Maple syrup substitute

Use 1 cup of honey or agave nectar for each cup of maple syrup. Honey is sweeter, so you can start with 3/4 cup and add more to taste.

6 options, scored for what you are making · Checked

Out of maple syrup mid-recipe?

Tell Sous Chef what you are missing. It swaps the ingredient and rewrites the steps that use it, and keeps your original recipe.

Download Sous Chef on the App Store

What are you making?

  1. Golden syrup

    Great fit

    1 cup golden syrup

    For this dish: Silver Spoon suggests it as a drizzle for pancakes, waffles and French toast.

    How: Swap cup for cup.

    What changes: Lighter and sweeter, with a butterscotch-like taste (Silver Spoon). Vegan.

    No major food allergens in these ingredients. Check labels on packaged products.

  2. Homemade brown sugar syrup

    Great fit

    1 cup brown sugar syrup

    For this dish: The classic homemade pancake syrup when the bottle runs out.

    How: Heat equal parts brown sugar and water until the sugar dissolves and the syrup thickens, then cool. Use it cup for cup. Take care with the hot syrup.

    What changes: Darker, thicker and molasses-like rather than maple (Silver Spoon).

    No major food allergens in these ingredients. Check labels on packaged products.

  3. Honey

    Works

    1 cup honey

    For this dish: Tastes good on pancakes, but clearly of honey, not maple.

    How: Swap cup for cup. Dollop of Dough suggests 3/4 cup per cup of maple syrup, since honey is sweeter.

    What changes: Sweeter and floral rather than woody. Dollop of Dough says darker honey, such as buckwheat, comes closest to maple. Not vegan.

    No major food allergens in these ingredients. Check labels on packaged products.

  4. Agave nectar

    Works

    1 cup agave nectar

    For this dish: Sweet and pourable, but without maple flavor.

    How: Swap cup for cup.

    What changes: Neutral and dissolves quickly. Darker agave tastes bolder and more caramel-like (Silver Spoon). Dollop of Dough notes a slight floral aftertaste. Vegan.

    No major food allergens in these ingredients. Check labels on packaged products.

  5. Date syrup

    Works

    1 cup date syrup

    For this dish: Rich and caramel-like, but a different flavor.

    How: Swap cup for cup. Add a little more if it is not sweet enough.

    What changes: Less sweet, with caramel and light molasses notes (Dollop of Dough, Hip Hip Gourmet). Vegan.

    No major food allergens in these ingredients. Check labels on packaged products.

  6. Corn syrup

    Avoid

    1 cup corn syrup

    For this dish: Sweet but almost flavorless on pancakes.

    How: Swap cup for cup. Hip Hip Gourmet suggests a little vanilla extract to add flavor.

    What changes: Mild and plain. Dark corn syrup has a deeper flavor because it contains molasses (Silver Spoon).

    No major food allergens in these ingredients. Check labels on packaged products.

Scores are our editorial judgement from the sources below, not lab tests.

What maple syrup does in a recipe

Maple syrup is boiled-down maple sap. It sweetens with a distinct caramel, woody flavor and adds liquid. On pancakes and oatmeal the flavor is the point. In baking, granola and dressings it is mostly sweetness, moisture and a little binding, so most liquid sweeteners can stand in.

Swap it in your recipe with Sous Chef

A substitution is more than one ingredient line. The steps that use it change too. Sous Chef edits both on a working copy of your recipe, so the original is always one tap away.

You ask Sous Chef

"I don't have maple syrup."

Sous Chef edits the recipe

1 cup maple syrup
1 cup honey
Added to the steps: Swap cup for cup. Dollop of Dough suggests 3/4 cup per cup of maple syrup, since honey is sweeter.
Download Sous Chef on the App Store

When not to substitute

When maple is the main flavor, as in maple glaze, maple candy or maple fudge, no swap tastes the same. Maple candy also depends on boiling maple syrup itself, so do not substitute there.

Common questions

Can I use honey instead of maple syrup?

Yes. Silver Spoon and Hip Hip Gourmet swap it cup for cup; Dollop of Dough uses 3/4 cup per cup because honey is sweeter. Do not give honey to babies under 12 months.

What is a vegan substitute for maple syrup?

Agave nectar, golden syrup and date syrup all swap cup for cup and contain no honey.

Can I make maple-flavored syrup at home?

Colorado State University Extension boils 2 cups sugar with 1 cup water until clear, then stirs in 1/2 teaspoon maple flavoring off the heat. It makes about 2 cups.

Related

Sources

Cook with what you have.

Import any recipe into Sous Chef and ask for the swap. It rewrites the ingredient list and the steps, and never loses the original. Free on iPhone.

Download Sous Chef on the App Store