To halve a recipe, divide every quantity by two, then restate awkward volumes in spoons you own. Half of 1/3 cup is 16 tsp ÷ 2 = 8 tsp, which is 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons. Half of 3/4 cup is 3/8 cup, measured as a 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons. Weights simply halve: 250 g becomes 125 g.
Cutting a recipe in half sounds trivial until the card says 1/3 cup of oil or three eggs. This calculator takes one ingredient amount and its unit, divides it by two, and for cups, tablespoons and teaspoons breaks the answer into measures found in a standard US set: quarter cups, level tablespoons and fractions of a teaspoon down to an eighth. For grams, millilitres, ounces and pounds it gives the plain half and the nearest eighth. An optional servings count shows how many portions the smaller batch makes. Work through the ingredient list one line at a time. The tool does not change baking time, pan size or oven temperature; a half batch in a smaller pan usually needs a shorter bake, so check doneness early.
Type the quantity from the recipe as a decimal, for example 0.75 for three quarters.
Choose cup, tbsp, tsp, fl oz, ml, g, oz, lb or each from the list inside the amount box.
Use the − and + buttons to enter how many portions the full recipe makes.
The 'Measure it as' line gives the spoon-and-cup combination to use for the halved amount.
Result Half the amount: 0.167
Measure it as: 2 tbsp + 2 tsp
Nearest eighth: 1/8 cup
Servings after halving: 2
One third of a cup is 16 teaspoons, so half is 8 teaspoons: two level tablespoons plus two teaspoons.
Result Half the amount: 0.375
Measure it as: 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp
Nearest eighth: 3/8 cup
Servings after halving: 2
3/8 cup has no standard measuring cup, so it is a 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons.
Result Half the amount: 1.5
Measure it as: 1 1/2 item(s)
Nearest eighth: 1 1/2 item(s)
Servings after halving: 3
One and a half eggs: use one whole egg plus about 2 tablespoons of a second, beaten egg.
half = q ÷ 2; for volumes, t = half × k teaspoons, split into quarter cups (48 tsp), tablespoons (3 tsp) and teaspoons
qktEach amount is divided by two. Cup, tablespoon and teaspoon amounts are then turned into teaspoons using US customary relations (1 cup = 16 tbsp = 48 tsp). The teaspoon total is filled greedily with whole quarter cups, then whole tablespoons, and the remainder is rounded to the nearest eighth teaspoon. Other units are shown as the exact half plus its nearest eighth.
One third of a cup equals 5 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon, or 16 teaspoons. Half of that is 8 teaspoons, measured as 2 level tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons.
Half of 3/4 cup is 3/8 cup, which equals 6 tablespoons. Most measuring sets have no 3/8 cup, so fill a 1/4 cup and add 2 tablespoons.
Beat the egg you need to split, then measure roughly half of it. A large egg is about 50 g without the shell, so half is around 25 g or a little under 2 tablespoons. Use the leftover in an omelette or egg wash.
Often, yes. A half batch baked in a smaller pan at the same depth may take nearly as long, while the same batter spread in the original pan bakes faster. Keep the oven temperature and start checking about two thirds of the way through the original time.
Yes. Leaveners scale in proportion for a simple halving, so 1 teaspoon of baking powder becomes 1/2 teaspoon. The calculator gives teaspoon remainders to the nearest eighth, which matches the smallest common measuring spoon.
Weighing is more precise because grams divide cleanly and avoid packing differences in cups. If your recipe lists grams, halve those and use a kitchen scale; switch to spoons only for small amounts below about 5 g.