Yacon Syrup substitute

Best substitute

Date syrup

Use the same amount as the yacon syrup you are replacing

Best for drizzling

Close match

For flavour, date syrup swaps in one for one and is the closest match on both taste and thickness, with blackstrap molasses next at about three quarters the amount. If you chose yacon for its low sugar impact, no ordinary syrup replaces that, and the honest answer is an allulose or monk fruit syrup with half a teaspoon of molasses stirred in per tablespoon for the dark flavour.

Other yacon syrup substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

2Blackstrap molasses
Close match
Use About ¾ the amount, so 3 tsp for every 1 tbsp yacon
The best match for yacon's dark, faintly earthy, slightly bitter edge.
What changes
Best for
baking, barbecue sauces, marinades, gingerbread, baked beans
Molasses is more assertive and more bitter than yacon, with a mineral, liquorice-like back note, so use less and taste. In a cookie or a barbecue sauce this reads as an upgrade; in a smoothie it can dominate everything else in the glass. Molasses also browns much more readily in the oven, so watch the edges of anything baked and pull it a couple of minutes early.
3Allulose or monk fruit syrup plus a little molasses
Close match
Use 1 tbsp low-sugar syrup plus ½ tsp molasses for every 1 tbsp yacon
The route to take if the reason you bought yacon was its low sugar impact rather than its flavour.
What changes
Best for
low-sugar baking, keto recipes, coffee, yoghurt, sauces
This is the only option here that keeps both the low sugar load and the dark flavour, and it works because the half teaspoon of molasses is enough to colour and flavour the whole spoonful without adding much sugar. Allulose syrups do not brown the way real syrups do, so baked goods come out paler and slightly softer. What you cannot replicate this way is yacon's prebiotic fibre.
4Brown rice syrup
Different taste
Use the same amount expect a less sweet result
A mild, very thick syrup that matches yacon's body and its restrained sweetness.
What changes
Best for
granola bars, flapjacks, baking, binding mixtures
Brown rice syrup is noticeably less sweet than most syrups, which puts it in the right ballpark, but it is also much blander, with a light butterscotch note and none of yacon's dark earthiness. Energy bars made with it hold together beautifully because it is stickier than yacon. Add a quarter teaspoon of molasses per tablespoon if you miss the colour and depth.
5Maple syrup
Taste and texture differ
Use the same amount or slightly less
Everyone has it, it pours the same way, and it works in almost every dish yacon appears in.
What changes
Best for
pancakes, oatmeal, dressings, glazes, baking, drinks
Sweeter and thinner than yacon, with an obvious maple flavour that will announce itself in anything delicate. It is also full sugar, so nothing about the low-glycaemic reasoning survives. If you want it to read closer to yacon, choose a dark or amber grade rather than golden, and use about three quarters of the volume.
6Agave syrup
Taste and texture differ
About ¾ the amount
The pantry stand-in most people already own, and the one most often recommended for the same reasons yacon is.
What changes
Best for
drinks, smoothies, dressings, no-bake desserts, iced coffee
Agave is much sweeter than yacon and considerably paler and thinner, so a recipe made with it tastes sweeter, looks lighter and has less body. It also has a neutral flavour, meaning you lose the molasses-like character entirely. Agave has a lower glycaemic index than table sugar but it is high in fructose, so it is not a like-for-like on the nutritional side either.

What is Yacon Syrup?

Yacon Syrup is a thick, dark syrup pressed and reduced from the yacon root, an Andean tuber sometimes called the Peruvian ground apple, and because much of its sweetness comes from prebiotic fibres the body does not fully absorb, it tastes like a mild molasses while adding less usable sugar than other syrups; in a recipe its job is sweetness and moisture rather than browning.

Cooking tips

High heat undoes the main reason people buy yacon syrup. The fructooligosaccharides that make it low in usable sugar break down into simpler sugars when held at high temperatures, so it belongs on yoghurt, in dressings and in no-bake recipes rather than in a long, hot bake.
It does not caramelise or brown like sugar, honey or maple. If you swap yacon into a cookie or cake expecting golden edges and crisp bottoms, you will get a pale, soft, slightly damp result instead, and the same is true in reverse when you swap something else in for yacon.
Yacon is less sweet than honey or maple, roughly in the region of half to two thirds as sweet, so when you replace it with a sweeter syrup use less volume and taste before adding more.
Large amounts cause gas, bloating and loose stools in a lot of people, because prebiotic fibre is doing exactly what prebiotic fibre does. One or two teaspoons at a time is the usual sensible ceiling, and it is worth knowing before you pour it over a whole bowl of granola.
Store it as you would molasses: cool cupboard, lid clean, spoon dry. It is thick enough that a wet spoon introduces moisture that can start fermentation on the surface over time.

Frequently asked questions

Can I just leave it out?

Often yes. In a smoothie, on porridge or in a dressing, yacon is only there for sweetness and you can skip it or use a smaller amount of any other syrup. In baking it is a wet ingredient as well as a sweet one, so removing a quarter cup without replacing the liquid will leave the batter dry. Replace the volume with another syrup or with a little milk plus your sweetener of choice.

Is yacon syrup actually good for blood sugar?

It contains fewer digestible sugars per spoonful than honey, maple or sugar because much of its sweetness comes from fibre rather than glucose or fructose, so it typically has a smaller effect. It is not sugar-free and it is not a medicine. If you are managing diabetes or following a specific plan, check with whoever looks after your care before treating it as a free swap.

What does yacon syrup taste like?

Like a gentler molasses, with notes of raisin, fig and caramel and a faint earthy bitterness at the end. It is thick, dark brown and less sweet than most syrups, which is why it works better in savoury glazes and dressings than people expect.

Can I use yacon root instead of the syrup?

Not as a sweetener, no. Fresh yacon root is crisp, juicy and mildly sweet, more like a cross between an apple and a jicama, and it is eaten raw in salads or lightly cooked. You would need to juice and reduce a great deal of it to approach the syrup, which is exactly why the syrup is expensive.

Does it work in keto baking?

It is lower in usable carbohydrate than maple or honey, but it is not carbohydrate-free, so most strict keto recipes use allulose, monk fruit or erythritol instead and add a touch of molasses for colour. If you want the yacon flavour on a low-carb plan, use it by the teaspoon as a finishing drizzle rather than by the cup in a batter.

Related substitutes

More sweeteners substitutes

Yacon Syrup substitute

Other yacon syrup substitutes

2Blackstrap molasses

3Allulose or monk fruit syrup plus a little molasses

4Brown rice syrup

5Maple syrup

6Agave syrup