipes are fondest of — at 22.5 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 0.417% of a cup of tahini, so weighing gets an accuracy no measuring cup can reach. A 500 g pack of it is 2.083 cups, and a 1 kg pack 4.167.
What the number depends on: Well stirred. Sesame paste separates in the jar and the oil that rises is the lightest part of it.
The formula
grams- The amount of tahini you are converting, in grams
0.0666666666667- Tablespoons per gram for tahini, from its density of 1.0144 g/mL
tablespoons- The equivalent quantity in tablespoons
How it works, step by step
- Enter the quantity in grams.
- It is multiplied by 0.0666666666667, the tablespoons-per-gram figure for tahini.
- The result appears in tablespoons, with a second reading in tsp beneath it.
- Use the measure table if you want a standard recipe quantity rather than a number you type in.
Worked examples
50 g of tahini in tablespoons
50 g of tahini weighs out at 3.33333 tablespoons. Divide 3.33333 by 0.066666667 and you get back to 50 g, which is the quickest check that the factor is the right way up.
150 g of tahini in tablespoons
Take 150 g of tahini: 150 × 0.066666667 gives 10 tablespoons. Doubling the batch takes it to 20 tablespoons, because the relationship is a straight proportion once the density is known.
500 g of tahini in tablespoons
A recipe calling for 500 g of tahini needs 33.3333 tablespoons on the scale. The arithmetic is 500 × 0.066666667 = 33.333333, and halving the recipe halves the weight to 16.6667 tablespoons.
How to read your score
Frequently asked questions
How many tablespoons are in 1 g of tahini?
One gram of tahini is 0.066666667 tablespoons. Half that quantity is 0.0333333 tablespoons and double it is 0.133333 tablespoons, so the figure scales straight up and down — there is no offset in this conversion, only the factor.
Why is a cup of tahini not 236 g like water?
Because weight per cup depends on what is in the cup. Tahini has a density of 1.0144 g per mL where water has 1.00, so a cup of it weighs 240 g rather than 236.6 g. That is a difference of 3.4 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. Tahini does not compress, so a cup of it is 240 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 tahini 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 tahini weighs 1.058 oz, so the two readings differ by 5.82%. 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 tahini would weigh 253.61 g instead of 240 g — 13.6 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 tahini — roughly 2.4 g on a 240 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 much does 3 tbsp of tahini weigh?
3 tbsp of tahini comes to 45 g, or 45 grams. This page runs that calculation in reverse — enter a weight and it returns the volume — and the tablespoons-to-grams page does it in the direction the question is usually asked.
Tahini in grams and tablespoons
| Grams | Tablespoons | Unrounded |
|---|---|---|
| 5 g | 0.333333 tbsp | 0.3333333333 |
| 10 g | 0.666667 tbsp | 0.6666666667 |
| 25 g | 1.66667 tbsp | 1.666666667 |
| 50 g | 3.33333 tbsp | 3.333333333 |
| 100 g | 6.66667 tbsp | 6.666666667 |
| 125 g | 8.33333 tbsp | 8.333333333 |
| 150 g | 10 tbsp | 10 |
| 200 g | 13.3333 tbsp | 13.33333333 |
| 250 g | 16.6667 tbsp | 16.66666667 |
| 300 g | 20 tbsp | 20 |
| 500 g | 33.3333 tbsp | 33.33333333 |
| 1000 g | 66.6667 tbsp | 66.66666667 |
Based on 240 g per cup of tahini. One gram of tahini is 0.066666667 tablespoons.
| Measure | Grams | Ounces | Millilitres |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 cup | 240 g | 8.47 oz | 236.6 mL |
| 1 tbsp | 15 g | 0.529 oz | 14.79 mL |
| 2 tsp | 10 g | 0.353 oz | 9.858 mL |
| 1 tsp | 5 g | 0.176 oz | 4.929 mL |
| 3/4 tsp | 3.75 g | 0.132 oz | 3.697 mL |
| 1/2 tsp | 2.5 g | 0.0882 oz | 2.464 mL |
| 1/4 tsp | 1.25 g | 0.0441 oz | 1.232 mL |
| 1/8 tsp | 0.625 g | 0.022 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) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Heavy cream | 238 g | 8.395 oz | 1.006 |
| Vinegar | 239 g | 8.43 oz | 1.01 |
| Sour cream | 240 g | 8.466 oz | 1.014 |
| Tahini (this page) | 240 g | 8.466 oz | 1.014 |
| 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 |
Ordered by weight. The spread across this group is why a single generic cups-to-grams factor cannot work.