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Low carb sweeteners: There are a lot of options out there. But it can be hard to know which ones are best and they can get really expensive! So today I’m sharing how to make a blend at home that tastes great and is also cheaper than buying it ready made.
The Best Low Carb Sweetener
I’m going to be completely honest with you. I’ve never been a fan of low calorie sweeteners. Ever. I’ve always been able to taste them in any product they’re in and I think they’re gross. So when I first went keto, I avoided them altogether.
After a while, I wanted to do some experimenting. I tried erythritol, xylitol, stevia, monk fruit, and Swerve. I wasn’t a fan of any of them, honestly. Erythritol and xylitol have a cooling effect and it bothered me. Stevia is bitter. Monk fruit is downright gross to me. And while everyone claims that Swerve (a blend of erythritol and ogliosaccharides that measures 1:1 like sugar) tastes better than plain erythritol, I still found the flavor to be unpleasant to my taste buds.
Then I found allulose, which is by far the best tasting. It tastes just like sugar (but slightly less sweet) and acts like sugar in baked goods. It’s perfect for ice cream and caramel sauce for this reason. But it’s significantly more expensive, so I don’t like using it for everything.
Then, I heard about Sukrin. Sukrin in a blend of erythritol and stevia and people claimed it was the best blend out there. It’s cheaper than allulose, but still a bit expensive. I got myself a bag and tried it out.
I was skeptical, since I don’t like erythritol or stevia by themselves and hadn’t had great luck with other sweeteners. But I was pleasantly surprised to find that somehow the unpleasant aftertastes of both of these ingredients when combined are canceled out.
And while I was really excited to finally find another option for sweetening low carb treats, Sukrin is still more expensive than I’d like.
But if it’s just erythritol and stevia, shouldn’t I be able to make it myself?
Making My Own Blend
I started out with a bag of Anthony’s Erythritol and Trader Joe’s pure stevia powder. Make sure when you’re buying stevia, you get PURE powder. Stevia is often cut with things like dextrose or maltodextrin and those are straight carbs. And if you want to get the ratio just right for this recipe, you’ll need the pure stuff.
It took me a few tries of different amounts of each before I found one that works well for me consistently.
This recipe is for a powdered sweetener. I think you could probably keep this granulated, but you’d need to be sure to mix it really really well.
Erythritol doesn’t dissolve as easily as sugar, so I prefer using it powdered because I find it blends a lot better into recipes.
I use 400 grams of erythritol, measured into the jar of my Blendtec blender.
I highly recommend Blendtec blenders, you guys. We use ours all the time and it never disappoints. We got a refurbished one and the warranty is still amazing.
I really recommend using a kitchen scale to measure this, but if you don’t have one, this comes to about 2 cups.
Next I add 1/2 a tsp of stevia extract. This comes out to about a gram, but I find that if I just try to measure it by weight I end up with a little too much.
Start the blender slowly, then increase the speed until the whole mixture is moving consistently through the blades. On my Blendtec I go up to speed 5.
Once the mixture has been thoroughly powdered, stop the blender and let it sit for a couple of minutes so you don’t inhale a lung-full of sweetener.
That’s it! Now it’s ready to use.
You’ll notice that once it’s powdered, it’s significantly increased in volume. So just know that if you’re measuring by volume and using this for a recipe that calls for a granulated sweetener, this will be less sweet cup for cup. If you’re measuring by weight, it’ll be the same.
I use this in place of most every sweetener in a recipe. Make note, though, that if the recipe specifies that it really needs a certain sweetener, you may not get the same results if you substitute this one. But for most recipes that call for erythritol, Swerve, or “your favorite low carb sweetener,” this one is perfect.
And what about cost comparison?
At the time of this writing, Sukrin Icing is $15.99 for 400 grams. A 2.5 lb bag of Anthony’s erythritol is $13.89. I picked up the stevia at Trader Joe’s for $10 for 1 oz. So for the 400 grams of powdered sweetener I made, it cost $5.25. $5.25 versus $15.99? Yes, please!
Low Carb Sweetener Blend
The best low carb sweetener blend-- save money by making it yourself!
Ingredients
Instructions
- Place ingredients in a high powered blender, like a Blendtec.
- Process until the mixture has been completely turned to powder. Allow to settle for a few minutes before opening the blender and transferring to an airtight container. Can be used cup for cup like powdered sugar.
Do you still get the cooling affect from the erythritol when you bake?
Hi Heidi!
I don’t notice the cooling effect when I bake with this like I do with plain erythritol. 🙂
In Canada we have bulk barn and their stevia erythritol blend is SUPER affordable.
That’s awesome!
I hope we get some more inexpensive options here soon!
Do you get headaches from any of the sweeteners
I personally have not had any headaches from these sweeteners, but I know everyone reacts differently. 🙂
I want to try this. I’m currently using Stevia.
Let me know how it goes for you! I find it much less bitter than Stevia alone. 🙂
Anything with a “lose” in, is not good at all when it comes to the keto or banting way of eating if you’re doing it for health purposes!!!!!!
Thanks for the recipe! I typically weigh my ingredients, so can you help me understand how this compares in sweetness with other sweeteners (like Swerve)? I’m guessing this would be sweeter on a per gram basis than Swerve since Stevia is pretty concentrated in sweetness.
Hi Jen!
I feel like it’s pretty comparable to Swerve. It’s meant to be a similar 1:1 ratio to sugar. I generally use less sweetener of any kind than is called for in most recipes because I’ve really lost my sweet tooth on keto and prefer things less sweet. You can always start with a little less than called for and add more as you like for taste. 🙂
Thank you for this article. I agree with everything you said and haven’t found other articles that do (all the tastes seem horrid, very expensive, less sweettooth but still want a treat occasionally). Made me feel like I’m not the only one. Must admit I’m dubious — I hate the others so much! But I’ll give it a go. BTW, I can actually stand Monk fruit at an extremely low dose (barely covered 1/3 back of spoon for 16 oz of carbonated water). thanks again
I know what you mean! I feel the same way. I will say that I think this blend is awesome for baked goods and tastes really neutral. But if you want something for your coffee, you might want to increase the stevia just a little. I find on its own there’s still a little cooling sensation, but when I increased the stevia, it made for bitterness in baked goods. So just a heads-up.
I want to make a DIY Lakanto’s Monkfruit & Erythritol mixture to save money. Have you tried that and if you have what would the amounts be? Would it be the same as your stevia blend?
Hi, Eveline! Thanks for your question! I don’t work with a lot of monkfruit so I’ve never tried this. I think it would likely work, though. Monkfruit is only about half as sweet as stevia, so if you do try it, I would start with doubling the amount of monkfruit. If you do try, I’d love to hear how it worked for you!
Super helpful post, Amber. I haven’t loved stevia in general, but recently I’ve found that a few of my favorite food items (e.g., Halo Top ice cream and Quest Bars) combine erithrytol and stevia to good effect. I have a bag of Anthony’s; I’ll go to TJ’s and pick up some stevia to try this combo…
I also dislike stevia in general! But this combo works for my tastebuds. I hope you find it works for yours as well!
What do you think of Allulose (ends in lose)? Is it bad for Keto diet? Does it raise the carbs in baked goods?
Great question! Generally we’ve been told to stay away from everything that ends in “ose” as it indicates a sugar. However, allulose does not react in the body like a typical sugar. I do use allulose in some cases (like my caramel sauce!) but I think there are reasons not to overuse it as well. I do not count any extra carbs from allulose when I bake with it, as it does not seem to impact blood sugar.
Hey Amber, I don’t do keto per say, because I love gluten flour for my bread. But I’m not comfortable baking sweet item! I could keep my (type II diabetic) hubby on low carb if I could make cookies. And erythritol gave me awful cramps. I bought a tiny powdered monk fruit, then wondered how to use?
I just bought allulose/monk fruit blend, the Besti brand, but I’d love to make the next batch myself.
Do you know how much monk fruit I should add to a pound of crystallized allulose?
Hi Andi!
I use allulose on its own without adding monk fruit, so I’m not sure what the ratio would be if you want to mix them. I’d start with something pretty small as monk fruit powder is a very concentrated sweetener. Then you can add more if you feel it needs more sweetness. Sorry I don’t have a ratio for you!
Not sure if you are still looking for an answer to this, but my husband also can’t stomach erythritol and I can’t stomach the $14 a pound Besti price. So we came up with the following ratio for a monk fruit / allulose blend: 1 cup allulose and 1/4 t. Pure monk fruit. This is based on 1 cup sugar = 1 1/3 c allulose and 1/4 t. Monk fruit = 1/3 sugar. This is just a place to start, you can adjust the sweetness according to your own taste. I do not blend tec it, just sift them together so I can measure it cup for cup.
Thank you for sharing!
Might this work in lemonade ?
I have liquid allulose?
Thank You
Lynnita
Hi Lynnita!
This will work in lemonade! Because it’s powdered, it dissolves easily. Liquid allulose will also work. 🙂
Seriously, thank you!
You’re welcome!
Hey, Amber!
I also love the Trader Joe’s Stevia and was looking for a cheaper alternative. Whole Food’s 365 brand is the exact same Stevia extract as Trader Joe’s if you compare the labels…except, the 365 brand is $5.99 instead of $9.99!
Awesome! Thanks so much for the tip!
Hi Amber, does this mix crystalize? Thanks
This mix is made with erythritol so if you make a syrup or sauce with it and refrigerate it, it will crystallize. If you’re looking for a low carb sweetener that won’t crystallize, I recommend allulose.
Hi Amber. I’m from Canada myself (North Bay, Ontario) I’ m looking for a way to use some sort of sweetener ( sugar free) that I can caramelize to make the old fashioned Sponge Toffee where you add the vinegar and baking soda to the hard boil stage caramelized sugar and if puffs up like a sponge. Also, I made some home made cranberry sauce using allullose and it killed the tart flavor, made the sauce too mild flavored, Then I tried erythritol, but it crystallized in the refrigerator. Both recipes seemed to have failed. What should I do if I want to make some pumpkin pie? Thanks
Hi Lawrence!
Interesting that allulose killed the tart flavor. I’ve made cranberry sauce with allulose and haven’t had that problem before. Maybe use less?
Allulose is the only low carb sweetener I know of that will caramelize, but I have not tried it in something like a sponge toffee. In my experience, it burns more easily than sugar, and often retains more moisture so I would look out for those things if you decide to try a sponge toffee with allulose. I did a little research and found a recipe that uses allulose along with fiber syrup, so that might be an option if you tolerate fiber syrup well. (https://theketochefskitchen.com/keto-honeycomb/)
All that being said, both allulose and erythritol should work just fine in pumpkin pie. Pumpkin pie is much more forgiving and erythritol won’t crystallize mixed with all those other ingredients.