Clever Substitutes For Brown Sugar (And How To Make Your Own)

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Today, we’ll be talking about brown sugar, which is one of my favorite ingredients. Are you looking for a substitute for brown sugar? This article provides plenty of substitutes that you can use and also teaches you how to make your sugar in the kitchen.

Brown sugar is an important ingredient in many baked goods. It gives all kinds of recipes a rich sweetness and deep color. When you run out of brown sugar in your kitchen, or you may want a change, there are plenty of ingredients that you can substitute for brown sugar. 

About Brown Sugar

Difference Between White Sugar and Brown Sugar

Despite the appearance of being completely different, there is very little between brown and white sugar.

White sugar is made by purifying brown syrup, also known as molasses.

Brown sugar can either be left unprocessed to preserve the molasses or can be made by combining white sugar and molasses.

The only difference between brown sugar and white sugar is the amount of molasses in the sugar. Click To Tweet

This is why, if you don’t have any brown sugar in your kitchen and you are in desperate need of some, all you have to do is mix sugar and molasses together and you will have fresh brown sugar available whenever you need it.

Why Brown Sugar?

Brown sugar adds a rich sweetness to many recipes. Brown sugar imparts a caramel-like flavor and color. Brown sugar can be used in a variety of ways to add moisture and chewiness to baked goods as well as affect the spreadability and leavening. Click To Tweet

DIY Brown Sugar

There is always a chance that brown sugar will run out while baking. You may not know what you should do if this happens. Click To Tweet

Do you go to the store or can you make your brown sugar at home? It is possible, and it is very easy. All you need are some white sugar, and some molasses.

Combine a cup of white sugar and a tablespoon of molasses in a bowl. Stir the mixture until the molasses has been fully incorporated into the white sugar. You can make the sugar darker by adding more molasses.

It is really that easy. It’s not as complicated or confusing as you might think.

It takes only a few minutes and you can continue cooking without any problems. You can save the rest for later by sealing it in an airtight container.

7 Clever Substitutes for Brown Sugar

There are few things worse than realizing halfway through a recipe to make the perfect chocolate chip cookie that you ran out of brown sugar.

There are many practical alternatives that you can use in a pinch, many of which you may already own in your pantry.

Here are 7 clever alternatives to brown sugar.

1. White Sugar + Molasses

Combining white sugar with molasses is the best choice for brown sugar replacements because that’s exactly what brown sugar is made from.

Mix 1 cup (200g) of granulated sugar with 1 tablespoon (15ml) molasses to make your own light brown sugar. You can also use 2 tablespoons (30 milliliters) of molasses if you need dark brown sugar.

You have brown sugar.

2. White Sugar + Maple Syrup

Brown sugar is traditionally made from a mixture of granulated sugar and molasses.

You can substitute maple syrup for molasses if you don’t have it on hand. This will make your final product almost identical.

Combine 1 cup (200g) of granulated sugar with 1 tablespoon (15ml) pure maple syrup to create a brown sugar substitute that will fool even the most sophisticated palates.

3. Coconut Sugar

Coconut sap is used for making coconut sugar.

Because it contains vitamins, minerals, and fiber that aren’t found in refined sugars, it is often promoted as a healthier option to sugar.

Coconut sugar can be substituted for brown sugar in a ratio of 1:1.

Coconut sugar tastes and looks very similar to brown sugar, but it doesn’t retain as much moisture. This can lead to baked goods that are slightly denser than intended.

You can increase the moisture by adding butter or oil to your original recipe. Coconut sugar can also be melted on the stovetop before being added to your recipe.

4. Honey, Maple Syrup, or Agave Nectar

Honey, maple syrup, and agave nectar can all be used as a substitute for brown sugar by making a few changes to your recipe.

These substitutions are liquid, so you should consider how extra moisture might affect your recipe when it comes to baking.

These are just a few tips to help you get started.

• Each cup of brown sugar (200g), can be replaced by 1/3 cup (160ml), liquid sweetener.
• Reduce liquid sources by 1/4 cup (60ml), for every 2/3 cup (163ml) liquid sweetener.

You might also want to reduce the cooking time of sugar substitutes by a few minutes. They may caramelize quicker than brown sugar.

5. Raw Sugar

Raw sugars like demerara and turbinado are excellent alternatives to brown sugar because of their mild caramel flavors, light amber colors, and natural sweetness.

Most recipes can be modified to substitute raw sugar with brown sugar.

Raw sugar can be more coarse and dry than brown sugar, which can impact the final result of your dish.

The coarse sugar granules can’t be mixed in with batter or dough as evenly and thoroughly as brown sugar. This causes a grainy texture. This is especially true if baking goods have low moisture or delicate textures.

Sugar crystals can be manually ground using a spice grinder, mortar & pestle, or a mortar & pestle. This will make it easier for you to incorporate into your recipes.

You can also dissolve the sugar crystals in a small amount of warm liquid such as butter or oil before adding them to your batter.

6. Muscovado Sugar

Muscovado sugar, a sugar that has been minimally refined, is a great alternative to brown sugar. It contains molasses, just like traditional brown sugar. 3 ).

However, muscovado’s molasses and moisture content is significantly higher than regular brown sugar. This makes it more sticky and has a higher tendency to clump.

You can substitute brown sugar for the Muscovado sugar in almost all recipes, but you might want to sift it before you mix it into your batter or dough.

To improve the integration of the muscovado into your recipe, you could also use an electric mixer to add it in small amounts.

7. Plain White Sugar

You can substitute brown sugar with equal amounts of granulated sugar if all else fails.

White sugar is not as rich in flavor as brown sugar, but you may not notice any flavor changes depending on the recipe.

The texture is where you might notice a difference. Brown sugar gives baked goods such as cookies a dense chewiness.

You may get a slightly crispier result if you replace brown sugar with white sugar. This isn’t necessarily bad.

Other Brown Sugar Alternatives

I recommend using the molasses substitute. However, in a pinch, you can use granulated sugar to combine with any of these:

• Honey
• Maple syrup
• Agave nectar

In 1 cup of granulated Sugar, stir 2 tablespoons honey, maple syrup, oragave.

NOTE: These replacements (honey syrup, agave, etc.) will not produce as close to brown sugar. The flavor and color of the sugar will not be nearly as rich and dark as brown sugar. The color of your baked goods will be lighter and the results may vary depending on the recipe.

A Sweet Goodbye

Thanks for reading our guide on brown sugar substitutes! We hope you found it helpful. Get the perfect substitute for brown sugar and enjoy!

If you’re looking for more ways to substitute common ingredients, be sure to check out our other posts.