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Sugar has been a pretty hot topic recently. The conversation is chock full of conspiracy about corrupt politics and corporate-funded scientific research used to skew public perception.

There’s enough drama to make your favorite TV show blush. Suffice it say, sugar is unpopular in many corners, which is what led us to seek out alternative keto friendly sweeteners.

What should we use instead of sugar?

While there are plenty of sugar substitutes on the market, not all of them are created equal.

Some artificial sweeteners have been around for ages (saccharin has been around since the late 1800s!) and have garnered a bad public reputation. Gary Taubes, in his landmark book The Case Against Sugar, actually debunks the studies against some of the artificial sweeteners.

It’s really worth a read. Overall though, the jury is still out on artificial sweeteners and their effects on humans.

In recent years, more and more alternative sweeteners have come to market, some of which are of the more naturally-derived variety.

If all else is equal, we tend to prefer natural keto friendly sweeteners (which are also low carb sweeteners by default).

What makes keto friendly sweeteners keto-friendly?

When it comes to maintaining a state of ketosis on a ketogenic diet, we want to ensure that what we digest does not raise our blood sugar levels. This will safeguard us against being knocked out of ketosis.

Luckily, all the sweeteners on our list utilize ingredients that are non-glycemic and therefore do not raise your blood glucose levels.

Why use keto friendly sweeteners at all?

Well, there’s the painfully obvious reason of satisfying your sweet tooth. Moreover though, sugar, in all but the slightest amounts, will most likely kick you out of ketosis.

One of the easiest things to slip up on, especially when you’re just starting out on keto, is to overlook added sweetness everywhere. For example, is honey keto friendly? The Pure Leaf Tea Honey Green Tea is marketed as “Not Too Sweet” but has an astounding 25g of sugar per serving.

Prior to starting keto, I probably wouldn’t have even blinked at that sugar count but it’s a number that now makes me shudder.

Another factor to consider is that you tend to eat more meat while on a keto diet, which will likely increase your sodium intake.

This means you’ll more likely reach out for something with sweetness to balance out your palate.

What to use your keto friendly sweeteners for

Coffee/Tea
Baking
  • In conjunction with keto flour like almond or coconut flour, you can make some seriously delectable desserts.
Sweetening sauces, especially Asian ones, or marinades like teriyaki/soy.
  • There is a ton of hidden sugar in soy sauces and meat marinades. You can avoid this trap with the keto friendly sweeteners on our list.

Our Top Picks for Keto Friendly Sweeteners

#1 Sola Sweetener

Sola Sweetener is a proprietary blend of various low glycemic sweeteners. It tops our list because it’s the only one that, when tasted straight-up, is virtually indistinguishable from sugar. That means it isn’t bitter, the texture is spot-on, it’s not overly sweet and doesn’t have an aftertaste.

Is it keto friendly, though?

The mix contains erythritol, tagatose, maltitol, stevia, monk fruit. Out of all of these ingredients, tagatose and maltitol may jump out at you.

Tagatose is technically a sugar (like allulose), however it doesn’t impact your blood glucose levels. That’s why it is listed as a sugar on the nutrition label (because it is one), however its glycemic index is only 3 (essentially negligible).

Maltitol does have a glycemic index of 35, which is about half the GI of table sugar. However, it is included in such small amounts that it does not have much of an impact on your metabolism. In fact, Sola performed independent keto blood sugar tests and the glycemic index of their sweetener as a whole was rated at around a Glycemic Index of only 3.

#2  Swerve

Swerve Sweetener is one of our favorite keto friendly sweeteners. It doesn’t have an aftertaste and it is a 1:1 sugar substitute for baking.

A bonus is that it comes in a powdered form called Swerve Confectioners and also Brown Sugar, which is great for all forms of baking. It’s much more convenient than making your own powdered sugar (and we’re all about convenience).

Note that the source of the sweetness is from erythritol, which is a sugar alcohol. Are sugar alcohols and erythritol keto friendly? The answer is yes because they do not have an effect on your blood sugar levels.

However, what you want to watch out for are hidden additives in the products you buy that might have an impact on your blood sugar levels. Luckily, none of the products on our list have a glycemic impact.

But if you have a sensitivity to sugar alcohols, we’d suggest taking it easy to begin and working your way up.

Also, remember to subtract the grams of sugar alcohol from the total carbohydrates on a U.S. Nutrition Facts label.

Labels differ from product to product but in general, products will include sugar alcohols in the total carbohydrate count, so remember to subtract out the sugar alcohol content, if it is specified.

#3  NOW Foods Better Stevia

Stevia comes from the leaf of an herb, so it’s definitely one of the most wholesome of the natural sugar replacement options. What’s the catch?

Stevia can leave bitter aftertaste when used in excess. The good news is that certain brands are able to provide more pure, less bitter varieties– which leads us to our absolute favorite stevia, NOW Foods Better Stevia.

This product dissolves extremely easy and we like to use it in hot drinks. However, they also make a liquid, alcohol-free version called NOW Foods Glycerite that is perfect for cold drinks.

Also, +1 to NOW Foods for utilizing USDA Organic Stevia in their Better Stevia products.

#4  Lakanto Monkfruit Sweetener

There is one big Monk Fruit keto brand option and that is  Lakanto Monkfruit Sweetener.  Monk Fruit has a ton of sweetness to it, so you don’t need as much of it to get the flavor you want.

Monk fruit is an actual fruit, so it is as natural as it gets, yet the extract has zero calories and zero glycemic impact.

Just to note though, this specific brand does not use pure monk fruit extract. Instead, it is blended with erythritol to balance out the sweetness.

Lakanto makes other sweetener products like an amazing alternative take on maple syrup which uses their Lakanto Monkfruit sweetener as the base.

Note: If you want to try a product with 100% monk fruit, Pure Monk Sweetener is your best bet.

#5  Truvia

Truvia is a great brand of sweetener that utilizes erythritol and stevia. They actually have a variety of products, but not all of them are 100% keto-friendly, so be sure to check the nutrition labels.

What works for us are the Truvia packets. We like to store a few Truvia keto packets of these in our purse/wallet at all times because you never know when you need to pop in some natural, zero calorie sweetener into a drink (even if you sometimes look a little suspect doing it).

+1 for portability.

#6  SweetLeaf Liquid Stevia Drops

SweetLeaf Sweet Drops are very similar to the NOW Foods Better Stevia from above but the reason we have them listed separately is that SweetLeaf has a ton of flavors, making them very versatile.

These flavored drops can then be added to sparkling water or club soda to create flavored sodas. Also, by adding certain flavors to still water, you can get subtle hints of flavor to liven up your plain water.

Here are some of their great flavors:

My favorite drink is some iced green tea with a few drops of the SweetLeaf Stevia. The flavors blend perfectly and it is the ultimate refreshing drink.

We have found the best use for these is cold drinks since you don’t have to worry about other granular sweeteners not dissolving completely.

#7  Birch Tree Xylitol

Birch Tree Xylitol from Health Garden is our favorite xylitol. It’s also a 1:1 sugar substitute without any aftertaste, like Swerve.

Note that xylitol can also be derived from corn, which is actually why we don’t recommend our usual favorite NOW Foods brand, even though they do sell xylitol.

Birch Tree Xylitol also happens to be the sweetener of choice for our favorite low carb cake from Poparuba.

We’ll again give the warning here that xylitol is a sugar alcohol, so tread lightly if you have any sensitivities. Strangely enough, xylitol is also very good for teeth, so you have even more reason to use it!

Also, xylitol does not have a zero glycemic index, but rather a GI of 12. That’s not very high at all, but it does have at least some blood sugar impact that you should know of.

Also, one last word of caution: xylitol is toxic to dogs, so please be careful if you have any furry friends.

Lastly– a quick note about Splenda & Sweet ‘N Low

If you’re out and about at a coffee shop and are thinking about using sweetener packets, take a look at the nutrition label.

In the U.S., the most ubiquitous sweeteners are Sweet N Low and Splenda, and most people likely equate Splenda with sucralose.

Is sucralose keto friendly though? 

Sucralose by itself actually does not have any glycemic impact but the Splenda brand also contains dextrose and maltodextrin, which absolutely do have an impact. In fact, maltodextrin has a glycemic index of 110 and dextrose has a glycemic index of 100.

Is Sweet N Low keto friendly?

Like Sucralose above, Sweet N Low contains additional ingredients including dextrose.

Needless to say, be sure to avoid any sweeteners with fillers. Be cognizant and aware when you are looking at potential keto sweeteners and everything should be fine!

 

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