Milligrams to
teaspoons.
Convert between weight (mg, g, oz) and kitchen volume (teaspoons, tablespoons, cups) for a specific ingredient. Every density comes with its source, and where sources disagree you see the range.
Weight to volume
needs density.
- volume = mass ÷ density, and mass = volume × density. Density is in grams per milliliter.
- There is no single “mg per teaspoon”: it depends on the ingredient.
- Densities come from USDA FoodData Central and the King Arthur Baking weight chart, converted with exact US teaspoon, tablespoon and cup sizes.
- Where two sources disagree, the first source listed is used and the range is shown.
- Never use this for medicine.
Why can't you convert mg to teaspoons directly?
Milligrams measure mass and teaspoons measure volume. A teaspoon of salt weighs far more than a teaspoon of flour, because salt packs more mass into the same space. To convert, you need the ingredient's density: how many grams fit into one milliliter. A US teaspoon holds 4.93 mL, so 1 teaspoon of an ingredient weighs 4.93 × its density in grams.
teaspoons = milligrams ÷ 1000 ÷ density (g/mL) ÷ 4.92892 mL
grams = teaspoons × 4.92892 mL × density (g/mL)Why do sources give different weights?
Dry ingredients are not like water. How much fits in a spoon depends on grain size, packing, sifting and how the spoon is leveled. USDA FoodData Central lists 1 teaspoon of baking soda as 4.6 g; the King Arthur Baking chart lists ½ teaspoon as 3 g (6 g per teaspoon). That is a 30% difference on paper, but part of it is rounding: King Arthur gives whole grams, so “3 g” could be anything from 2.5 to 3.5 g, about ±17% on its own. Kosher salt is the extreme case: a tablespoon of Diamond Crystal weighs about 8 g and a tablespoon of Morton about 16 g.
When precision matters, weigh. When you must measure by volume, the range shown with each result tells you how far off you could be.
Which teaspoon is used?
Results use the US customary teaspoon (4.92892159375 mL), tablespoon (3 teaspoons) and cup (48 teaspoons). The calculator also offers metric (5 mL), Australian (20 mL tablespoon) and other kitchen units. See the cooking converter for how they compare.
Why not for medicine?
Household spoons vary in size and are easy to over- or under-fill, which is why health agencies advise against them for medicines. Use the oral syringe, cup or spoon supplied with the medicine, and follow the dose in mL or mg on the label or from a pharmacist.
Worked examples.
5,000 mg of baking soda
A recipe lists 5,000 mg (5 g) of baking soda. How many teaspoons is that?
About 1.09 tsp using USDA's 4.6 g/tsp, or 0.83 tsp using King Arthur's 6 g/tsp. Call it a level teaspoon, or weigh it.
Load this exampleA pinch of salt in milligrams
How many teaspoons is 500 mg of table salt?
About 0.083 tsp, roughly 1/12 of a teaspoon (table salt is about 6 g per teaspoon).
Load this exampleKosher salt brands differ
A recipe calls for 10 g of Diamond Crystal kosher salt. How many tablespoons?
1.25 tablespoons of Diamond Crystal. The same 10 g of Morton is only 0.625 tablespoons, half the volume.
Load this exampleA cup of flour in grams
How much does 1 cup of all-purpose flour weigh?
125 g by USDA, 120 g by King Arthur. Spooned and leveled flour is lighter than scooped flour.
Load this exampleA packet of instant yeast
A 7 g packet of instant yeast in teaspoons.
2¼ teaspoons, matching the King Arthur figure.
Load this exampleWhat this calculator
does not do.
- Not for medicines, supplements or anything you dose by milligrams for health reasons.
- Densities are typical published values for level, unpacked measures. Your ingredient, brand and technique can differ.
- Densities change with temperature and moisture; liquids such as honey and oils vary with temperature.
- For an ingredient that is not listed, you need a reliable density. Guessing one gives a meaningless answer.
Common questions.
How many mg are in a teaspoon?
It depends on the ingredient: about 4,900 mg for water, about 4,200 mg for granulated sugar (USDA), about 6,000 mg for table salt and about 2,600 mg for all-purpose flour.
How many teaspoons is 1 gram of salt?
About 0.17 teaspoon of table salt. For Diamond Crystal kosher salt it is about 0.37 teaspoon.
Can I use this for medicine or supplements?
No. Use the measuring device supplied with the product and the dose on its label, or ask a pharmacist.
What if my ingredient is not listed?
Choose “Other” and enter its density in grams per milliliter from a reliable source, or weigh a level spoonful yourself and divide by the spoon's volume in mL.
- USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy (FDC IDs 169655 sugar, 173468 salt, 175040 baking soda, 168894 all-purpose flour) — search the FDC ID for the portion weights used
- King Arthur Baking — Ingredient weight chart
- Engineering ToolBox — Water density by temperature — 0.9982 g/cm³ at 20 °C
- NIST SP 811, Appendix B.8 — US teaspoon, tablespoon and cup
Each published weight-per-volume figure is converted to g/mL using exact US measures, then mass ↔ volume uses one multiplication or division. Tests check every source figure is reproduced exactly (e.g. 1 tsp salt = 6 g, 1 tbsp Morton = 16 g, 7 g yeast = 2¼ tsp), round trips, the spread between sources, and that volume-to-volume or mass-to-mass requests are rejected.