To convert grams of tapioca starch into teaspoons, multiply by 0.4: one gram comes to 0.4 teaspoons. 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. Tapioca starch comes in at 0.50721 g per mL, or 50.72% of water, which is why a cup of it is 120 g rather than 236.6 g. Volume and weight only line up for water, and only in metric.
A level teaspoon of tapioca starch weighs 2.5 g. A kitchen scale that reads to the nearest gram is therefore working at roughly 40% resolution on a single spoonful, which is why measuring spoons beat scales below about 5 g and lose to them above it. Three teaspoons make a tablespoon, so the same spoonful is 7.5 g if the recipe scales up.
Grams are the unit this conversion is really for. A domestic scale resolves to a gram, which is 0.833% of a cup of tapioca starch, so weighing gets an accuracy no measuring cup can reach. A 500 g pack of it is 4.167 cups, and a 1 kg pack 8.333.
How the figure is arrived at: Sold as tapioca flour as well — the same thing under two names, which is worth knowing before buying both.
The formula
grams- The amount of tapioca starch you are converting, in grams
0.4- Teaspoons per gram for tapioca starch, from its density of 0.50721 g/mL
teaspoons- The equivalent quantity in teaspoons
How it works, step by step
- Enter the quantity in grams.
- It is multiplied by 0.4, the teaspoons-per-gram figure for tapioca starch.
- The result appears in teaspoons, with a second reading in mL 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 tapioca starch in teaspoons
Take 50 g of tapioca starch: 50 × 0.4 gives 20 teaspoons. Doubling the batch takes it to 40 teaspoons, because the relationship is a straight proportion once the density is known.
150 g of tapioca starch in teaspoons
Take 150 g of tapioca starch: 150 × 0.4 gives 60 teaspoons. Doubling the batch takes it to 120 teaspoons, because the relationship is a straight proportion once the density is known.
500 g of tapioca starch in teaspoons
500 g of tapioca starch weighs out at 200 teaspoons. Divide 200 by 0.4 and you get back to 500 g, which is the quickest check that the factor is the right way up.
How to read your score
Frequently asked questions
How many teaspoons are in 1 g of tapioca starch?
One gram of tapioca starch is 0.4 teaspoons. Half that quantity is 0.2 teaspoons and double it is 0.8 teaspoons, so the figure scales straight up and down — there is no offset in this conversion, only the factor.
Why is a cup of tapioca starch not 236 g like water?
Because weight per cup depends on what is in the cup. Tapioca starch has a density of 0.50721 g per mL where water has 1.00, so a cup of it weighs 120 g rather than 236.6 g. That is a difference of 116.6 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 tapioca starch by roughly 20% — about 12 g either side of 120 g — because sold as tapioca flour as well — the same thing under two names, which is worth knowing before buying both. Weighing removes the question entirely.
Is a fluid ounce of tapioca 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 tapioca starch weighs 0.5291 oz, so the two readings differ by 47.1%. 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 tapioca starch would weigh 126.8 g instead of 120 g — 6.8 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?
At this size the spoon wins. One teaspoon of tapioca starch is 2.5 g, and a scale reading to the nearest gram is working at 40% resolution on that — a measuring spoon is the more accurate instrument below about 5 g, which is why spice quantities are still written in spoons.
How much does 2 tsp of tapioca starch weigh?
2 tsp of tapioca starch comes to 5 g, or 5 grams. This page runs that calculation in reverse — enter a weight and it returns the volume — and the teaspoons-to-grams page does it in the direction the question is usually asked.
Tapioca starch in grams and teaspoons
| Grams | Teaspoons | Unrounded |
|---|---|---|
| 5 g | 2 tsp | 2 |
| 10 g | 4 tsp | 4 |
| 25 g | 10 tsp | 10 |
| 50 g | 20 tsp | 20 |
| 100 g | 40 tsp | 40 |
| 125 g | 50 tsp | 50 |
| 150 g | 60 tsp | 60 |
| 200 g | 80 tsp | 80 |
| 250 g | 100 tsp | 100 |
| 300 g | 120 tsp | 120 |
| 500 g | 200 tsp | 200 |
| 1000 g | 400 tsp | 400 |
Based on 120 g per cup of tapioca starch. One gram of tapioca starch is 0.4 teaspoons.
| Measure | Grams | Ounces | Millilitres |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 cup | 120 g | 4.23 oz | 236.6 mL |
| 1 tbsp | 7.5 g | 0.265 oz | 14.79 mL |
| 2 tsp | 5 g | 0.176 oz | 9.858 mL |
| 1 tsp | 2.5 g | 0.0882 oz | 4.929 mL |
| 3/4 tsp | 1.875 g | 0.0661 oz | 3.697 mL |
| 1/2 tsp | 1.25 g | 0.0441 oz | 2.464 mL |
| 1/4 tsp | 0.625 g | 0.022 oz | 1.232 mL |
| 1/8 tsp | 0.3125 g | 0.011 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) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coconut flour | 112 g | 3.951 oz | 0.4734 |
| Cake flour | 114 g | 4.021 oz | 0.4818 |
| Whole wheat flour | 120 g | 4.233 oz | 0.5072 |
| Tapioca starch (this page) | 120 g | 4.233 oz | 0.5072 |
| Powdered sugar | 120 g | 4.233 oz | 0.5072 |
| All-purpose flour | 125 g | 4.409 oz | 0.5283 |
| Self-rising flour | 125 g | 4.409 oz | 0.5283 |
Ordered by weight. The spread across this group is why a single generic cups-to-grams factor cannot work.