For cooking and baking, 1 level tablespoon is usually treated as about 15 grams of a liquid with water‑like density (like water, milk, light oils). However, grams per tablespoon actually depend on the ingredient’s density. Common approximations:

  • Water: ~15 g per tablespoon (because 1 tbsp ≈ 15 ml and water is ≈1 g/ml)
  • Vegetable oil: ~13–14 g per tablespoon (less dense than water)
  • Granulated sugar: ~12–13 g per tablespoon (crystals trap air)
  • All-purpose flour: ~7–9 g per tablespoon (very airy when scooped)

A handy rule of thumb if a recipe just says “tablespoon” and doesn’t specify the ingredient is to assume 15 g per tablespoon for quick mental conversions, and only worry about exact gram values when precision really matters (like baking).