A guide to choosing the best sugars, syrups, and sweeteners for you
A guide to choosing the best sugars, syrups, and sweeteners for you
MONK FRUIT
• 2024 BUYING GUIDE •
On my quest to discover all zero-calorie monk fruit sweeteners available to you on store shelves, I found about 100 products. See the complete list and how they compare.
First, What Is Monk Fruit?
Sugar substitutes commonly known as monk fruit contain extracts from the fruit of a perennial vine—the Siraitia grosvenorii Swingle. Grown mainly in China, the plant is in the cucumber and melon family, and the fruit has the size and shape of a lemon. The Guilin area offers optimal and unique growing environment for the plant due to it's subtropical mountains with elevation of 300 to 500 meters, abundant rainfall, and well drained moist soil.
Chemically speaking, the sweet components extracted from monk fruit are called mogrosides. Many mogrosides (named I, II, III, IV, V, and VI) are present in amounts that vary from 0.5 to 3.8 percent in the dried fruit.
Mogroside V is the major sweet component in extracts from ripened fruits and is also the sweetest of all—100 to 250x sweeter than table sugar. It has a characteristic melon rind aftertaste. According to a producer, with a farm and processing facilities in Guilin, almost 85 pounds of monk fruit produce one pound of extract.
On this page, you'll see all the zero-calorie monk fruit products and brands I found in stores. Because you have so many choices, I sorted them based on their ingredients—from pure extract to blends. Keep scrolling to see them all.
Want to know the best monk fruit sweeteners right now? I created a resource called Sugar Swap Starter Kit to help you with that. You'll learn everything you need to know about monk fruit. Our kit is specifically designed for home cooks who want to understand how different sugar alternatives stack up, find the best ones, and get tips to use them. You don't need to go through the trial and error of substituting sugar & sweeteners in recipes. This kit offers a quick way to get all your questions answered in one place.
BULK VS BULK-FREE SWEETENER
Some monk fruit sweeteners offer bulk to your recipes, and others are bulk-free:
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Bulk-free sweeteners are concentrated monk fruit products mainly used for sweetening purposes and no other culinary role. They offer zero calories, are sugar-free, and super sweet—so a little goes a long way. Due to the minimal amount required to achieve the sweetness equivalent to sugar, precise measurement is important! They provide no volume and mass to recipes. No browning or caramelizing, either.
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Bulk sweeteners contribute not only to sweetness but also to texture, shelf life, moisture retention, color, and aroma—important in baking. Pure monk fruit is bulk-free, so manufacturers blend it with bulk sweeteners that are mildly sweet, such as erythritol, allulose or sweet fibers. You can also choose brown sugar alternatives and powdered sugar replacements.
MONK FRUIT BRANDS & PRODUCTS
There is A LOT to see here. Scroll down to explore it all or, if you are short on time, make your choice below:
Click the Try it button of each sweetener to be linked to Amazon
where you can read reviews, labels, Q&As, and price.
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BULK-FREE SWEETENERS
Is There a Monk Fruit Without Any Additives or Fillers?
The first monk fruit sweeteners I list contain pure fruit extract. They are super sweet, so a little goes a long way. Because you'll need just a little to get the same sweetness as table sugar, precise measurement is important! [When tasting for the first time, avoid sticking your finger in the powder and lick it because it'll prob be too much, resulting in an aftertaste and dislike]. Many products come with their own little measuring spoons, but if they don't, you can buy a mini measuring spoon set or a complete set like this one. Start with the amount recommended by the seller and adjust to taste.
Use monk fruit pure extract for sweetening purposes only and not for other culinary roles.
Can you bake with pure monk fruit or substitute it for sugar? Yes, but keep in mind that they don't offer bulk (volume and weight). They don't contribute to texture, shelf life, moisture retention, color, and aroma. They are perfect for coffee, tea, and other drinks. And that's why the vast majority of sweeteners you'll find in stores are not pure extract. Keep scrolling down to see how most products are blends of extracts with a bulk sweetener.
Do not buy the least expensive per ounce!
When you're shopping for pure extracts of monk fruit, it's crucial to look for the concentration of mogroside V. All products you see in this first infographic are labeled as "100% pure extract," but their sweetness level, color, aftertaste, solubility, and price vary depending on the mogroside V concentration in the extract—from 7 to 50 percent.
Less pure extracts, such as 7%, are cheaper per ounce, but you need to use way more than the 50% — the first is twenty times sweeter than sugar and the second is 240. In addition, 7%V have a stronger melon-rind aftertaste, a dark beige color, and don't dissolve as easily as the high-purity extracts. Mogroside V50, the highest grade in stores, means an extract with a 50:50 ratio mogroside V and fruit pulp. It's the most expensive per ounce, but the sweetest of all extracts. It's more sugar-like in terms of color and taste — whiter and tastes better, too, offering almost no aftertaste. Plus, it dissolves quickly.
Let's compare two products, as an example:
• NatriSweet, a 7%V extract, costs 23 dollars for 3.5 ounces on Amazon or $6.56 per ounce, as I write this. These 3.5 ounces sweeten like 322 tsp of sugar — which equals 6.7 cups of sugar. It means you pay $3.43 to substitute 1 cup of sugar.
• NOW, a 50%V extract, costs about 24 dollars for 0.7ounces or $33 per ounce. Just 0.7oz of extract sweetens like 1,242 tsp of sugar or 26 cups sugar. So, you pay almost 4 times less ($0.92) to substitute 1 cup of sugar with this extract.
All that to say, 7%V and 10%V extracts cost way less per ounce because they have less mogroside V. My advice: Don’t just look at the price per ounce – check the concentration to guarantee better value, taste, solubility, color, and happiness!
Does Monk Fruit Come In Liquid Form?
Monk fruit is sold in liquid form—syrups or drops—and you'll find them with a variety of ingredients. For the most part, they consist of blends of monk fruit extract and water. To improve taste and maintain freshness, some products may have flavors, preservatives, or both. Some even include glycerin, allulose, or gums to make them viscous.
There's a type of product labeled as "100% monk fruit extract" (one ingredient only), also called monk fruit juice concentrate such as this, which is different in three key ways:
(1) It resembles honey, with a yellowish color but less thick
(2) It's not as sweet as the other liquid monk fruit, so you'll need at least 10 drops to sweeten like 1 tsp of sugar
(3) It's only free of sugar and calories if you use small amounts because being a juice concentrate, it contains 70 percent sugar.
Monk fruit drops and syrups are mainly recommended for sweetening purposes as they provide no bulk (volume and mass) to our recipes. Liquid monk fruit works best in foods that don't require sugars for texture, shelf life, moisture retention, color, and aroma. They offer a convenient way to sweeten coffee, tea, and other drinks on the go.
BULK SWEETENERS
Why is Monk Fruit Combined With Erythritol?
I'm often asked, Why is monk fruit mixed with erythritol and other sweeteners? The reason is monk fruit extracts in pure form are super sweet. A good rule of thumb is just 1/64 of a teaspoon of monk fruit extracts is as sweet as 1 teaspoon of sugar. Because they provide a sweet taste with tiny volume & weight, sugar substitutes often need bulk sweeteners to have an overall resemblance to table sugar. (learn more here >>>)
The most common bulk sweeteners in monk fruit products are erythritol and allulose. You may also find monk fruit blended with glucose, maltodextrin, and inulin. Bulk sweeteners not only improve the taste of monk fruit extracts but also make it easier for you to measure sugar substitutes at home. Instead of having to measure or weigh minuscule amounts, you can use the measuring tools you have in your kitchen.
Common questions I get include: How do I substitute monk fruit for sugar? How much monk fruit equals one teaspoon (cup or tablespoon) of sugar? The answer depends on the product you are using.
Some monk fruit blends are 1:1 sugar replacements, i.e., spoon for spoon, they are as sweet as table sugar. Others are 2:1 (2 teaspoons of sugar is as sweet as 1 teaspoon of monk fruit) up to 12:1. To find out how sweet a product is, you need to pay attention not only to the brand but also the type.
For example, the Lakanto brand has several types of monk fruit sweeteners—Classic, Golden, Powdered, Baking, Organic, Pure Extract, Lakanto Liquid, Simple Syrup, Classic Packets, Golden Packets—and they don't always have the same sweetness. On this page, all infographics list the product's amount needed to replace ONE teaspoon of sugar.
Try my Sugar Swap Tool to get the right sweetness level.
Monk Fruit Sweeteners
WITH ERYTHRITOL
Do all monk fruit sweeteners have erythritol? No, but most do. I've found about 50 monk fruit erythritol blends and list them here. Erythritol (Ah-REETH-ra-tall) is currently one of the most popular sweeteners. It's promoted as "natural," zero-calories, tooth-friendly, well-tolerated in the digestive system, and has zero effect on blood sugar levels. However, it's less sweet than table sugar and creates a cooling (cold) sensation when dissolved in the mouth—which feels like we are sucking a mint (without the mint flavor). When blended with monk fruit, erythritol's taste is improved.
I wrote extensively about erythritol in two blog posts. This is a short one: Erythritol: Powdered vs. Granulated. This is a long one: Sweetener Review: Erythritol | Is it Really "Natural" and The Perfect Sweetener? I also have a page called Erythritol Buying Guide, where I showcase all sweeteners containing erythritol in stores in 2024.
Most monk fruit sweeteners contain mainly erythritol with just a hint of fruit extract. So, you need to know the do's and don'ts of erythritol to understand how to choose and use the monk fruit products listed below. To help you with that, I created the SUGAR SWAP STARTER KIT.
What's Golden Monk Fruit?
Golden or gold monk fruit is a replacement for raw sugar, and NOT regular light brown sugar. Crystals are dry, free-flowing, and look like demerara sugar. They differ from brown sugar replacements, which have glycerine or a touch of molasses to give an overall look and texture similar to regular light brown sugar. Learn the difference between raw & light brown sugars by reading my Complete Guide to Brown Sugars.
What's Powdered Monk Fruit?
Granulated vs. Crystalized vs. Powdered Monk Fruit. Monk fruit sweeteners come in a variety of crystals size—from granulated and crystallized, to powdered. What one seller calls granulated monk fruit, might be called crystallized by another. Powdered monk fruit, as the name implies, is a replacement for regular powdered sugar as it contains finely ground erythritol or allulose combined with monk fruit extract. Granulated monk fruit is usually the same as crystallized and their crystals look more like table sugar. Learn all about powdered sugar replacements HERE.
Monk Fruit Sweeteners
WITH ALLULOSE
Monk Fruit Sweeteners
BROWN SUGAR REPLACEMENT
Brown sugar replacements provide the aroma, sweetness, and texture of regular brown sugar, but without all the calories and sugar content. They are one-to-one substitutes for LIGHT brown sugar. Learn more by visiting my Brown Sugar Replacement page.
Monk Fruit Sweeteners
POWDERED SUGAR REPLACEMENT
Monk fruit sweeteners with fine crystals are referred to as powdered sugar replacements. As the name implies, they look a lot like regular confectioners or powdered sugar. The most common products in stores contain finely ground erythritol or allulose combined with monk fruit extract. Learn more by visiting my Powdered Sugar Replacement page.
IS MONK FRUIT SAFE?
Yes, monk fruit extracts have been approved as generally recognized as safe (GRAS) ingredients. As opposed to what most people say, it is not a food additive. You'll find monk fruit extracts sold in stores with various mogroside V content—from 7 to 50 percent. If you are looking for details on how extracts are made, refer to each GRAS notice submitted by the manufacturer for FDA review. Monk fruit extracts are approved by the Food and Drug Administration as "natural" non-nutritive sweeteners (0 cal/g).
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