Is There a Substitute for Brown Sugar?

Updated on April 9th, 2023

Few things are more frustrating than learning you’ve run out of brown sugar through a chocolate chip cookie recipe. However, you may use several practical alternatives in a crisis, many of which you may already have on hand.

Is there a brown sugar substitute? If so, which is the best? Consider the following alternatives: Muscovado, Date sugar, Honey, and Agave nectar. If brown sugar isn’t available in your area, consider these liquid sweeteners instead. If you don’t like the taste of brown sugar, try replacing it with a liquid component for roughly two-thirds of a cup.

 

Substitutes for Brown Sugar

• Muscovado

If you’re using conventional brown sugar, you might be wondering what you can use in its place. Although the two forms of sugar are identical, the flavour difference is significant. Both are sweet, but they pack a different punch, and Muscovado is a little coarser and packs a little looser. As a result, you’ll need to reduce the amount of brown sugar in each cup by roughly one tablespoon. Molasses can also be substituted for brown sugar.

• Date Sugar

Date sugar is a natural sweetener that is not processed like other types of refined sugar. Sugar cane is regarded to be more natural. This brown sugar substitute gives baked items an overall sweetness. Dates are more expensive than most other sugars, although they can be found in health food stores, and they can also be created at home. Date sugar can be substituted 1:1 in recipes. Date sugar is more expensive than regular brown sugar, so do your research before purchasing.

Day sugar is a fantastic brown sugar substitute prepared from dry ground dates, and it has a bitter flavour and a gorgeous light brown tint. In recipes, date sugar can be used in place of brown sugar 1:1. If you can’t find date sugar, sukrin gold is a low-calorie alternative that tastes like brown sugar and contains malt and stevia.

• Honey

Honey is a fantastic carbohydrate alternative to brown sugar, and it contains two forms of sugar: glucose and fructose. Honey is made by bees collecting nectar from flowers and storing it in hive walls. Depending on the extraction procedure, honey can range in colour from pale yellow to dark brown. Honey includes minerals, vitamins, amino acids, antioxidants, and anti-inflammatory flavonoids and is delicious.

Honey has the same colour and texture as brown sugar but different flavors. It’s also sweeter than brown sugar, however, the sweetness varies per batch. When making your own honey recipes, taste the batter first and adjust the amount of honey as needed. Honey is sweeter than sugar and can be used as a 1:1 substitution in tiny amounts. One cup of brown sugar can be replaced with half a cup of honey.

• Agave

In recipes, agave nectar is a great substitute for brown sugar, and it cuts down on baking time by 5%. Agave is good for desserts, cookies, and pastries since it contains more moisture than white sugar. You can use granulated sugar instead to preserve the classic flavour. It will, however, detract from the crumb and structure of your baked items.

Agave nectar is a sugar substitute that contains both glucose and fructose. Fructose, which has a lower glycemic index than glucose, makes about 60 to 90 percent of agave. As a result, agave does not contribute to the blood sugar increase that causes type 2 diabetes. Instead, reducing the overall glycemic index, it prevents this condition.

Don’t be concerned about the amount of agave you’ll consume. Most supermarket stores have agave-sweetened products, and Agave syrup is available at Whole Foods Market and Trader Joe’s. When exposed to air, it will evaporate while still a bit sticky. This is a safe way to consume agave without worrying about unwanted health effects.

• Coconut Sugar

The sap of coconut trees is used to make coconut sugar. It’s commonly touted as a healthy sugar substitute since it contains vitamins, minerals, and fibre that aren’t found in refined sugar. In a 1:1 ratio, coconut sugar and brown sugar can easily be swapped.

Although coconut sugar resembles brown sugar’s appearance and flavour, it does not hold as much moisture. This can change the texture of baked items, making them slightly dryer or denser than they were intended.

Try adding a little extra fat, such as butter or oil, to your original recipe to boost the moisture content. You may also use a burner to melt the coconut sugar before adding it to your mixture. Although coconut sugar can be used in place of brown sugar, it can make baked items drier or denser than intended.

• Raw Sugar

Raw sugars like turbinado and demerara are excellent brown sugar alternatives because of their natural pale amber colours and mild caramel aromas.

In most recipes, you can replace raw sugar with brown sugar in an equal proportion and not notice a difference. On the other hand, Raw sugars are drier and coarser than brown sugar, which may affect the overall result of your dish.

Raw sugar grains do not usually mix into dough or batter as evenly as brown sugar, leaving a gritty texture. This is especially true for baked items with a low moisture content or those with a delicate texture.

Brown sugar can be replaced with raw sugars like demerara or turbinado in equal amounts. Still, because raw sugar crystals are so coarse, they don’t usually combine as evenly as brown sugar in batters and doughs.

How do you Make Homemade Brown Sugar?

Molasses and granulated sugar are all you need. Light brown sugar requires one tablespoon of molasses per sugar, whereas dark brown sugar requires two teaspoons.

If you’re beating sugar into other components for a recipe, you can mix the ingredients together in a bowl with a fork or just add the molasses in with the sugar. Brown sugar, both produced and purchased, can harden over time. Brown sugar can be softened and maintained in a variety of ways. Keep the brown sugar in an airtight jar first. This will keep the sugar from hardening and fading off.

The piece of bread method can also be used. Toss a slice of bread and some sugar into your sealed container. The brown sugar should soften after about 30 minutes and stay soft for the rest of the time it’s in there. Every couple of days, I recommend swapping out the bread.

If you need to soften brown sugar quickly, put it in a microwave-safe bowl and cover it with a damp but not dripping wet paper towel. It should be heated for around 30 seconds. While this is the quickest way, avoid overheating the sugar because it will dissolve.

Some publications suggest mixing the sugar and molasses in a blender or food processor, but I found that using a fork produced a much closer consistency to store-bought brown sugar. If you’re baking with brown sugar (like cookies), you can just mix the molasses with the wet ingredients to save even more time! If you know, you’ll go through brown sugar rapidly, make double, triple, or even more batches. Simply keep it in an airtight jar!

Do I have to Use Brown Sugar in Cookies?

Brown sugar (for extra moisture and chewiness) and granulated sugar (for that faint crunch on the edges of a cookie) are commonly used in chocolate chip cookie recipes, but it is not required. This recipe was made expressly to operate without the use of brown sugar.

Some cookie recipes, such as sugar cookies or shortbread cookies, call for no brown sugar and are nevertheless excellent! If there’s one thing chocolate chip cookies have in common, they almost all contain brown sugar. What if you don’t have any brown sugar but still want cookies? Don’t worry; these brown sugar-free chocolate chip cookies will save the day!

What is the Difference Between Brown Sugar and White Sugar?

Because white and brown sugar comes from the same plants — sugarcane or sugar beet — they are very similar. Most brown sugar is a combination of white sugar and molasses, a sugar-derived syrup, and molasses gives it a deeper colour and boosts its nutritional worth slightly. Brown sugar provides slightly more calcium, iron, and potassium than white sugar, which is the most noticeable nutritional difference.

The brown syrup molasses is removed from white sugar during the purification process. On the other hand, brown sugar is made by blending white sugar with molasses and undergoing less processing to retain its molasses content. In the kitchen, white and brown sugar are used interchangeably. On the other hand, brown sugar contains molasses, which alters the flavour and color of food.

The choice between white and brown sugar is a matter of taste, and they have similar nutritional profiles, leading to similar health outcomes. Remember that sugar should be used in moderation since too much can be harmful to your health. Brown sugar is generally simply processed white sugar with molasses. While they are created differently, they have distinct tastes, hues, and culinary purposes.

What are Some Recipes in Which Brown Sugar is Used?

• Pickle Foods

Brown sugar is a popular pickling ingredient. Spices, herbs, salt, and vinegar give pickled vegetables and eggs their complex flavors, but the sweet brown sugar balances off the strong, acidic brine. Brown sugar balances out your favourite pickled foods by combining with salt and acid. The fun of experimenting with different combinations of items in the brine is the finest part of pickling anything.

• Simplify Stir-Fry Dishes

Do you use brown sugar in all of your stir-fries? Brown sugar is a perfect ingredient for the sauce component in many Asian-inspired stir-fries since they have addictively sweet and salty qualities. Rich brown sugar adds just enough sweetness and depth to balance the salty notes when combined with soy sauce, vinegar, and aromatics like garlic and ginger.

• Season Meat, Poultry, and Seafood

There’s a reason why the combination of sweet and salty flavours appeals to so many individuals. They’re a match made in heaven, and their wonderful blending is like a choreographed dance piece. As a result, brown sugar offers the right texture and flavor, whether you’re searching for a deep, thoughtful approach to seasoning your main dishes of meat, poultry, or shellfish. Brown sugar is necessary whether you’re marinating a slab of steak for optimum suppleness, slathering poultry for the grill, or coating a fish fillet.

• Glaze Vegetables

Vegetables naturally grow sweeter and more caramelized as they cook. Brown sugar brings out the sweetness of the fruit, resulting in rich flavours you won’t be able to resist. Brown sugar offers vegetables a gorgeous gloss and wonderful flavour as a moist sweetener. You’ll adore what brown sugar can do for a heap of humble produce, whether you’re cooking classic holiday favourite side dishes or whipping up whatever’s in the fridge for hectic weeknights. Here are some dishes that inspire me without further ado.

• Elevate Standard Popcorn

Is it strange that I always cook stovetop popcorn three evenings a week? (Anyhoo.) While theater-style buttered popcorn is delicious, I occasionally crave variety, especially because I eat popcorn regularly. Brown sugar is an incredible hidden weapon for seasoning kernels with the perfect amount of sweet caramelised sweetness. Brown sugar may help you make your popcorn dreams a reality, whether you combine it with cinnamon for a classic combination or go for smooth caramel. These recipes will show you how to make it.

Conclusion

It’s frustrating to run out of an item you need for a dish, but there’s no need to worry about brown sugar.

Brown sugar can be replaced with a variety of common ingredients such as white sugar, molasses, maple syrup, and coconut sugar. You may need to make slight tweaks to your recipe depending on the substitution you choose, but everything else should go smoothly.