10 Best Monk Fruit Sweetener Substitutes

Monk Fruit Sweetener

Monk fruit is commonly used in Thailand and China but it can be found in other cuisines around the world as a low calories sweetener.

This sweetener comes directly from the monk fruit pulp and juice and in China, the peel is used as well to make one of the traditional Chinese teas.

Monk fruit is about 200 times sweeter compared to sugar. It is mostly used in smoothies, sweet drinks, or as a topping on yogurt desserts.

Monk fruit is not easy to find worldwide and if you have a recipe that calls for it, you will need a substitute handy in case you can’t get this delicious ingredient from your grocery store.

Below, you will find substitutes for monk fruit sweetener including stevia sugar,  sugar, honey, agave syrup, maple syrup, molasses, corn syrup, Saccharin, Aspartame, Sucralose.

Best Substitutes For Monk Fruit 

Use the following alternative instead of monk fruit sweetener in all types of recipes. However, make sure you taste your recipe as you might add more of a substitute in order to obtain the sweet taste of monk fruit, which is difficult to equal.

1. Stevia sugar

Stevia sugar

Stevia sugar is also a low caloric type of sweetener that many people use instead of monk fruit sweetener. You can use stevia sugar or liquid in your recipes as long as you taste the dish as you are preparing it.

Take note that stevia in a liquid form is a lot sweeter than granulated stevia. So, when you replace monk fruit you will have to use a double quantity of stevia sweetener than monk fruit.

2. Regular sugar

granulated sugar

Regular sugar can also be used instead of monk fruit sweetener but it is not as sweet, thus you will have to add a bigger quantity to obtain the same taste.

You can use both white sugar and brown sugar as their sweetness levels are fairly similar. When you substitute monk fruit sweetener with regular sugar you will have to consider that monk fruit is about 200 times sweeter than sugar.

So use a triple quantity of sugar to obtain the same level of sweetness.

3. Honey

Honey

Honey can save you every time you need a sweetener. However, it is not as low in calories as monk fruit is, even if you can use it instead of this Asian sweetener successfully.

To replace monk fruit with honey, use a double quantity of honey if you want to obtain a comparable level of sweetness. Depending on the type of honey, a bigger quantity might be required.

4. Agave syrup

Agave Nectar

Agave syrup is also a popular substitute for monk fruit.

It is a concentrated syrup that is very sweet too even if not as sweet as the monk fruit. Use agave syrup instead of monk fruit in your smoothies, desserts but also as a topping on different sweet dishes.

When it comes to the ratio, you will have to use double the quantity of syrup compared to the monk fruit quantity that your recipe calls for.

5. Maple syrup

Maple syrup can substitute monk fruit in any beverage or dessert. It is particularly used as a topping for pancakes.

Maple syrup will taste different than monk fruit but it will add your dish the level of sweetness you want. Two parts of maple syrup should make for one part of monk fruit but taste your food to make sure you don’t need to add more.

6. Molasses

Molasses

Molasses is very similar to sugar in terms of taste as it is made as sugar is being processed. Some types of molasses are sweeter than others depending on the time it was extracted during the sugar production.

You can use molasses instead of monk fruit as long as you double the quantity to obtain the same level of sweetness. Taste your molasses first before adding it to your recipe to see how sweet it is.

7. Corn syrup

Corn syrup

Corn syrup is a derivative of cornstarch. It is high in glucose and you can find this sweetener listed on many processed sweets and even other types of goods.

If you can find corn syrup you can use it in a ratio of 1:1 instead of monk fruit. You can use corn syrup in sweet drinks as well as baked desserts and any other types of desserts that call for monk fruit.

8. Saccharin

Saccharin is a common sugar substitute and it can replace monk fruit just as well if you use it correctly. This sweetener is usually sold as a tabletop sweetener but you can use it in all kinds of recipes instead of monk fruit.

It is between 200 and 700 times sweeter than sucrose so you will not need to use a lot of it. Add this white powder sweetener to your smoothies and other desserts instead of monk fruit sweetener.

The ratio is 1:1. However, you can increase the quantity according to your personal taste.

9. Aspartame

Aspartame is a processed sweetener that adds a flavor similar to the one of sucrose. This also intensifies the taste of your dish and enhances all the other flavors in your dessert which is why it is important to use it correctly.

Taste the aspartame before adding it to your food to make sure you get familiar with its flavor and sweetness level. You can decide the quantity you add based on your preferences as this substitute will taste slightly different and not everyone likes it equally.

10. Sucralose

Sucralose is made of sugar and you can use it instead of any other sweetener, including monk fruit. This substitute is about 600 times sweeter than sucrose and it has no calories which make it a great alternative to other sweeteners as well.

You can add the same amount of sucralose that you would add monk fruit as it is fairly the same level of sweetness. But make sure you taste your food to end up with the best result.

Monk Fruit Conversion Chart

Refer to this chart when you replace monk fruit with any of the substitutes above. It will be very helpful to taste the substitute you are planning to use in order to determine how much you should add to your food as people will have different preferences.

Monk fruit sweetener Stevia sugar White/brown sugar Honey Agave syrup Maple syrup Molasses Corn syrup Saccharin Aspartame Sucralose
1 tbs 2 tbs 3 tbs 2 tbs 2 tbs 2 tbs 2 tbs 1 tbs 1 tbs 1-2 tbs 1 tbs

FAQs

Can you substitute Splenda for monk fruit?

Splenda is made of sucralose. And since sucralose can substitute monk fruit, so can Splenda.

However, Splenda is a complex brand that offers different other sweeteners besides those based on sucralose. They have low-calorie products made of stevia or even monk fruit.

Any sweetener from this brand could make a good substitute for monk fruit. 

Is monk fruit a 1:1 sugar substitute?

Monk fruit is much sweeter than sugar, so you can’t use it in the same ratio. When you substitute 1 tablespoon of monk fruit, you will need about 3 tablespoons of sugar, be it white or brown sugar, to even the sweetness level.

However, even if the ratio is not 1:1 to get the same sweet taste when you use sugar instead of monk fruit, you can still try this ratio and work your way up by adding more as you need.

Final Verdict

If your recipe calls for monk fruit, don’t hesitate to add one of the substitutes in this guide that you might have in your kitchen.

You can easily find most of them in local grocery stores so you will not have to look very far for them. And your final dish will taste delicious!

1 comment
  1. Thank you for this very helpful analysis of monk fruit sweetener substitutes. I made brownies with my very last 1/4 cup of agave syrup before reading your blog which is a 1:1 ratio of the monk fruit sweetener my recipe called for.🤞they’ll be good. They’re still in the oven. Are you a food nutritionist?

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