How to Substitute Honey for Sugar
Updated: Mar. 20, 2019
Have you heard the buzz about using honey instead of granulated sugar?
Guess what: For cooking and baking, honey might be sweeter than sugar! It doesn’t spoil (honey lasts forever), makes your home-baked rolls delicious and has some incredible health benefits that make it a great substitute for refined sugar.
Here’s how to substitute honey for sugar—and what to keep in mind while you’re baking:
1. Use the right honey
The darker the honey, the stronger its taste. You’ll want to choose a light-colored honey to keep the sweetness as neutral as possible. Skip the darker buckwheat honey and go with a golden clover honey. (Before you buy honey from the supermarket, here’s what you need to know about honey-laundering.)
2. Make your measuring tools non-stick
Honey is sticky, so when using measuring cups and spoons, coat them with water, oil, egg white or non-stick spray.
3. Use less honey than sugar
Because honey is sweeter than sugar, the rule of thumb is 3/4 cup honey for every cup of sugar. If the recipe calls for less sugar than one cup, Billy Bee Honey has a handy converter to do the work for you.
4. Add baking soda
When your recipe calls for at least 1/4 cup sugar, you’ll need to add a pinch of baking soda. Why? Baking soda reduces the acidity of the honey and adds lightness to your baked goods, which is needed because honey is more dense than sugar.
(Is there anything baking soda can’t do?)
5. Cut back the liquids
If you’re using more than one cup of honey, decrease the liquids in your recipe by 1/4 cup for each cup of honey you’re using (starting with the first cup). Honey retains more moisture than sugar, so there’s no need to add extra milk or water.
6. Lower the temperature
Honey causes baked goods to brown up faster than sugar does. To keep your baked goods perfectly golden brown, lower your oven temp by 25°F and monitor your baking time carefully.
7. Make smart substitutions
We love honey, but it may not make for the ideal texture in recipes that call for creaming butter and sugar (like your classic chocolate chip cookies). You want those perfect air pockets that come from creaming butter with granulated sugar!
We’re all for making honey work in homemade bread (here are 100 amazing recipes), any 13×9 dessert for a picnic or potluck and even golden pancakes. To bring honey into our recipes, we’re happy to experiment!
Honey Cornbread
It's a pleasure to serve this moist cornbread to family and guests. Honey gives it a slightly sweet taste. Most people find it's difficult to eat just one piece. —Adeline Piscitelli, Sayreville, New Jersey
Honey Cinnamon Rollups
This cinnamony treat reminds me of baklava, but with only a few easy ingredients, it's a fraction of the work. My Aunt Adele shared the recipe with me, and I think of her whenever I make it. —Sue Falk, Warren, Michigan
Golden Honey Pan Rolls
A cousin in North Carolina gave me the recipe for these delicious honey-glazed rolls. Using my bread machine to make the dough saves me about 2 hours compared to the traditional method. The rich buttery taste of these rolls is so popular with family and friends that I usually make two batches so I have enough! —Sara Wing, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Honey Pecan Pie
Looking for a sweet ending to a special meal? This attractive pecan pie is bound to please with its traditional filling and honey-glazed pecans. —Cathy Hudak, Wadsworth, Ohio
Sunflower Seed & Honey Wheat Bread
I've tried other bread recipes, but this one is a staple in our home. I won $50 in a bake-off with a loaf that I had stored in the freezer. —Mickey Turner, Grants Pass, Oregon
Honey Pecan Cheesecake
Birthdays and holidays are great times for cheesecake, and Christmas is ideal for this particular one. In our annual church bake-off, it won first place! —Tish Frish, Hampden, Maine
Honey Cinnamon Bars
My Aunt Ellie gave us the recipe for these sweet bar cookies with cinnamon and walnuts. Drizzle with icing, and serve with coffee or tea. —Diane Myers, Star, Idaho
Grandma's Honey Muffins
I can remember my Grandma Wheeler making these delicious muffins—we'd eat them nice and warm, fresh from the oven! She was a "pinch of this and handful of that" kind of cook, so getting the ingredient amounts correct for the recipe was a challenge. Now it's a family treasure! —Darlis A. Wilfer, West Bend, Wisconsin
Honey-Peanut Butter Cookies
When my husband wants a treat, he requests these chewy peanut butter honey cookies. —Lucile Proctor, Panguitch, Utah
Honey Spice Bread
The texture of this bread is almost like a cake, so I usually serve slices of it for dessert. The loaf looks so festive with the pretty glaze drizzled on top. —Gaye O'Dell, Binghamton, New York
Honey-Pecan Squares
When we left Texas to head north, a neighbor gave me so many pecans from his trees that my trunk was bulging at the seams. This is one of the squares I brought back for him the next year. He loved them! —Lorraine Caland, Shuniah, Ontario
Milk-and-Honey White Bread
My dad has been a wheat farmer all his life and my state is the wheat capital, so this recipe represents my region and my family well. This bread never lasts too long at our house. —Kathy McCreary, Goddard, Kansas
Italian Honey Clusters
My mother made these treats flavored with cinnamon and anise for neighbors, teachers and anyone who stopped by. Make sure the honey doesn’t boil longer than a minute or it could burn.—Sarah Knoblock, Hyde Park, Indiana
Honey-Oat Pan Rolls
These tender rolls are relatively quick to make. Whole wheat flour and oats make them nutritious, too.—Arlene Butler, Ogden, Utah
Chewy Honey Granola Bars
These bars have sweetness from the honey, chewiness from the raisins, hints of chocolate and cinnamon, and a bit of crunch. They freeze well, too. — Tasha Lehman, Williston, Vermont
Homemade Corn Muffins with Honey Butter
I turn classic corn bread muffins into something special by serving them with a honey butter. They're gone in a flash! —Suzanne McKinley, Lyons, Georgia
Icebox Honey Cookies
My Grandma Wruble always had a batch of these cookies in the cookie jar and another roll in the refrigerator ready to slice and bake. Their honey and lemon flavor is delicious! —Kristi Gleason, Flower Mound, Texas
Honey Bagels
Who has time to make from-scratch bagels? You do, with this easy recipe! The chewy golden bagels offer a hint of honey and will win over even the pickiest eaters. —Taste of Home Test Kitchen
Iced Honey Lemon Cookies
Grated lemon peel in the batter and on the icing of these soft cake-like cookies gives them their fresh citrus flavor. The recipe makes about three dozen of the tender treats. —Betty Thompson, La Porte, Texas
Apple-Honey Dutch Baby
I love to make this treat on Sunday morning. It's so impressive when it's served warm right out of the oven...and the apple honey filling is yummy! —Kathy Fleming, Lisle, Illinois
Honey and Spice Snack Cake
The sweetness of honey, the bold flavors of nutmeg and cloves and the crunch of walnuts make for happy snacking. —Taste of Home Test Kitchen, Greendale, Wisconsin
Slow-Cooker Honey Granola
It's so simple to put this granola together, and it really helps with breakfast on busy mornings. Change up the fruits to fit your preferences or the seasons. —Arisa Cupp, Warren, Oregon
Orange Pomegranate Salad with Honey
I discovered this fragrant salad in a cooking class. If you can, try to find orange flower water (also called orange blossom water), which perks up the orange segments. But orange juice adds a nice zip, too! —Carol Richardson Marty, Lynwood, Washington
Honey-Yogurt Berry Salad
I wanted my family to eat more fruit but not more sugary ingredients. This berry salad lets you play with different low-fat yogurts and fruits. —Betsy King, Duluth, Minnesota
Grilled Honey Balsamic-Glazed Fruit
One summer my mother-in-law made us grilled peaches basted with a sweet and tangy sauce. These are so good I'm always tempted to eat the whole batch. —Kristin Van Dyken, West Richland, Washington
Honey Nut & Cream Cheese Baklava
I love serving impressive desserts that look like you spent hours in the kitchen when, in reality, they're really easy to make. This is one of those recipes. —Cheryl Lundquist, Wake Forest, North Carolina
Old-Fashioned Honey Baked Apples
My baked apple recipe is very old-fashioned yet tried and true. It's definitely a comfort food. —Rachel Hamilton, Greenville, Pennsylvania
Honey-Lime Almond Cookies
Decades ago my grandmother passed this buttery lime cookie recipe to me. Through years of baking, our cookie memories keep the family connected, although we’re miles apart. —Paula Marchesi, Lenhartsville, Pennsylvania
Grilled Fig and Honey Pizza
I had figs I needed to use up, so I made a batch of dough, tossed the figs on the grill and created a scrumptious dessert pizza. —Aaron Reynolds, Fox River Grove, Illinois
Honey-Roasted Figs in Puff Pastry
I created this recipe for a national honey contest and won third place! I was thrilled, and you will be, too, when you try these tasty but elegant desserts. —Kelly Williams, Forked River, New JerseyPopular Videos
