7 Clever Substitutes For Brown Sugar - Healthline

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Evidence Based7 Substitutes for Brown Sugar

Medically reviewed by Imashi Fernando, MS, RDN, CDCES — Written by Ansley Hill, RD, LD — Updated on September 1, 2025

White sugar and molasses
White sugar and maple syrup
Coconut sugar
Honey, maple syrup, or agave
Raw sugars
Muscovado
White sugar
Bottom line

Many sweeteners can be used in place of brown sugar, including coconut sugar, plain white sugar, and raw sugars like demerara or turbinado.

You may be familiar with the frustration of getting halfway through a recipe for the perfect chocolate chip cookie and realizing you’re out of brown sugar.

However, there are several practical substitutions you can use in a pinch, many of which you may already have sitting in your cupboard.

1. White sugar plus molasses

A combination of white sugar and molasses is your best bet for a brown sugar substitute, as that’s exactly what brown sugar is made of.

To make your own light brown sugar, mix 1 cup, or 200 grams (g), of granulated white sugar with 1 tablespoon (tbsp.), or 15 milliliters (mL), of molasses. If you need dark brown sugar, increase the molasses to 2 tbsp. (30 mL).

And just like that, you have brown sugar.

2. White sugar plus maple syrup

Traditionally, brown sugar is made using a mix of granulated white sugar and molasses.

If you don’t have molasses on hand, you can easily swap it out for maple syrup with almost no change to your recipe’s final product.

Combine 1 cup (200 g) of granulated white sugar with 1 tbsp. (15 mL) of pure maple syrup to make a brown sugar substitute that can fool even the most sophisticated palate.

3. Coconut sugar

Coconut sugar is made from the sap of coconut trees.

Coconut sap may be a healthier sugar alternative, even though its nutrition profile is very similar to brown sugar.

You can easily swap coconut sugar and brown sugar in a 1:1 ratio.

Though coconut sugar looks and tastes a lot like brown sugar, it doesn’t hold as much moisture. This can affect the texture of certain baked goods, potentially making them slightly drier or denser than intended.

To improve the moisture content, try adding a little extra fat, such as butter or oil, to your original recipe. You can also try melting the coconut sugar on a stovetop before adding it to your recipe.

4. Honey, maple syrup, or agave nectar

With a few simple recipe modifications, honey, maple syrup, or agave nectar are all suitable replacements for brown sugar.

Because these substitutions are liquid, you’ll want to take into account how the extra moisture may affect the outcome of your recipe, especially when it comes to baking.

Exact substitution measurements vary depending on the particular recipe in question, but you can use these basic tips to get started:

Replace each cup of brown sugar (200 g) with 2/3 cup (160 mL) of liquid sweetener of your choice.
For every 2/3 cup (160 mL) of liquid sweetener used, reduce other liquid sources by approximately 1/4 cup (60 mL).

You may also want to consider reducing cooking time by a few minutes, as these types of sugar replacements may caramelize more quickly than brown sugar.

5. Raw sugars

Raw sugars like turbinado or demerara make great brown sugar substitutes, as their naturally light amber colors and mild caramel flavors are similar to the real thing.

In most recipes, you can trade raw sugars for brown sugar in an even proportion without noticing much difference.

However, raw sugar is significantly drier and coarser than brown sugar, which may impact your recipe’s end result.

The coarse raw sugar granules don’t always mix into dough or batter as uniformly as brown sugar, leaving behind a grainy texture. This is especially true for low-moisture baked goods or those intended to have a very delicate texture.

If you have a spice grinder or mortar and pestle, you can manually grind the sugar crystals into a finer texture that will more easily integrate into your recipe.

You can also try partially dissolving the sugar crystals in a small amount of warm liquid — such as melted butter, oil, or water — before adding them to your batter.

6. Muscovado sugar

Muscovado sugar is a minimally refined sugar that makes a great substitute for brown sugar because, like traditional brown sugar, it contains molasses.

However, the molasses and moisture content of muscovado are much higher than that of regular brown sugar. This makes it stickier with a greater tendency for clumping.

Muscovado sugar can be traded equally for brown sugar in almost any recipe, but if you’re baking with it, you may want to consider sifting it to remove any clumps before mixing it into your dough or batter.

You could also try using an electric mixer and adding the muscovado a little at a time to improve its integration into your recipe.

7. Plain white sugar

When all else fails, you can replace brown sugar with an even measurement of granulated white sugar without fear of ruining your recipe.

White sugar lacks the same rich flavor that brown sugar adds, but depending on the type of recipe, you may not notice much flavor change at all.

Where you may notice a difference is in the texture. Brown sugar adds a dense chewiness to certain types of baked goods, like cookies. When brown sugar is replaced with white sugar, you may end up with a slightly crispier result. Still, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

The bottom line

Running out of an ingredient you need for a recipe can be stressful, but in the case of brown sugar, there’s no need to fret.

Brown sugar can be replaced with various common ingredients, including white sugar, molasses, maple syrup, and coconut sugar.

Depending on the substitute you choose, you may have to make some minor adjustments to your recipe — but after that, it’s smooth sailing.

How we reviewed this article:

SourcesHistoryHealthline has strict sourcing guidelines and relies on peer-reviewed studies, academic research institutions, and medical journals and associations. We only use quality, credible sources to ensure content accuracy and integrity. You can learn more about how we ensure our content is accurate and current by reading our editorial policy.

Alternative sugars: Coconut sugar. (2017). https://www.nature.com/articles/sj.bdj.2017.1011
Asghar MT, et al. (2019). Coconut (Cocos nucifera L.) sap as a potential source of sugar: Antioxidant and nutritional properties. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7174220
Tian HX, et al. (2018). Evaluating taste contribution of brown sugar in chicken seasoning using taste compounds, sensory evaluation, and electronic tongue. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10942912.2018.1424721
Zidan D, et al. (2022). Non-centrifugal sugar (NCS) and health: A review on functional components and health benefits. https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/12/1/460/htm

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Evidence Based

This article is based on scientific evidence, written by experts and fact checked by experts.

Our team of licensed nutritionists and dietitians strive to be objective, unbiased, honest and to present both sides of the argument.

This article contains scientific references. The numbers in the parentheses (1, 2, 3) are clickable links to peer-reviewed scientific papers.

Medically reviewed by Imashi Fernando, MS, RDN, CDCES — Written by Ansley Hill, RD, LD — Updated on September 1, 2025

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Nutrition

Nutrition

1. White sugar plus molasses

2. White sugar plus maple syrup

3. Coconut sugar

4. Honey, maple syrup, or agave nectar

5. Raw sugars

6. Muscovado sugar

7. Plain white sugar

The bottom line

How we reviewed this article:

Evidence Based

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