Article — Teaspoons to Grams Converter
Teaspoons to grams, ingredient by ingredient
A teaspoon is a measure of volume (US tsp = 4.929 mL). A gram is a measure of mass. The two are linked by the density of the ingredient. 1 tsp of granulated sugar = 4.2 g, 1 tsp of table salt = 6.0 g, 1 tsp of all-purpose flour = 2.6 g, 1 tsp of honey = 7.0 g. The same spoon holds very different weights depending on what fills it.
That fact alone explains most kitchen surprises. A recipe printed in Sydney and a recipe printed in Chicago can both say "1 teaspoon salt," and yet produce dishes with twice the salinity if the Australian cook uses table salt where the American expects flake kosher. The conversion below is the practical fix.
What teaspoons to grams really means
Volume and mass are different physical quantities. A teaspoon measures how much space an ingredient takes up; a gram measures how much matter is in it. The link is density (mass per unit volume), so the conversion needs an ingredient-specific factor. The calculator above stores that factor as grams per teaspoon, which makes the math a single multiplication.
USDA FoodData Central and the King Arthur Baking ingredient weight chart are the two reference sources used in American kitchens. The numbers in this article come from both, cross-checked against the FAO/INFOODS density database.
The teaspoon used to be a literal teaspoon — the small spoon a Victorian household used to stir tea. The US customary teaspoon was standardized at 4.929 mL through later weights-and-measures regulations, defined as exactly one-third of a tablespoon, which was in turn one-half of a fluid ounce.
Why ingredient density makes the teaspoons to grams conversion
Density is the bridge. Water has the simplest case: 1 mL weighs 1 g, so 1 US teaspoon of water = 4.93 g and 1 metric teaspoon = exactly 5 g. Every other ingredient compares against this reference.
Honey is denser than water (1.42 g/mL), so 1 tsp of honey weighs more — 7.0 g. Vegetable oil is less dense than water (0.92 g/mL), so 1 tsp weighs less — 4.5 g. Granular ingredients have density that depends on grain size, packing, and humidity: flour can range from 2.4 g/tsp (sifted) to 3.0 g/tsp (compressed), a 25 percent swing.
Liquids: 4.5 - 7.0 g/tsp Granulars: 2.5 - 6.0 g/tspPowders: 2.5 - 3.0 g/tsp Dried herbs: 0.7 - 1.5 g/tspTeaspoons to grams for sugar
Granulated white sugar is 4.2 g per US teaspoon — the value used by USDA Nutrition Labeling and most American recipe sites. Brown sugar (packed) is heavier because the molasses fills voids between crystals: 4.6 g/tsp. Powdered sugar (also called confectioners' or icing sugar) is the lightest at 2.5 g/tsp, because the very fine particles hold more air.
- Granulated sugar: 4.2 g per tsp (12.6 g per tbsp, 200 g per cup)
- Brown sugar (packed): 4.6 g per tsp (220 g per cup)
- Powdered sugar: 2.5 g per tsp (120 g per cup)
- Sugar cube: about 4 g (almost exactly 1 tsp of granulated)
- WHO daily added-sugar limit: 25 g = roughly 6 level teaspoons
Teaspoons to grams for salt
Salt is where most teaspoons-to-grams errors happen. Three common kitchen salts have wildly different per-teaspoon weights because the crystal shape changes how the salt packs. Morton table salt has fine, cubic crystals that nest tightly: 6.0 g per teaspoon. Diamond Crystal kosher salt has large, flat flakes that trap air: 3.2 g per teaspoon. Morton kosher salt sits in between at 5.0 g per teaspoon.
A recipe that says "2 tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt" expects 6.4 g of salt. Substitute table salt 1:1 and you deliver 12 g — nearly double. Always check which salt the recipe specifies. The CDC notes that average US adults already eat about 3,400 mg of sodium per day, well above the 2,300 mg dietary guideline, so this is not a trivial error.
Teaspoons to grams for flour
All-purpose flour is the canonical baking variable. King Arthur Baking, the standard reference in US kitchens, weighs 1 cup of all-purpose flour at 120 g — which works out to 2.5 g per teaspoon (48 tsp per cup). USDA FoodData Central uses 125 g/cup (2.6 g/tsp). The small difference is within the natural variation of how flour packs.
What matters more is technique. Spooning flour from the bin into the measuring spoon and leveling with a knife gives the published value. Scooping the flour and tapping the spoon compresses the powder by 10-20 percent. For accurate baking, weigh the flour or always spoon and level.
US teaspoons versus metric and imperial spoons
Three teaspoon standards still circulate. The US teaspoon is exactly 1/3 of a US tablespoon, which is exactly 1/2 of a US fluid ounce — so 4.929 mL. The metric teaspoon, used everywhere outside the United States, is exactly 5 mL by definition. The imperial teaspoon (UK historic) was 5.919 mL but is essentially obsolete; modern UK and Commonwealth recipes use the metric value.
The 0.07 mL gap between US and metric is roughly the volume of a single drop of water — far below the precision of any home measuring spoon. For cooking, treat them as identical. The Australian tablespoon is the genuine outlier at 20 mL (4 tsp), which can throw off Australian recipes for non-Australian readers.
If you bake in grams (the European convention), buy a 1-gram resolution kitchen scale. Eyeballing flour by the teaspoon adds about ±15 percent variation; weighing it cuts that to ±1 percent. The scale costs less than $20 and pays for itself in the first failed sourdough.
Common mistakes in teaspoons to grams conversion
The most frequent error is the "5 grams per teaspoon for everything" shortcut. That value works only for water. For sugar it overshoots by 19 percent (4.2 g/tsp), for kosher salt it overshoots by 56 percent (3.2 g/tsp), and for dried basil it overshoots by 614 percent (0.7 g/tsp). Spice mixes built on that shortcut taste burnt and bitter.
The second mistake is reading a regular kitchen spoon as a measuring teaspoon. Spoons from the silverware drawer can hold anywhere from 2 to 9 mL. The FDA's 2011 guidance recommends mL-only labeling for liquid pediatric medicines, after several documented overdose cases — children's medicines must now come with calibrated oral syringes in milliliters, not teaspoons.
Where the ingredient densities come from
USDA FoodData Central publishes density figures for thousands of foods, drawn from compositional analysis at the USDA Agricultural Research Service. The agency lists 200 g per cup for granulated sugar (4.17 g/tsp) and 120 g per cup for all-purpose flour (2.5 g/tsp), figures the calculator rounds to one decimal.
For baking specifically, King Arthur Baking's ingredient weight chart is the kitchen reference: it lists 113 g per stick of butter (4.7 g/tsp), 220 g per cup of brown sugar packed (4.6 g/tsp), and 9 g for a typical packet of active dry yeast. FAO/INFOODS Density Database v2.0 covers international staples that the US sources do not, including yam flour, palm sugar, and ghee.
The single biggest density swing in a regular pantry is between fluffy dried herbs and packed brown sugar. Dried basil weighs 0.7 g per teaspoon; packed brown sugar weighs 4.6 g per teaspoon. The brown sugar has 6.5 times the mass for the same spoon. A recipe that calls for "1 teaspoon" of either is asking for almost two different things by weight.