13 Simple Sugar Substitutions + Alternatives

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Are you looking for quality sugar substitutions for baking? Would you like an alternative to sugar that can be used in your morning coffee or tea? Are you just out of sugar and you need something else that you can grab from your pantry to salvage your recipe? I’ve got you covered with these 13 Sugar Substitutions and Alternatives.

Substituting for White Sugar

These sugar substitutions can be used as sweeteners in beverages (I LOVE maple syrup in my coffee), candies, cooked foods like oatmeal, and in baking.

If you decide to use a liquid substitute for sugar in baking, then you will want to reduce the amount of liquids in the recipe.

13 of The Best Sugar Substitutions

1. Honey

1 cup White Granulated Sugar= 3/4 cup Honey

Substitute 3/4 cup of honey for one cup of sugar. I use honey as a sweetener in tea, homemade bread, dinner rolls, homemade ice cream, as a sore throat remedy, and just about anywhere else I can use it.

*If you are using honey to bake, you may want to reduce the liquids in your recipe by 3 TBSP because it is in a liquid state.

LEARN HOW TO EXTRACT HONEY

2. Maple Syrup

1 cup White Granulated Sugar= 3/4 cup Maple Syrup

3/4 cup of Maple Syrup can take the place of 1 cup of white sugar. I use maple syrup in my coffee every single morning!

*If you are using maple syrup to bake, you may want to reduce the liquids in your recipe by 3 tBSP because it is in a liquid state.

LEARN HOW TO TAP MAPLE TREES

3. Agave Nectar

1 cup White Granulated Sugar = 2/3 cup Agave Nectar

Agave is high in fructose and it contains no nutrients due to the processing so it isn’t as healthy as it has been made out to be, BUT it is a good sugar substitute when used in moderation.

*If you are using agave to bake, you may want to reduce the liquids in your recipe by 3 TBSP because it is in a liquid state.

4. Xylitol

1 cup White Granulated Sugar= 1/2 cup Xylitol

Xylitol is a sugar alcohol. It is known to have health benefits like preventing tooth decay and improving gut health. I use Xylitol in my homemade tooth powder (recipe found inside The Homemade Household: Bath & Body), in candies, and in baking. Xylitol can also be used in place of sugar when making homemade brown sugar. This is the Xylitol that I use.

*Xylitol is toxic to dogs so be careful if you have pups inside while you have this ingredient out.

5. Stevia

1 cup White Granulated Sugar= 1 tsp Stevia

Stevia is a 100% natural sugar substitute and it is 200 times sweeter than white sugar. This is why just 1 tsp of Stevia can be substituted for a whole cup of white granulated sugar.

*If you are using Stevia as a sugar substitute in baking, it is best to add a little white sugar in if possible to help with the texture and color of your baked goods.

6. Brown Sugar

1 cup White Granulated Sugar= 1 cup Brown Sugar

Brown sugar is a less processed form of white sugar. It contains the natural molasses that is removed during processing to make white granulated sugar. Brown sugar can substitute white sugar in most baking recipes. You can even make your own brown sugar using white granulated sugar (or xylitol) and molasses.

LEARN HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN BROWN SUGAR

7. Turbinado Sugar

1 cup White Granulated Sugar= 1 cup Turbinado Sugar

Turbinado sugar is another less processed form of white granulated sugar. It contains more of the sugar’s natural molasses and flavoring. Turbinado sugar has a more coarse texture so I recommend grinding it in a food processor or a coffee grinder before baking with it.

8. Coconut Sugar

1 cup White Granulated Sugar = 1 cup Coconut Sugar

Coconut sugar is made from coconut blossoms. This sweetener can be substituted for white sugar or brown sugar at a 1:1 ratio.

*If you are baking with coconut sugar, your baked goods might come out a little drier than they would with white sugar. You can add a mashed banana to add moisture.

9. Molasses

1 cup White Granulated Sugar= 1 1/3 cup Molasses

Molasses can replace white granulated sugar in most baking recipes. It can also be used along with white sugar or xylitol to make homemade brown sugar.

*If you are using molasses to bake, then you may want to reduce the liquids in your recipe by 4-5 TBSP. This is because it is in liquid form and will add more moisture than white sugar would.

10. Date Paste or Date Sugar

1 cup White Granulated Sugar= 1 cup Date Sugar

1 cup White Granulated Sugar= 1 cup Date Paste

Date paste and date sugar are two 100% natural sugar substitutes that won’t spike your blood sugar. If you make your own date paste, then you can eat the leftover dates like candy 🙂

*If you are using date paste to bake, then you may want to reduce the liquids in your recipe. This is because the paste adds more moisture than granulated white sugar would.

LEARN HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN DATE PASTE

11. Confectioner’s Sugar

1 cup White Granulated Sugar= 1 3/4 cup Confectioner’s Sugar

You can make your own confectioner’s (powdered) sugar by grinding 1 cup white granulated sugar and 1 tsp corn starch.

12. Corn Syrup

1 cup White Granulated Sugar= 1 1/2 cup Light Corn Syrup

While corn syrup is great for making candies, it should only replace 1/2 of the sugar within a baking recipe. Using corn syrup as a sugar replacement in baking can be a little tricky, so check out this article to learn more about how to do this properly.

13. Pancake Syrup

1 cup White Granulated Sugar= 3/4 cup Pancake Syrup

Why did I list pancake syrup and maple syrup separately? Because pancake syrups generally have more added ingredients that pure maple syrup. They can be substituted at the same ratio, but be aware of which brand of pancake syrup you are using. I like to make my own pancake syrup for pancakes and for a sugar substitution to avoid these additional ingredients.

LEARN HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN PANCAKE SYRUP