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Tasty Date Syrup Substitutes (With Substitution Ratio)

Lisa Price
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by Lisa Price

Date syrup is incredibly sweet and tasty. This thick sweetener with a caramel tint can be found in every health food store, and many chefs embrace it as a healthier alternative to sugar.

Luckily, you can replace it with any of these substitutes for date syrup:

Date Syrup
Date Syrup

Date Sugar

Date Sugar
Date Sugar

Date sugar is made from dried ground dates. It has 15 calories per teaspoon and around 3 grams of sugar.

Since date sugar is made from dried dates, it won’t completely dissolve in water. You can mix it with water, but there will be lumps. Still, you can sprinkle it over waffles, crepes, or pancakes.

Date syrup and date sugar are easily interchangeable — you can substitute in a 1:1 ratio. You can also use date sugar as a substitute for ordinary sugar in baked goods. For every 1 cup of ordinary sugar, use 2/3 date sugar.

Stevia

Stevia
Stevia

Stevia is a leafy plant that native South Americans have consumed for generations. It can be used as a sweetener in beverages and cooked and baked goods.

Stevia extract is 100–300 times sweeter than sugar and date syrup. But since it has a low glycemic index, it doesn’t cause your blood sugar to surge like other sweeteners. That’s why people with diabetes often use it.

Stevia comes in liquid and powder forms. In drinks and baked items, 2 to 4 drops will provide adequate sweetness.

Stevia is sweet by nature, but it leaves a bitter aftertaste. Stevia-sweetened drinks and baked goods often include additional sweeteners like brown sugar to conceal the bitterness.

Maple Syrup

Maple Syrup
Maple Syrup

Everyone is familiar with maple syrup — the best pancake sauce you can find in the grocery store.

However, some maple syrup may contain unwanted flavors and sugars, so we recommend purchasing 100% pure maple syrup. Pure maple syrup is made from boiled maple tree saps.

It’s low in calories and rich in antioxidants like zinc and manganese, which guard the body against inflammation and other illnesses.

Date syrup is very sweet with caramel overtones, whereas maple syrup has a more subtle flavor with vanilla undertones.

As a general rule, for every cup of date syrup, use ⅓  cup maple syrup.

Monk Fruit

Monk Fruit
Monk Fruit

Monk fruit is a fascinating natural sweetener. Its full name is Luo Han Guo, and it has been used as a sweetener for centuries in Southwestern China.

You don’t have to order monk fruit from overseas; simply use monk fruit sweeteners made from its juice. The juice is filtered to acquire the mogroside — the extract responsible for the sweetness of the finished product.

It’s a very healthy alternative to date syrup. It has a glycemic index of 0, no calories, and prevents tooth decay. It also has therapeutic qualities that aid blood sugar balance and weight control.

You can purchase monk fruit in liquid or powder form to use in cooking and baking.

In terms of ratio, you may use 1 cup of monk fruit instead of 1 cup of date syrup.

Agave Syrup

Agave Syrup
Agave Syrup

Another intriguing sweetener that is both natural and beneficial for you is agave.

It is a syrup manufactured from the same prickly plant that is used to make tequila. The plant grows in Mexico and contains aguamiel, the sweet ingredient needed to make agave syrup.

Agave syrup is safe for diabetics and won’t cause insulin or blood sugar levels to increase.

It’s sweeter than date syrup and has a flavor similar to honey and caramel. Agave can be used to sweeten coffee and tea or on pancakes and waffles. It’s also delicious in smoothies and oatmeal.

When substituting agave nectar for date syrup, use a 1:1 ratio. Since it’s sweeter than date syrup, start with less and add more as required.

Raw Honey

Raw Honey
Raw Honey

Raw honey is a great alternative if you aren’t allergic to bee products.

Potassium, phosphorus, vitamin B6, and antioxidants are abundant in raw honey, but they may be lost during the pasteurization process. That’s why it’s important to buy raw honey instead of its processed alternatives.

One tablespoon of raw honey has 70 calories and a slightly lower glycemic index (58) than table sugar (60).

Raw honey can be drizzled on morning cereals, toast, fruit salads, crumpets, or english muffins. You may also use honey to sweeten your tea or coffee. Its floral aroma compliments all baked goods.

Similar to date syrup, honey is thick and gooey. Use a 1:1 ratio when swapping date syrup for honey in a recipe.

Looking to buy honey? Find honey in the condiments and sauce section of the grocery store.

Coconut Sugar

Coconut Sugar
Coconut Sugar

Coconut sugar is a natural and healthy sweetener obtained from coconut palm sap. It resembles brown sugar in appearance and flavor, with caramel undertones.

Coconut palm sap is 80% water, so it needs to be boiled to evaporate the liquid. Once dried and crystalized, the sap is broken down into tiny granules to make sugar.

Coconut sugar has a low glycemic index and has half the fructose of white sugar.

You can mix coconut sugar and water and swap it in a 1:1 ratio with date syrup. Use in any dish that asks for date syrup — pancakes, pastries, fruit salads, oatmeals, cereals.

Can’t find coconut sugar? Get similar alternatives to coconut sugar such as brown sugar.

Molasses

Molasses
Molasses

Molasses is a dense syrup derived from crushed sugar cane or sugar beets.

It’s a dense, brown syrup created during the sugar-making process. Molasses come in three varieties: light, dark, and blackstrap.

Light molasses has a mild flavor and is formed from the initial boiling of sugar syrup. The second boiling forms brown molasses and a robust taste. The third boiling makes blackstrap molasses, the black and most potent variety.

Blackstrap molasses contains iron, copper, manganese, calcium, and potassium and is considered the healthiest variety. It also has a lower glycemic index since most of the sugar is removed during processing.

If you want a syrup that isn’t excessively sweet, then go for the light type. For a richer flavor, use black. If you want a robust flavor, use blackstrap.

You can consume molasses with waffles or pancakes and stir it into smoothies, shakes, or a warm glass of milk. You can even use it to sweeten coffee.

Conclusion

If you absolutely cannot live without the taste of dates, date sugar is the closest substitute for date syrup.

Maple syrup has a slight vanilla flavor, while coconut sugar tastes similar to brown sugar.

The sweetness of raw honey and agave syrup is fairly similar, but agave has a subtle caramel undertone.

Molasses has a rich earthy flavor and is a perfect topping for pancakes.

Since monk fruit isn’t as sweet as others, you can blend it with another sweetener. Stevia is very sweet but has a somewhat bitter aftertaste.

About Lisa Price
Lisa Price
Lisa is Food Champ's resident fitness enthusiast and nutrition expert. She holds a nutrition degree in her home state of Florida and works for a large health system to ensure sound nutrition and dietetics information is passed on to all members.
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