Monk fruit sweetener, allulose, stevia and coconut sugar: a natural sweetener guide

Monk fruit sweetener, allulose, stevia, erythritol, coconut sugar and maple sugar all sweeten differently, and each one behaves its own way in the oven. If you're cutting back on sugar, baking keto or just curious about the bags on our baking shelf, this guide explains how each one tastes, how sweet it is compared with table sugar, and how to swap it into your holiday baking.

Natural sweeteners at a glance

Natural sweeteners fall into two camps. Zero-calorie sweeteners like monk fruit, stevia, erythritol and allulose add sweetness with little or no sugar. Less refined sugars like coconut sugar and maple sugar are still sugar, but they bring their own flavour and colour.

Monk fruit sweetener: a plant-based sugar substitute

Monk fruit, or luo han guo, is a small round gourd from southern China, a cousin of melons and cucumbers. Its sweetness comes from natural compounds called mogrosides, not from sugar, so pure monk fruit extract is a zero-calorie sugar substitute that's far sweeter than table sugar. It's heat-stable, so it works in cooking and baking, and many people find it tastes cleaner and rounder than other sweeteners, with a faint fruity finish. Pure extract costs much more than sugar and a tiny amount goes a long way, so most monk fruit sweetener is either mixed with erythritol so it measures like sugar, or diluted into liquid drops.

Lakanto: monk fruit for baking

Lakanto blends monk fruit extract with non-GMO erythritol, so it measures and tastes like sugar and you can swap it cup for cup. It has zero calories, zero net carbs and a zero glycemic index, with no maltodextrin or fillers, which makes it popular with people cutting back on sugar and people on a keto diet. Lakanto Classic replaces white sugar, Lakanto Golden replaces raw or brown sugar, and Lakanto Powdered stands in for icing sugar in frostings, fillings and a dusting over shortbread. For drinks, Lakanto Monk Fruit Drops contain no erythritol at all; eight drops sweeten about as much as a teaspoon of sugar.

Liquid monk fruit and stevia drops

Drops are the easiest way to sweeten coffee, tea and smoothies. SweetMonk is a Canadian liquid monk fruit sweetener; a 50 mL bottle gives about 150 servings, so start with a drop or two. NOW Organic Monk Fruit Liquid is 30 times sweeter than sugar, with very little aftertaste, and NOW BetterStevia drops come in flavours like English Toffee for coffee. For a less processed stevia, Organic Traditions Stevia Leaf Powder is the whole green leaf, dried and milled; use a pinch in tea or oatmeal and taste as you go.

Stevia

Stevia comes from the leaves of a South American plant, used to sweeten drinks there for centuries, and purified stevia extract is now used in foods and beverages in many countries, including across Europe. The sweet compounds, steviol glycosides, are extracted and purified into white powders and drops that are 200 to 300 times sweeter than sugar. Whole-leaf stevia powder is green and much milder, with an herbal taste. Stevia has no calories and dissolves easily, so it shines in drinks. It doesn't add bulk or brown, so on its own it isn't a cup-for-cup baking swap.

Erythritol

Erythritol is a sugar alcohol found naturally in small amounts in fruits like pears and grapes and in fermented foods. It's about 70% as sweet as sugar, has almost no calories, and looks and pours like granulated sugar, which is why it's paired with monk fruit or stevia to make sugar-like blends. Some people notice a cooling finish, and in cold desserts it can recrystallize and turn a little crunchy. Like other sugar alcohols, a large amount at once can upset some stomachs, so go easy at first.

Pick the sweetener for the job: drops for your coffee, a cup-for-cup blend for cookies, maple sugar for flavour.

Allulose

Allulose is a rare sugar found in tiny amounts in figs, raisins, wheat and maple syrup. It's about 70% as sweet as table sugar and has a similar structure, so it tastes, dissolves and browns like sugar, and it keeps cookies soft and ice cream scoopable. Allulose is a close cousin of fructose, but most of it isn't absorbed and used for energy the way sugar is, so it has only 0.2 to 0.4 calories per gram, compared with 4 for sugar, and little effect on blood sugar. It also dissolves well in drinks and sauces. Like erythritol, a lot at once can cause tummy rumbles.

Looking for allulose? Ask us at either store. For a cup-for-cup swap that bakes much like sugar, Lakanto Classic and Golden are the ones we reach for.

Coconut sugar and maple sugar

Coconut sugar is made from the sap of coconut palm flower buds, boiled down and dried into granules. It tastes like a light brown sugar with a caramel note, and you can swap it 1:1 for white or brown sugar. Maple sugar is pure maple syrup cooked until the water is gone and stirred into crystals, so it tastes like maple through and through. Both are less refined than white sugar and nutritionally similar to it, so we enjoy them for their flavour.

Luminate Co is home to Atlantic Canada's largest all-organic bulk station, and both organic coconut sugar and organic maple sugar are there, so you can fill a jar with exactly what a recipe needs. Our local honey and maple syrup guide covers Nova Scotia maple too.

Baking swaps and sweetness ratios

Here's how much to use in place of 1 cup (200 g) of white sugar. Every recipe is a little different, so treat these as starting points.

Sugar free and lower-sugar holiday baking

1. Shortbread. Swap the icing sugar for Lakanto Powdered, or use maple sugar for a maple shortbread that tastes of Canada.
2. Gingerbread. Lakanto Golden or coconut sugar gives the deep, brown-sugar flavour gingerbread needs, with molasses for the classic taste.
3. Cranberry sauce. Simmer cranberries with orange zest and Lakanto Classic, maple sugar or coconut sugar, then sweeten to taste.
4. Pecan pie and squares. Lakanto Golden in the filling gives a caramel flavour. Bake a little lower and watch the edges.
5. Frosting. Beat Lakanto Powdered with butter or cream cheese and vanilla for a sugar free frosting.

For holiday brunch, Lakanto Pancake Syrup is a maple-flavoured syrup sweetened with monk fruit juice concentrate and erythritol, thickened so it pours like the real thing over pancakes and waffles.

LakantoMaple-Flavoured Pancake SyrupFor pancakes, waffles, glazes and sauces this season.Shop →

Good chocolate makes holiday baking sing: see our guide to fair trade chocolate. And if you bake keto, our keto snacks guide has more ideas.

Questions we get a lot

What is Lakanto made of?

Lakanto's granulated sweeteners are made of non-GMO erythritol and monk fruit extract. The Lakanto Monk Fruit Drops are purified water, monk fruit extract, natural flavours and citric acid, with no erythritol.

Is monk fruit sweetener healthy?

Monk fruit sweetener has zero calories and a zero glycemic index, so it's a popular healthy sweetener for people cutting back on sugar or eating keto. Check the label for what it's blended with, usually erythritol, so you know which one you're buying.

Is there a downside to monk fruit sweetener?

Pure monk fruit is so sweet that it's easy to overdo, which is why it's usually blended or diluted. Drops don't add bulk for baking, so use a cup-for-cup blend in the oven.

Which is better, stevia or monk fruit?

It comes down to taste. Both have no calories. Monk fruit tastes clean and fruity, while some people notice a slight licorice note in stevia. Try a bottle of drops of each and see which you prefer in your coffee.

Is coconut sugar healthier than sugar?

Coconut sugar is less refined than white sugar and keeps a little of the coconut sap's character, but nutritionally it's similar, with about the same calories. We love it for its caramel flavour in baking.

Is maple sugar healthier than coconut sugar?

They're similar: both are less refined sugars with about the same calories as table sugar. Pick by flavour, maple or caramel, and by recipe.

Does coconut sugar count as sugar?

Coconut sugar is still sugar, with about the same carbohydrates and calories as table sugar, so it counts like sugar in a meal. If you're cutting back on sugar, zero-calorie sweeteners like monk fruit, stevia, erythritol and allulose are the ones people usually reach for.

Natural sweeteners are on the baking shelf and at the bulk station at both stores: 486 Starboard Drive in Bedford and 590 Portland Street in Dartmouth, open seven days. Stocking up for holiday baking? Our holiday baking pantry guide covers vanilla, cocoa, natural sprinkles and spices. In HRM, order by 11 am with Luminate Express for same-day delivery, or choose pickup. Anywhere else in Canada, orders over $80 ship free.

Sources: Lakanto; product labels and listings.