What is a good substitute for brown sugar?

The best substitute for brown sugar depends how you are using the sugar. Swapping brown sugar for another sweetener is more complicated in baking recipes than in sauces, savory dishes, or your coffee. Popular substitutes for brown sugar include maple syrup, honey, coconut sugar, raw sugar, muscovado sugar, and date sugar.

Can you swap dark brown sugar for light brown sugar?

In some situations, you can swap dark brown sugar for the same amount of light brown sugar, but this won't work for some baking recipes. For a closer swap in baking recipes, using you can use equal parts of white granulated sugar and dark brown sugar to make light brown sugar substitute.

Which is sweeter, maple syrup or brown sugar?

Maple syrup is sweeter than brown sugar, which means you can use less of it if you want to sub it for brown sugar, using about 2/3 cup maple syrup for every 1 cup of sugar the recipe calls for. It's also a liquid sweetener rather than a solid, so it behaves differently in baking recipes and you'll need to reduce other liquids in the recipe.

How to Make Brown Sugar Using Just 2 Ingredients

Name: How to Make Brown Sugar at Home
Prep time: 5 min
Total time: 5 min
Ingredients: 1 cup granualted sugar

Prep Time:

5 mins

Total Time:

5 mins

Servings:

1 Cup

Yield:

1 Cup

If you're out of brown sugar, there is an alternative to a trip to the store. Make homemade brown sugar—with just two ingredients. If you have granulated sugar and molasses, you’re almost there. All you need to do is measure and mix the two together. We’re not overstating it when we say this is probably our simplest recipe ever.

And, you have options. Whether you want a substitute for light brown sugar or dark brown sugar, the ingredients and process are the same. All that varies is the amount of molasses you add to the granulated sugar; for dark brown sugar you need more molasses to give it the darker color and more pronounced caramel flavor.

What Is Brown Sugar?

Brown sugar adds richness and depth to anything you add it to. Its softer texture and caramel flavor sets it apart from granulated sugar.

You may be surprised to learn store-bought brown sugar is actually refined sugar with added molasses. Brown sugar is available in light and dark varieties, the difference between these supermarket staples is the amount of molasses added to them, with dark brown sugar having a darker color and more pronounced caramel flavor because it is made with more molasses.

There are other natural brown sugars such as raw sugar, muscovado, and turbinado.

Brown sugar weighs slightly more than white sugar, but there's no need to worry about that when you're making homemade brown sugar. Once you add the molasses, the weight of your DIY brown sugar will be very close to the weight of store-bought brown sugar, so you can substitute it one-for-one in recipes.

What Is Molasses?

Molasses is a liquid sweetener, a dark, syrup-like byproduct of the sugar-making process. There are three main types of molasses: light, dark or medium, and blackstrap. To make brown sugar, use light or dark molasses, not blackstrap molasses, which is unsweetened and has a bitter flavor.

How to Soften Brown Sugar

If your brown sugar hardens when storing, here are a few ways to soften it.

To use the brown sugar right away:

Place brown sugar in a microwavable bowl.
Drape with one or two damp paper towels.
Cover bowl with plastic wrap.
Microwave on high for 10-second intervals until the sugar becomes soft.
Break apart with a fork and use right away.

To soften the brown sugar to use later:

Cover with a damp paper towel and plastic wrap, and let sit overnight at room temperature.
Place a wedge of apple or a slice of bread in the bag overnight. The sugar will absorb the moisture from these foods.

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Ingredients

Ingredients for Light Brown Sugar

1 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons molasses

Ingredients for Dark Brown Sugar

1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup molasses

Directions

Mix sugar and molasses:

Combine granulated sugar and molasses in a bowl. Stir to combine.

Storing Homemade Brown Sugar

Just like store-bought brown sugar, when homemade brown sugar is exposed to air, it can solidify as it loses moisture and become very hard. You can prevent this by limiting brown sugar's exposure to air and dry conditions. Store it in a cool, dark place in a nontransparent, airtight sealable container.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a good substitute for brown sugar?

The best substitute for brown sugar depends how you are using the sugar. Swapping brown sugar for another sweetener is more complicated in baking recipes than in sauces, savory dishes, or your coffee. Popular substitutes for brown sugar include maple syrup, honey, coconut sugar, raw sugar, muscovado sugar, and date sugar.
Can you swap dark brown sugar for light brown sugar?

In some situations, you can swap dark brown sugar for the same amount of light brown sugar, but this won't work for some baking recipes. For a closer swap in baking recipes, using you can use equal parts of white granulated sugar and dark brown sugar to make light brown sugar substitute.
Which is sweeter, maple syrup or brown sugar?

Maple syrup is sweeter than brown sugar, which means you can use less of it if you want to sub it for brown sugar, using about 2/3 cup maple syrup for every 1 cup of sugar the recipe calls for. It's also a liquid sweetener rather than a solid, so it behaves differently in baking recipes and you'll need to reduce other liquids in the recipe.

Updated by

Victoria Spencer

How to Make Brown Sugar at Home