Out of Sugar, one case
Which sugar substitute tastes most like sugar?
5 options, ranked, with the exact amount
Use Allulose
1 1/3 cups for every cup of sugar
Allulose is the sugar-free sweetener most often described as tasting like sugar: no bitterness, no cooling effect, and it browns and caramelizes. It is about 70 percent as sweet, so use 1 1/3 cups per cup of sugar. Xylitol matches sugar's sweetness cup for cup with only a faint cooling note. Erythritol and monk fruit blends are close but cooling, and stevia is the one most people can pick out.
- Verdict —
- Tweak it
- The tweak —
- Use 1 1/3 cups per cup of sugar and lower the oven 25°F, because it browns much faster than sugar.
- Best for —
- coffee, tea and cold drinks
- Pantry —
- Special trip
One casethe full sugar card
Every option, one card
Ranked| # | Substitute | Instead of 1 cup sugar | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Allulosecoffee, tea and cold drinks | 1 1/3 cupsTweak it | Tweak it |
| 2 | Xylitolcoffee and tea | 1 cupTweak it | Tweak it |
| 3 | Erythritol and monk fruit blendcrisp cookies | 1 cupYou'll taste it | You'll taste it |
| 4 | Splenda granulatedcoffee and iced tea | 1 cupYou'll taste it | You'll taste it |
| 5 | Steviadrinks with strong flavors: coffee, lemonade, smoothies | 1 tspYou'll taste it | You'll taste it |
Allulose
the closest to sugar; slightly less sweet
A rare sugar with close to zero calories. It tastes clean, dissolves like sugar, browns and makes real caramel, with none of the cooling or bitterness of other sweeteners.
- Best for
- coffee, tea and cold drinks, caramel, custard and ice cream, soft cookies and cakes
- Prep
- Use 1 1/3 cups per cup of sugar and lower the oven 25°F, because it browns much faster than sugar.
- Suits
- vegan, keto
- Where it fails
- Crisp cookies and meringue: it holds moisture and keeps bakes soft. It costs more than the others and is harder to find.
Large servings can cause stomach upset in some people.
Xylitol
like sugar with a faint coolness
A sugar alcohol with the same sweetness as sugar and a similar crystal. Most people find it very close to sugar, with a mild cooling note.
- Best for
- coffee and tea, cakes, muffins and soft cookies
- Prep
- Measure it like sugar. Keep it, and anything made with it, away from dogs.
- Suits
- vegan
- Where it fails
- It will not caramelize or feed yeast, and more than a few tablespoons a day can have a laxative effect. Not for a home where a dog may get at the food.
Xylitol is highly toxic to dogs, even in small amounts.
Erythritol and monk fruit blend
close to sugar, then cool on the tongue
The common cup-for-cup bag. The monk fruit rounds out the sweetness, and the erythritol gives bulk and a clean taste with a noticeable cooling effect.
- Best for
- crisp cookies, chocolate and spice bakes, which hide the cooling note, hot drinks
- Prep
- Check the bag says it measures like sugar.
- Suits
- vegan, keto
- Where it fails
- Plain frostings, shortbread and vanilla custard, where the cooling effect is obvious, and chilled syrups, where it turns gritty.
Splenda granulated
sweet and clean at first, with an aftertaste some people notice
Sucralose bulked to measure like sugar. The sweetness arrives the way sugar's does, with no cooling and no bitterness, but it lingers.
- Best for
- coffee and iced tea, fruit pies, cobblers and muffins
- Prep
- Measure by volume and check bakes several minutes early.
- Suits
- vegan
- Where it fails
- Bakes come out pale and dry, and the aftertaste builds in recipes that use a lot of it.
Stevia
sweet, with a bitter, licorice-like aftertaste that grows with the amount
Pure stevia extract is 200 to 300 times sweeter than sugar. It is the easiest to find and the least like sugar in taste.
- Best for
- drinks with strong flavors: coffee, lemonade, smoothies, small amounts, where the aftertaste stays low
- Prep
- About 1 tsp of pure extract powder per cup of sugar; check the package, since products vary.
- Suits
- vegan, keto
- Where it fails
- Anything plain or heavily sweetened, where the aftertaste has nowhere to hide, and baking that needs sugar's bulk.
How it behaves in this recipe
Taste is personal: some people are far more sensitive to the bitterness of stevia or the aftertaste of sucralose than others. Three things make a sweetener seem unlike sugar: an aftertaste, a cooling sensation, and sweetness that starts late or lingers. Allulose avoids all three, which is why it leads most comparisons.
Tips for substituting sugar
5 tips- Blends taste closer to sugar than any single sweetener. A mix of half allulose and half erythritol blend by volume covers the weak spot of each: less cooling, better browning, still some crispness.
- Use less than you think. Most off-tastes get stronger with the amount, so sweeten to just enough and stop.
- A pinch of salt and ½ tsp of vanilla per batch mask bitterness and aftertaste in baking.
- Strong flavors hide substitutes best: chocolate, coffee, cinnamon, citrus and peanut butter. Plain vanilla frosting and shortbread show them most.
- If you only want less refined sugar, not no sugar, coconut sugar and brown sugar replace white sugar cup for cup and taste like sugar because they are sugar.
Questions
5 questionsWhich sugar substitute has no aftertaste?
Allulose is the one most people find free of aftertaste. Xylitol is close, with a slight coolness. Erythritol cools the tongue, sucralose lingers for some people, and stevia has a bitter, licorice-like finish that many notice.
Which sugar substitute tastes best in coffee?
Allulose or xylitol, since both dissolve fully and taste clean. A cup-for-cup monk fruit and erythritol blend also works in hot coffee, where the cooling effect is less obvious. Start with the same amount as the sugar you would use, or a third more for allulose.
Which sugar substitute bakes most like sugar?
No single one does everything. Allulose browns and stays moist like sugar but will not crisp. Erythritol blends crisp but do not brown or stay moist. Replacing half the sugar with either one keeps a bake closest to the original.
Is there a natural sugar substitute that tastes like sugar?
Among zero-calorie options, monk fruit has less bitterness than stevia, and allulose occurs naturally in small amounts in figs and raisins. Honey, maple syrup and coconut sugar are natural and taste good, but they are sugars with their own flavors, not sugar-free replacements.
Why does stevia taste bitter to me?
The sweet compounds in stevia also trigger bitter taste receptors, and people differ in how strongly they sense it. Using less, choosing a product made with Reb M or Reb D, or picking a blend with erythritol or allulose reduces it.