Out of Honey, one case
Can you substitute brown sugar for honey?
4 options, ranked, with the exact amount
Use Light brown sugar + water
1 ¼ cups packed + ¼ cup water for every cup of honey
Yes: use 1 ¼ cups packed brown sugar plus ¼ cup water for each cup of honey. The extra sugar matches the sweetness of honey and the water replaces the liquid it carried. The result tastes of caramel and molasses in place of floral, and bakes come out paler and stale sooner.
- Verdict —
- Tweak it
- The tweak —
- In a batter, add the sugar with the dry ingredients and the water with the wet. For a sauce or glaze, stir the sugar into the liquid until it dissolves.
- Best for —
- cookies, muffins and quick breads
- Pantry —
- Likely in your cupboard
One casethe full honey card
Every option, one card
Ranked| # | Substitute | Instead of 1 cup honey | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Light brown sugar + watercookies, muffins and quick breads | 1 ¼ cups packed + ¼ cup waterTweak it | Tweak it |
| 2 | Dark brown sugar + watergingerbread and spice cakes | 1 ¼ cups packed + ¼ cup waterYou'll taste it | You'll taste it |
| 3 | Maple syrupdrizzling on yogurt, toast and pancakes | 1 cupTweak it | Tweak it |
| 4 | Golden syrupgranola bars and flapjacks that have to hold together | 1 cupTweak it | Tweak it |
| Not a swap | Dry brown sugar, no water added | not a swapNot for this | Not for this |
Light brown sugar + water
caramel and light molasses in place of floral
Brown sugar is white sugar with a little molasses, so it brings a warmth that plain sugar lacks. It is dry, though, and honey is about 17% water, which is why the water goes in with it.
- Best for
- cookies, muffins and quick breads, marinades, barbecue sauce and glazes, oatmeal, tea and coffee, yeast bread
- Prep
- In a batter, add the sugar with the dry ingredients and the water with the wet. For a sauce or glaze, stir the sugar into the liquid until it dissolves.
- Suits
- vegan
- Where it fails
- Granola bars, baklava and sticky glazes that count on honey to cling and stay chewy. Brown sugar sets crisp or grainy as it cools.
Keep the oven at the temperature the recipe gives. Brown sugar does not brown early the way honey does.
Dark brown sugar + water
clear molasses, darker than honey
The same swap with about twice the molasses. It measures the same way and tastes stronger.
- Best for
- gingerbread and spice cakes, baked beans and barbecue sauce, ham glaze
- Prep
- Pack it into the cup, and add the water with the other liquids.
- Suits
- vegan
- Where it fails
- Pale cakes, light dressings and tea, where the color and the molasses take over.
Maple syrup
maple in place of floral
If there is a syrup in the house, it is the closer swap. It pours, it keeps bakes moist and it needs no added water.
- Best for
- drizzling on yogurt, toast and pancakes, granola, cakes that should stay soft for days
- Prep
- Cut another liquid in the recipe by 2 to 3 tbsp per cup and lower the oven 25°F.
- Suits
- vegan
- Where it fails
- Recipes where honey is the named flavor, such as honey cake.
Golden syrup
butterscotch
The closest to honey for thickness and stickiness, which is the job brown sugar cannot do.
- Best for
- granola bars and flapjacks that have to hold together, sticky glazes, pouring over porridge
- Suits
- vegan
- Where it fails
- It is not in every pantry, and it tastes of caramel, not flowers.
Dry brown sugar, no water added
less sweet than the recipe intended
Swapping a cup of honey for a cup of dry sugar takes about ¼ cup of liquid out of a batter and leaves it under-sweetened.
- Best for
- nothing in baking
- Where it fails
- Batters turn stiff and bake up dry and crumbly. In a sauce or marinade that already has plenty of liquid, dry brown sugar is fine: use 1 ¼ times the amount of honey.
Tips for substituting honey
5 tips- Small amounts: for 1 tbsp honey, use 1 tbsp plus ¾ tsp packed brown sugar and ¾ tsp water. For ¼ cup honey, use 5 tbsp brown sugar and 1 tbsp water.
- Leave the oven where the recipe sets it. Honey browns early and sugar does not, so lowering the temperature leaves the bake pale.
- Honey is acidic and helps baking soda work. Brown sugar is mildly acidic too, so most recipes rise as written. If the recipe has baking soda and no other acid, add about 1 tsp lemon juice or vinegar with the wet ingredients.
- Glazes for ham, salmon or carrots: melt the brown sugar with the water and a little butter or mustard first. Dry sugar sprinkled on burns in spots.
- Bakes made with sugar in place of honey dry out by the next day. Wrap them well or eat them the day they are made.
Questions
5 questionsHow much brown sugar equals ½ cup of honey?
Use ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons of packed brown sugar and 2 tablespoons of water. For 1/3 cup honey, use 1/3 cup plus 4 teaspoons brown sugar and 4 teaspoons water.
Can I use brown sugar in place of honey in a marinade or sauce?
Yes. Use 1 ¼ times as much brown sugar as honey and stir until it dissolves. Most marinades already have enough liquid, so you can skip the added water. The sauce will be slightly thinner and less clingy than with honey.
Does brown sugar work in place of honey in bread?
Yes. Yeast feeds on brown sugar as readily as on honey. Use 1 ¼ times the amount and add the matching water, about 1 tablespoon for every ¼ cup of honey replaced. The crust browns a little less and the loaf stales sooner.
Can I use brown sugar in place of honey in granola or granola bars?
In loose granola, yes: dissolve the brown sugar in the water and oil before tossing it with the oats. In bars it is a poor swap, because honey is the glue and brown sugar sets brittle. Use golden syrup, maple syrup or corn syrup there.
Is brown sugar a safe swap for honey in food for a baby?
Honey must never be given to a child under 12 months, even baked into food, because it can carry botulism spores. Brown sugar does not have that risk, so it can replace honey in a recipe for that reason. For anything else about feeding an infant, ask your pediatrician.