How many teaspoons are in a sprig? A conversion guide for common culinary herbs

Jump to:

• About this guide:
• What is a sprig / How much is a sprig:
• How to calculate specific amounts:
• How many teaspoons are in a tablespoon?
• How many tablespoons are in a cup?
• Basil:
• Chive:
• Cilantro:
• Dill:
• Lavender:
• Marjoram:
• Mint:
• Oregano:
• Parsley (curly leaf):
• Parsley (flat leaf):
• Rosemary:
• Sage:
• Tarragon:
• Thyme:
• More cooking conversion guides:
• Comments

About this guide:

A lot of recipes call for a specific amount of a finely chopped fresh herb. But how do you know what length of sprig or how many sprigs you need for that?

That’s what this guide is for. It’s a handy reference that tells you approximately how many teaspoons are in a sprig of a particular herb.

You can use this guide in the grocery store when shopping for a recipe. Or you can reference it before taking scissors to the potted herb plants in your kitchen or your garden.

NOTE: Please keep in mind that this resource is meant as a guide only. The amounts given for each herb are approximate because no two sprigs of a particular herb are the exact same and the number and size of leaves will vary to some extent.

What’s in this guide:

This guide is organized by herb (in alphabetical order). How many teaspoons are in a sprig depends both on the herb and the size of the sprig. For each herb this guide lists:

• the length of the sprig measured
• the approximate amount of leaves that can be harvested from a sprig of that length
• the approximate amount of finely chopped herb that a sprig of that length will yield

I also included photographs to provide a visual reference for what each measured herb sprig looked like.

How was this guide created?

To create this guide, I analyzed sprigs of all common culinary herbs. I included basil, chive, cilantro, dill, lavender, marjoram, mint, rosemary, parsley (flat leaf and curly leaf), oregano, sage, tarragon and thyme.

I did each measurement three times, meaning I selected three sprigs of the same length for each herb. For each measurement, I cut the leaves off the sprig and packed them into a measuring spoon or cup and noted the amount. Then I finely chopped the leaves, transferred them into a measuring spoon and noted their volume. The amounts reported in this guide are the average of the three measurements.

What is a sprig / How much is a sprig:

A sprig of an herb is a small branch of the herb plant (usually between 4 and 6 inches long, unless otherwise specified).

Sprigs can vary dramatically in size, even within a given plant. Because of that I have included the length of each sprig measured in this guide.

How to calculate specific amounts:

You can calculate the specific amounts of finely chopped herb you need using the conversions for teaspoons to tablespoons and tablespoons to cups listed below.

How many teaspoons are in a tablespoon?

Unit:	Equals:
1 tablespoon	3 teaspoons

How many tablespoons are in a cup?

Unit:	Equal:
4 tablespoons	¼ cup

Basil:

Sprig Size:	Equals about:	Also equals about:
one 6-inch sprig basil	⅓ cup packed basil leaves (about 10 medium/large leaves)	1 tablespoon finely chopped basil

Chive:

Sprig Size:	Equals about:
one 6-inch chive	⅜ teaspoon finely chopped chive

Cilantro:

Sprig Size:	Equals about:	Also equals about:
one 4-inch sprig cilantro	1 teaspoon packed cilantro leaves	¼ teaspoon finely chopped cilantro

Dill:

Sprig Size:	Equals about:	Also equals about:
one 8-inch sprig dill	1 tablespoon packed dill leaves	1 teaspoon finely chopped dill

Lavender:

Sprig Size:	Equals about:	Also equals about:
one 4-inch sprig lavender	½ teaspoon lavender buds	½ teaspoon finely chopped lavender

Note: Lavender buds will pack tightly together. That’s why the volume of whole lavender buds and that of finely chopped lavender will be about the same.

Marjoram:

Sprig Size:	Equals about:	Also equals about:
one 4-inch sprig marjoram	1 teaspoon packed marjoram leaves	¼ teaspoon finely chopped marjoram

Mint:

Sprig Size:	Equals about:	Also equals about:
one 4-inch sprig mint	1 tablespoon packed mint leaves (about 6 medium/large leaves)	1 teaspoon finely chopped mint

Oregano:

Sprig Size:	Equals about:	Also equals about:
one 6-inch sprig oregano	1 tablespoon packed oregano leaves	1 teaspoon finely chopped oregano

Parsley (curly leaf):

Sprig Size:	Equals about:	Also equals about:
one 4-inch sprig curly leaf parsley	2 tablespoons packed curly leaf parsley leaves	1 tablespoon finely chopped curly leaf parsley

Parsley (flat leaf):

Sprig Size:	Equals about:	Also equals about:
one 6-inch sprig flat leaf parsley	½ tablespoon packed flat leaf parsley leaves	¾ teaspoon finely chopped flat leaf parsley

Rosemary:

Sprig Size:	Equals about:	Also equals about:
one 6-inch sprig rosemary	½ tablespoon packed rosemary leaves	1 teaspoon finely chopped rosemary

Sage:

Sprig Size:	Equals about:	Also equals about:
one 6-inch sprig sage	1 tablespoon packed sage leaves (about 6 medium/large leaves)	1 tablespoon finely chopped sage

Note: Finely chopped sage leaves won’t pack very tightly together because of their cotton-like texture. That’s why the volume of packed whole sage leaves and that of finely chopped sage will be about the same.

Tarragon:

Sprig Size:	Equals about:	Also equals about:
one 6-inch sprig tarragon	1 tablespoon packed tarragon leaves	1 teaspoon finely chopped tarragon

Thyme:

Sprig Size:	Equals about:	Also equals about:
one 4-inch sprig thyme	¼ teaspoon thyme leaves	⅛ teaspoon finely chopped thyme

More cooking conversion guides: