Understanding the different forms of stevia can be challenging. This post shares my experience in using all 4 forms as well as includes a conversion chart. This stevia conversion chart is based on using the Sweetleaf stevia brand. I've been cooking and baking with it for over 3 years and feel confident in sharing my personal conversion chart with you.
FLAVORED LQIUID STEVIA'S
The liquid form of stevia is and has been my number one way to sweeten a recipe. Often because the flavors are fabulous, especially in a no bake recipe. When you only need a ¼ cup or less of "sugar" these would be what I would use. All these liquid flavored stevia's as well as the clear stevia by Sweetleaf do not contain alcohol. In their flavors they add vanilla extract, hazelnut extract, coconut or cocoa extract etc. to enhance the flavor. I find when a liquid contains the alcohol just like in imitation vanilla extract there is a aftertaste I am not a fan of. The NuNaturals Clear does have 20% pure grain alcohol in it, but they also have a an alcohol free liquid stevia. I do find the NuNaturals alcohol free liquid to be a bit sweeter in comparison to the Sweetleaf liquid stevia's.
STEVIA PACKETS
Packets are wonderful to take on the go for easy traveling. Great to put in coffee and oatmeal. If you're baking though you may need to use quite a few to create a recipe needing at least a ½ cup of sugar. I won't use NuNaturals powdered packets of stevia is because it contains maltodextrin. Sweetleaf does not.
POWDERED STEVIA
This is powdered stevia with inulin fiber. Inulin fiber is a natural occurring carbohydrate found in 36,000 species of plants. It's most common form comes from chicory. It has health benefits in that it helps increase calcium absorption. It does not raise blood sugar and is suitable for diabetics. Depending on how much inulin fiber is used in any stevia product you purchase it ranges from bland to subtle sweetness. Here in this product 1 tablespoon equals ½ cup of sugar. Many of my recipes refer to using this powdered stevia. I started using this one at the very beginning of my baking with stevia as I was uncertain I wanted to begin with the pure extract. Unless otherwise noted as pure extract you would NOT replace pure stevia extract with this powdered stevia that contains fiber. The two are not equal in strength as you will see below. This product could be used in exchange with packets of stevia as they are about equal in strength.
PURE STEVIA EXTRACT
As I have gotten more confident in using stevia in my baked goods I am experimenting more and more with the pure extract and it will be noted and linked in every recipe which one I use. This is the pure stevia extract with no fiber. I have also used the organic pure extract from Trader Joes and it seems similar in strength to this Sweetleaf brand. It is very strong and very sweet. Unless needing at least a cup of sugar in a recipe I would not recommend even using the pure extract. Anything less than a cup and the liquid, packets or a powdered product should be used.
STEVIA BAKING BLENDS
Most baking blends on the market contain maltodextrin which is derived from corn in the United states. Some baking blends actually also contain sugar and stevia to attempts to reduce how much sugar is used. I've not found one blend I liked the ingredients on so therefore can not recommend any at this point. The only thing to note about baking blends is they do make baking easier because all you need to replace is the sugar in any recipe you want. It's certainly not the case with using the pure extract or any of the above stevia products I use. Stevia baking blends are NOT the same as the powdered stevia above and should not be used interchangeably.
A lot of time , effort, experimentation and cost goes into my recipes to share them with you as I rarely can make them once and call it a day. Life would be a whole lot easier if I could use a baking blend, but I honestly don't feel good about putting that in my body or my families bodies. You can read more about what to look for when purchasing stevia in this post, The 3 Best Stevia products.
*Please note on this conversion chart: I can not tell you if the brand you are using is going to be as sweet in comparison with the Sweetleaf brand. Some brands are stronger and some are less sweet than others all dependent on the way it is processed. Unfortunately I can only give you a guideline and you must be the judge to carefully using it when baking. If you find an aftertaste or bitterness it is either due to the additives in the product you purchased or not enough stevia was used in the recipe especially baking with unsweetened cocoa powder which tends to be bitter all by itself.
Although I am sharing my experience with using the Sweetleaf brand, I hope through this post you can at least get an understanding of the wide range of differences between the liquid, packets, powdered, pure extracts and baking blends of stevia to compare with the brands you may be using.
UPDATED APRIL 2021: HERE IS THE MOST COMPREHENSIVE SWEETENER GUIDE AND CONVERSION CHART!
About Brenda
Brenda Bennett is a certified Nutritional Therapy Practitioner, certified Sugar Detox Coach, certified Keto Coach and certified Life Coach. She has been Sugar Free & Refined carb free for 17 years and has written 2 cookbooks, Sugar-Free Mom, and Naturally Keto and her 3rd book The 30-Day Sugar Elimination Diet, is a four part program to help you detox from sugar, eliminate cravings, balance blood sugar and lose weight all while eating a delicious, nutrient dense whole foods. Meal plan offers two tracks to follow, low carb or keto. She is the founder of the Sugar Free Fresh Start course and Sugar Free Tribe weight loss membership. Learn more.
Ellen
Hi Brenda,
I found your book "Sugar-free Mom" and am excited to try the recipes. I purchased Sweetleaf Stevia Clear and the Sweetleaf Vanilla Creme. In looking at this conversion chart, I'm guessing that what I have is the liquid, not the extract. Is that correct? Several of your recipes use stevia extract, but I haven't seen that. Does Sweetleaf make a pure extract?
Thank you,
Ellen
Brenda
Yes Sweetleaf makes a pure extract.
Jimm
How much Stevia that has been home-grown, dried and ground will equal one of the packets of Stevia? I have just dreid and ground my own Stevia for the first time, and am also going to try making my own liquid.
Brenda
I'm sorry I have not tested it out to be certain on quantity with packets compared with the dried leaves ground.
Naomi
I'm wondering what you use for "bulk" when replacing sugar or sugar substitutes with powdered stevia?
Brenda
HI Naomi, please see my newest and most updated sweetener conversion chart here:https://www.sugarfreemom.com/recipes/natural-sugar-free-low-carb-sweeteners-guide-conversion-chart/
Ana
Hello Brenda! Thank's for your post it is very useful, but I have a doubt about some stevia products like this https://eu.goodgood.net/products/sweet-like-sugar-450-gr?pr_prod_strat=copurchase&pr_rec_pid=3619453831&pr_ref_pid=4346533904457&pr_seq=uniform wich have calories?
Do you know why some granulated stevia have carbs and others not?
It's very confusing for me what to choose, because in my country we have a few brands selling granulated stevia.
I know that brand have erithritol, but you also can find that product with 0 calories, so it's no clear why some stevia have and others not.
Thank's
Deb Smith-Davis
One more thing for baking with Stevia as to whether powdered or liquid is preferable, I wanted to add that I do not use gluten (no oats including organic) nor dairy save butter and occasionally eggs (lactose issues), instead almond, coconut or brown rice flour and coconut milk or almond milk. (all organic). If you have experimented with any of these substitutes using Stevia, what have you found? Again, thank you so much. I am very appreciative
Deb Smith-Davis
Thanks so much for posting the chart-- I appreciate your sharing it.
One thing though which would help me immeasurably regarding the use of Stevia: For baking, what have you found works better, liquid or powdered? I have searched and searched and have not found a straightforward response.
Gratefully, Deb
Cheryl
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you for doing this!
Gaye Lee
Wondering which size dropper you are using in your chart.... The bottles come in a couple of sizes. Thank you.
Dave M.
Can you use stevia instead of sugar for beer making?
Brenda
I've never tried making beer so not quite sure if it would work for you as regular sugar does.
Marsha
Brenda,
I was thinking about purchasing some of the powdered stevia extract. From what I understand from your article, I would only use it when the recipe calls for at least a cup of sugar. My question is, how much would I use in a recipe for a baked item like cookies or brownies that calls for 1 cup of sugar? Obviously not a whole cup of it, but how do I account for the extra "bulk" a cup of sugar would provide?
Mary Jaglowitz
I was addicted to Splenda and drank a case a week of Ginger Ale. Once I became more alert to the affects of my Diabetes I stopped it. I found my head clear and more alert. I was able to substitute sugar and salt out of my diet. I did this over one year and lost 100 lbs. I presumed that I was reacting too all sweeteners and I did try stevia but found it too much of an after taste.
Now I react to all sugar and only eat unprocessed food which is rather bland at times.(no sugar, no salt) Thanks for the chart and I want to try Sweet Leaf Vanilla Creme liquid stevia.
Cooking in Mexico
Thank you so much for this conversion chart. Just what I needed. And I plan on baking your stevia pumpkin pie this week for Thanksgiving. ~ Kathleen
Terri
I loved all the great info and the chart is also wonderful. I will be using it often. I was wondering if the Sweetleaf Liquid Stevia Sweet Drops Sweetener Natural Stevia Clear is the same as Stevia Glycerite? I gave seen some recipies that have that in it and they look good.
Michelle
The conversion chart is great! But it doesn't have a line for:
___ Liquid Stevia = ___ Sugar.
That would be helpful for recipes.
I prefer using liquid stevia over powdered stevia because I have to keep my carbs low.
Thanks so much!
hmd
Please read the instructions on the site Stevia white powder . thank you.
Lauren M
Great article! I have been trying to like stevia for ages but I suppose that I just hadn't found the right product. I didn't even realize there were additives & augments like inulin that impacted the flavor. The most recent brand I tried had a bitter aftertaste I couldn't get past. Our brownies were a disaster. I just tried the Sweet Leaf vanilla drops (Same day, thanks Amazon Prime! haha) and they are so great in my coffee I can drink it dark! Just a note that the Sweet Leaf flavor drops, though as a whole are not labeled "organic", are made with organic stevia extract as per the ingredient list. This is important to my family, so I just wanted to share this information here. 🙂
Dreams of sugar-free brownies are now dancing in my head. Thanks a million.
Amy
Thank you!!!
Heidi Engquist
Thank you so much for sharing this! I've been trying to improve my use of stevia in recipes. This will be a great help!!