To convert tablespoons of tahini into grams, multiply by 15: one tablespoon comes to 15 grams. Every ingredient has its own figure here, because the units are measuring different things and only the density links them.
Water is the yardstick: 1 mL of it weighs 1 g. Tahini comes in at 1.0144 g per mL, or 101.4% of water, which is why a cup of it is 240 g rather than 236.6 g. Volume and weight only line up for water, and only in metric.
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.
The condition this weight assumes: Well stirred. Sesame paste separates in the jar and the oil that rises is the lightest part of it.
The formula
tablespoons- The amount of tahini you are converting, in tablespoons
15- Grams per tablespoon for tahini, from its density of 1.0144 g/mL
grams- The equivalent quantity in grams
How it works, step by step
- Enter the quantity in tablespoons.
- It is multiplied by 15, the grams-per-tablespoon figure for tahini.
- 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 tahini in grams
A recipe calling for 2 tbsp of tahini needs 30 grams on the scale. The arithmetic is 2 × 15 = 30, and halving the recipe halves the weight to 15 grams.
4 tbsp of tahini in grams
4 tbsp of tahini weighs out at 60 grams. Divide 60 by 15 and you get back to 4 tbsp, which is the quickest check that the factor is the right way up.
12 tbsp of tahini in grams
12 tbsp of tahini weighs out at 180 grams. Divide 180 by 15 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 tahini?
One tablespoon of tahini is 15 grams. Half that quantity is 7.5 grams and double it is 30 grams, 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 many tablespoons of tahini is 500 g?
500 g of tahini is 33.333 tablespoons — 0.0666667 tablespoons to one gram, so 500 × 0.0666667 = 33.333. Going that way is a division by 15, or a multiplication by 0.0666667 if you prefer.
Tahini in tablespoons and grams
| Tablespoons | Grams | Unrounded |
|---|---|---|
| 1/2 tbsp | 7.5 g | 7.5 |
| 1 tbsp | 15 g | 15 |
| 2 tbsp | 30 g | 30 |
| 3 tbsp | 45 g | 45 |
| 4 tbsp | 60 g | 60 |
| 6 tbsp | 90 g | 90 |
| 8 tbsp | 120 g | 120 |
| 12 tbsp | 180 g | 180 |
| 16 tbsp | 240 g | 240 |
Based on 240 g per cup of tahini. One tablespoon of tahini is 15 grams.
| 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.