What does 6 tablespoons of butter weigh?

How many tablespoons is a stick of butter and how to measure butter sticks to get cups, grams, ounces, and teaspoons the right way for a foolproof recipe? 

In 2020, butter consumption in the US amounted to a whopping 2.1 billion pounds! Small wonder as butter is a staple in most households, since nothing else tastes like butter on warm toast.

And if you’re into baking, butter is the only way to go as no other substitute gives quite the same flavor and texture. 

When it comes to measuring butter volume, things get a little slippery if your recipe calls for tablespoons or cups or grams and you could wonder how many tablespoons are in one stick of butter.

This post will cover ways to measure butter to make things easier for you.

How Butter Is Sold In The US Vs Elsewhere

For those of you living in the US, butter measurements are simple. Butter sold in the US is in quarter-pound sticks, that is, each stick is ¼ pound, or 4 oz. 

Therefore, in a pack with a one-pound weight, there are four sticks. Since one pound is 16 oz, one stick being 4 oz.

The block weighs the same for both salted and unsalted butter. 

But when it comes to figuring out one stick of butter in tablespoons, you could be scratching your head. 

Each stick of butter is divided into 8 tablespoons in volume.

The tablespoon is the unit to measure the volume of butter and has the abbreviation tbsp or sometimes as T.  

The butter wrapper has tablespoon markings to show you how much is one stick of butter in tablespoons and cups. 

That was easy!

But what if you live outside the US or you buy imported butter?

European brands of butter come in one-pound blocks and they don’t have any labels to tell you how much is 6 tablespoons of butter or any other measurement. 

You can also find these imported butter in half-pound blocks and things just get more confusing.

Worried? Don’t be!

Simply cut a one-pound butter block into quarters to get four sticks of butter.

And if you’ve bought a half-pound block, divide it into half to get two sticks of butter.

Half a pound of butter is equivalent to two sticks or 16 tablespoons of butter. 

Still confused?

Refer to the handy table below for butter stick measurements in tablespoons and teaspoons.

How Many Tablespoons Is A Stick Of Butter?

So, how many tablespoons are in a stick of butter? 8 tablespoons! And how many tablespoons is half stick of butter? 4 tablespoons!

If you want to find out how many sticks is 10 tablespoons of butter, it’s one and a quarter or 1¼ sticks. 

Suppose your recipe wants you to add 6 tbsp butter. 

The easiest way to find 6 tbsp butter to stick would be to look at 12 tbsp equivalent and then halve this amount. 

In other words, if 12 tbs of butter measure 1½ sticks, then 6 tablespoons of butter in sticks will be half plus a quarter or ¾ stick. 

Some recipes may need smaller quantities of butter.

For example, you may need to add two tablespoons of butter to make a basic white sauce or alfredo sauce. 

In that case, one-quarter or ¼ stick equals the volume of two tablespoons. 

A simple formula with which you can measure butter is multiplying the number of sticks by 8 to get the tablespoons measurement. 

No. of tablespoons = no. of sticks * 8

For example, 1 stick of butter multiplied by 8 gives you 8 tablespoons of butter.

Similarly, half a stick of butter multiplied by 8 will give you 4 tablespoons of butter.

In terms of teaspoons, there are 24 teaspoons of butter in each stick.

To calculate how many teaspoons are in a stick, just multiply the number of butter sticks by 24 to get the number of teaspoons. 

For example, a quarter stick of butter will have ¼ * 24 = 6 teaspoons.

How Many Butter Sticks In One Cup?

In most parts of the US, sticks of butter are available in quarter-pound squares. 

Eight tablespoons, or half (½) cup, make up one of these sticks.

Therefore, there are two sticks of butter for every cup.

Since one stick of butter is ½ cup and two sticks make 1 cup, the math is easy as four sticks of butter make one pound and every recipe of pound cakes asks for a pound or the entire butter block. 

However, in some other parts of the US, you can find butter in half-pound blocks, especially foreign brands. 

Half a pound of butter is equal to 16 tablespoons or one cup. 

How To Measure One Cup Of Butter

Luckily, it’s not that difficult to measure one cup of butter as the one you get from the store is wrapped in wax paper and then the aluminum cover is marked with butter measurements in tablespoons and cups for each stick. 

The wrapper will show you that the whole quarter-pound stick is equal to eight tablespoons or ½ cup, while ⅓ cup is 5 ⅓ tablespoons, and ¼ cup is 4 tablespoons. 

Therefore, you will need two quarter-pound sticks of butter to make one cup. 

Let’s look at the conversion table for butter in cups. 

How To Measure Butter Sticks In Weight

Many recipes ask you to add butter in terms of its weight.

That’s why you need to know how to measure butter sticks in weight like oz, grams, and pounds. 

It’s best to do so using a food scale like this for accuracy. 

In case you don’t have a kitchen scale, worry not as the following table shows you how to convert butter sticks to pounds, grams, and ounces. 

Just note that each butter stick weighs ¼ pound or 4 ounces or 113 grams. 

In a pound of butter, there are 4 sticks of butter that weigh 16 ounces or 454 grams.

Butter Measurement Made Easy

You can take the weight of butter or measure its volume easily with the markings on the wax paper packaging, measuring cups, and a scale. 

Wax Paper Wrap

The wax paper wrapper on every stick of butter is a perfect way to measure 1 stick butter in tablespoons. 

It shows the marking on every part of the stick when divided into 8 tablespoons each. 

Hence, you can see where to slice the butter stick if you want 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, or 7 tablespoons of butter. 

The whole stick is 8 tablespoons or half a cup. 

Measuring Cups

Weighing the volume of butter takes a little bit of work if you’re using measuring spoons and cups. 

That’s because you need softened and cold butter but not melting butter to weigh with a measuring cup. 

Even though measuring spoons are marked with tablespoons or teaspoons, the same logic applies as melted butter doesn’t have the same volume as solid butter. 

Using melted butter in your recipe instead of cold butter will throw off the weight of your recipe and you could end up with disappointing results.

To avoid this, get softened butter by letting it sit for a few minutes at room temperature. 

Then fill your measuring cup evenly with it and level it with a spoon. 

Don’t leave any gaps in the cup.

Food Scale

The food scale is the best way for weighing butter in cups, ounces, and grams. 

Use a spatula to fill in the measuring spoon or cup with butter and then weigh it on the scale. 

FAQs

1 Stick Of Butter Is How Many Tablespoons?

1 stick of butter is 8 tablespoons. 

How Many Sticks Of Butter Make A Cup?

2 sticks of butter make a cup. 

Is 1 Cup Butter A Stick?

No, 1 cup butter is 2 sticks.

Is 7 Tbsp Butter A Stick?

No, 8 tbsp butter is a stick. 

Can You Use Melted Butter Instead Of Softened Butter In A Baking Recipe?

No, melted butter will react differently with the eggs, sugar, and flour in your baking recipe and will not have a positive result.

How much should 6 tbsp of butter weigh?

What does a tablespoon of butter weigh?

Is 6 tablespoons of butter a stick of butter?