8 Best Sugar Substitutes for Baking Success

Close your eyes and imagine a world without white sugar. No more candies, desserts, and sweet treats. It's not exactly a pleasant world to live in, is it? That's how much sugar changed life as we know it.

Thankfully, enjoying our baked goods without this essential ingredient is now possible. You should be good to go as long as you have the best sugar substitute for baking.

But before that, we must understand what granulated sugar does for our recipes.

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The Role of Sugar in Baking
Best Sugar Substitutes for Baking
Tips on How to Replace Sugar in Baking
Substituting Sugar in Baking FAQs
Baking with Sugar Substitutes
Recipe

The Role of Sugar in Baking

Obviously, sugar makes our baked goods sweeter. However, did you know it plays two other major roles in our recipes?

Structure

Sugar's first major role is to bind with the liquid ingredients in your recipe. This prevents the moisture from leaving your batter or dough. As a result, your baked goods maintain their structure while inside the oven.

This is even more true for granulated or brown sugar since it contains molasses from sugar cane. The molasses content increases its moisture, which further helps maintain your bake's structure.

Texture

Its next major role has something to do with texture. This applies not just to brown sugar but also to regular sugar.

Gluten contributes to your baked goods' toughness. Higher gluten content creates denser, firmer, and heavier bread. Sugar prevents further development of gluten in your batter or dough.

As a result, your baked goods come out of the oven with a softer texture.

Best Sugar Substitutes for Baking

Unfortunately, this level of sweetness can raise our blood sugar levels. So, to continue eating the good stuff, you must use sugar substitutes when baking.

1. Maple Syrup

If you like a natural maple flavor in your baked goods, maple syrup should be on your next shopping list. Its flavor resembles brown sugar; caramel with a hint of toffee.

It's one of the most popular liquid sweeteners for pancakes and other baked goods. However, because it's liquid, you must reduce the milk or water portions in the recipe to compensate for the excess moisture.

Remember that even though maple syrup is a sweetener, its flavor differs greatly from refined sugar. Ergo, you must only use this alternative on recipes where it contributes to the final product's flavor.

This substitute is better for recipes that look for brown sugar rather than white. Nonetheless, it may also work in recipes that need small amounts of sweeteners.

Use ¾ cup of maple syrup to replace each cup of sugar in the recipe.

Best for muffins, pecan rolls, pancakes, and waffles.

Here's a Savory Pancakes with Bacon recipe to try it on.

2. Coconut Sugar

Coconut palm sugar is one of the most popular sugar substitutes for baking and cooking because of its nutritional content.

Because of its popularity, it's very easy to find coconut sugar in supermarkets or local grocery stores. However, it's more expensive than regular white or brown sugar, so only use it in a pinch or on special recipes.

Additionally, coconut sugar may make your baked goods slightly crumbly since it doesn't easily dissolve in the dough or butter. I suggest grinding it in a food processor or blender first before use.

You can replace white sugar with coconut sugar in a 1:1 ratio.

Best for chocolate or coffee-flavored baked goods.

3. Stevia Leaf Extract

Stevia is a plant-based sweetener found in special food stores or online. It's an excellent sugar substitute in baking because it's sugar-free, so it's better for your health.

Be careful when using this as an alternative, though, because it's multiple times sweeter than granulated or cane sugar.

If you're using powdered stevia, start with 1 teaspoon to replace each cup of sugar in the recipe. (Yes, that's how sweet it is!)

Stevia also has a slightly herbal taste which can be rather unusual at first. It takes a bit of getting used to, but it's an excellent sugar substitute for any recipe.

Best for just about anything.

Try it on this air fryer brownies recipe.

4. Honey

Honey is also an excellent sugar substitute in baking. It adds various flavors to your recipe, from floral to earthy and fruity to nutty.

But it's also incredibly sweet, so don't be afraid you'll fall behind in sweetness. Like maple syrup, honey is also a liquid sweetener, so reduce the portions of other liquids in the recipe.

However, unlike maple syrup, honey is heavy and very sticky, which could alter the density and consistency of your baked goods.

To compensate, you may want to slightly increase the portion of baking soda in the recipe to increase the leavening properties of your batter.

You will need ¾ cup of honey to replace every cup of sugar in the recipe, but if you want to reduce its sweetness, use ⅔ cup of honey instead.

Best for brownies, muffins, pancakes, or cookies.

5. Agave nectar

Many people prefer agave nectar over sugar because of its lower glycemic index. Plus, it also contains less glucose than regular white sugar.

However, agave nectar has a higher fructose content than sugar. Both glucose and fructose are simple sugars, which means they still contribute to weight gain and the risk of diabetes.

Therefore, moderation is key when using this as a sugar substitute in baking. Because it's a liquid sweetener, cutting down on other liquids is vital to the texture of your baked goods.

Nonetheless, I love using agave nectar because of its neutral flavor. It will add sweetness to your recipe without altering the flavor profile of the final product.

Agave nectar is sweeter than other substitutes, so only use ⅔ cups to replace every cup of sugar in the recipe.

Best for just about anything.

This substitute should work well on this chocolate cookies made with cocoa recipe.

6. Cane Sugar

Let's settle this first; cane sugar differs from refined or white sugar because of its origin. Granulated sugar comes from sugar cane or sugar beets.

On the other hand, cane sugar is made only from sugar cane. Nonetheless, their flavor profiles and nutritional content are virtually identical.

It's only a great substitute if you happen to have some at home. It's not the best baking sugar substitute but will save you in a pinch. Use it as an alternative in a 1:1 ratio.

Best for just about anything.

7. Date Sugar

Date sugar comes from date fruit, which means it comes from palm trees (like coconut sugar). It contains antioxidants, fiber, magnesium, and potassium, making it a healthier alternative to granulated sugar.

It's also sweeter than white sugar, so you should only use ⅔ cups to replace every cup of white or brown sugar in the recipe.

However, date sugar is efficient in absorbing moisture. So, when substituting sugar in baking with this alternative, you must increase the portions of your liquid ingredients.

Best for chocolate baked goods.

Here's a chocolate mousse cake recipe to test it on.

8. Molasses

The main difference between white and brown sugar is the molasses content. Brown sugar retains most of its molasses, giving it its signature brown color, extra moisture, and caramel-like flavor.

When used as a sugar substitute in baking, molasses will make your baked goods slightly darker. However, it's less sweet than white sugar, so you should use 1 and ⅓ cups to replace each cup in the recipe.

Molasses is also a liquid substitute, which means you have to cut back on the portions of other liquid ingredients in the recipe.

You can also add 4 tablespoons of flour for every cup of molasses to compensate for the extra moisture. Be sure to stick with light molasses, too, since dark molasses turn bitter after baking.

Best for cookies, muffins, and pecan pies.

Tips on How to Replace Sugar in Baking

Substituting sugar in baking can be tricky. Your substitute shouldn't ruin your recipe's texture and flavor profile while ensuring it's sweet enough for your baked goods.

To help with that, here are some factors to consider before using an alternative.

Solid vs. Liquid

This probably shouldn't be a problem for solid alternatives. However, some sugar substitutes in baking are liquid sweeteners.

These alternatives can change the texture of your baked goods if you don't compensate for the extra moisture. If you're unsure how to reduce the portions of other liquids, stick to solid substitutes.

Additional Flavors

Substitutes like agave nectar, cane sugar, and stevia don't bring extra flavors to the table. However, some substitutes may alter your recipe's flavor profile.

Does the nutty taste blend well with the final flavor? How about caramel? Or coconut? Consider these extra flavors before using a substitute.

Function

Determining the function of sugar in the recipe will help you choose a sugar substitute. Some liquid sweeteners may probably get the job done if the sugar requirement is for topping the bake.

However, if you're replacing brown sugar, remember it's an acidic ingredient. Therefore, it activates the baking soda in the recipe.

If your substitute is not acidic, add another ingredient, like lemon juice or vinegar, to trigger an acid-base reaction for leavening.

Substituting Sugar in Baking FAQs

What can I use instead of sugar to bake?

If the sugar requirement in the recipe mixes with other ingredients, maple syrup, honey, and agave nectar are some of the best substitutes. On the other hand, if you need a dry substitute, go for date sugar, stevia, or coconut sugar.

What is the healthiest alternative to sugar?

Stevia is perhaps the healthiest alternative to sugar since it doesn't affect your blood sugar levels. On the other hand, you can also try fruit purees to sweeten your bake if you really want to make it healthier.

What happens if you bake without sugar?

Aside from producing less-sweet bakes, your bake's texture and structure may completely fall apart since sugar helps in binding and softening.