16 Best Substitutes For Molasses

A little sweetness is usually a good thing, and molasses has sweetness in spades. While regular table sugar is often people's go-to ingredient for dishes requiring a sweet edge, molasses can provide an additional depth of flavor. Molasses, created during the production process for regular sugar, comes in several different forms, with some recipes calling for the brighter flavor of light molasses, and others calling for dark molasses' denser, deeper tones, or the bitter, intense notes of blackstrap molasses. The syrup's versatility and ability to improve texture as well as taste has led to it becoming a kitchen staple, used in everything from barbecue glazes to a range of desserts, as Masterclass states.

But if you're anything like us, your kitchen is a busy place, and you can run out of ingredients without even realizing it –- and then, the fateful day comes when a recipe calls for molasses, and you're out of stock. Instead of jumping into your car and driving to the store, though, the solution you need may be inside the very cupboard you're looking in. There are a host of substitutes for molasses, and some of them may even give your dishes a brand-new lease on life. Let's take a look at the best substitutes for molasses out there.

Oh, honey. How we love you. The golden liquid is an essential kitchen staple, used in everything from your morning oats to your rescue remedy when you have a persistent cough. But your health isn't the only thing it'll rescue. Honey can save the day when you're out of molasses, thanks to its syrupy consistency helping to deliver the same texture while the flavor provides necessary sweetness, as Pure Wow states. There's no need to make any adaptations to ratio, either: You can simply sub in the same amount of honey as you would molasses.

Where things might change, however, is in the overall depth of taste in your dish. Where molasses has a more complex, bold flavor, honey generally has a slightly more floral taste, and you might not get the same edge of bitterness that molasses provides. That's why you might want to consider adapting what you're cooking in other ways, or else only use honey for recipes that call for light molasses, which has a slightly gentler flavor than its darker counterparts.

Sugar cane is far from the only plant that can produce sweet substances to put in our food. And one plant can deliver a sugary hit from a slightly surprising source. Parts of the sorghum plant, which is normally harvested for its grain, can be turned into a syrup that provides an intense sweetness. Farmers take the sorghum cane, squeeze out the juice, and simmer it, rendering it into a culinary product that can be used in place of molasses (per Mother Earth News).

While sorghum syrup gives the same sweetness that molasses provides, it's useful to know that some people may find it a little sweeter than the thick syrup, so it might be worth adding slightly less to your dish to begin with, and tasting as you go. Sorghum syrup can also have a touch of sourness to its taste. Texturally, sorghum syrup is also slightly different from molasses and tends to be a little runnier, especially in comparison to dark or blackstrap molasses, which can be incredibly thick. So while it might perk up your meals, don't expect it to contribute to their density in the same way.

Barley malt syrup may not be your go-to choice for a little sweetness, but if you bought a jar for a recipe long ago and it's been languishing at the back of your cupboard, its time has come. Barley malt syrup may be the perfect substitute for molasses, thanks to having both a similar flavor profile and consistency, as Spiceography explains. The malty tones that barley malt syrup delivers, intensified during its cooking process, can be an effective and interesting replacement for the slightly bitter edge that molasses can provide, particularly the darker varieties (per The Vegan Atlas).

Bear in mind, though, that barley malt syrup can have a slightly more subtle flavor and a lower sweetness level than some molasses brands, so if you're looking for depth, you may want to add slightly more. The good thing, though, is that the similar consistency means that it won't make your dish thinner, as some other molasses substitutes might. Interestingly, too, barley malt syrup has a lower glycemic index than other syrups and sugars, as Healthy Supplies points out, and so may cause your blood sugar to spike less if used in place of other sweeteners.

When it comes to products made by refining sugar cane, much of the distinction between them simply comes from how much they're processed. And as such, when looking for a substitute for molasses, you want to aim for a sweetener that's created as similarly as possible. And this is just what you'll get with black treacle.

Both black treacle and molasses are made by crushing sugar cane and simmering the extracted juice, thickening it, and removing the sugar crystals that form, explains Ragus. The difference, though, is that black treacle is not cooked for as long as molasses, meaning that you end up with a slightly thinner syrup –- or else the treacle is made by taking molasses and adding in some slightly thinner syrup, to cut the consistency and adapt the flavor. 

As a result, black treacle can have a slightly gentler flavor than molasses, but as they come from the same place and arrive at similar destinations in their cooking process, black treacle can stand in effectively in many molasses-containing dishes. Try using black treacle in baking recipes and savory dishes that call for a touch of sweetness and smokiness. As a bonus, the black treacle's dark color will give your food the same visual appeal that molasses does.

The versatility of rice never fails to amaze us, and just when we think we've found every use for it, it surprises and delights anew. So imagine how happy we were when we found out that brown rice syrup is a capable substitute for molasses. Made by cooking brown rice extensively to harvest its starchy content into a sugary concoction, brown rice syrup retains the slightly nutty edge that's present in the rice itself. As a sweetener, this additional flavor, along with its viscous texture, makes it a natural stand-in for molasses.

Crucially, though, brown rice syrup delivers a slightly gentler sweetness than other sugary syrups, so you may have to adjust the quantities slightly to get the exact taste level you desire. Brown rice syrup may also be a good substitute for molasses not just if you're caught short in the kitchen, but if you're trying to avoid heavy metal consumption, as certain molasses blends can contain quantities of arsenic, zinc, copper, and iron, according to GluCorp. Having said this, despite frequently being an organic product, not all brown rice syrups are created equal, so it's vital to check whether the brand you're buying has any added elements or health warnings.

Anyone who's ever tried dates will know that as fruits go, they're up there in terms of sweetness. So perhaps that's why it comes as little surprise that date syrup is an excellent substitute for molasses. Date syrup takes all of the deep, toffee flavors of dates and concentrates them into a super-sweet thick liquid, with the darker color of the syrup also contributing to the tones that molasses gives to food.

Additionally, where date syrup trumps molasses is in the nutrition stakes. Date syrup is rich in several essential minerals like manganese, potassium, phosphorus, and iron, as well as containing vital vitamins and fiber content, as Woodspur Organic Date Farms explains. This fiber content is particularly valuable, as in addition to the nutrient's multiple health benefits, one of its key functions is to stop your blood sugar from spiking so drastically (via the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). Generally, you can substitute date syrup for molasses at the same ratio, so no tricky calculations are required, as Joolies states.

Have you ever used coconut nectar? No? You're missing out, people. This syrupy liquid is a natural choice to replace molasses in a pinch, thanks to its similarity in texture and closeness in taste to brown sugar. Coconut nectar (which doesn't taste like coconuts at all, it may surprise you to learn) is made from the sap of the coconut tree, which is tapped, collected, and then boiled down to a viscous, super-sweet liquid, as The Coconut Company explains. The toffee notes that the nectar contains give it a depth of flavor that may emulate the taste of certain types of molasses. Coconut nectar also contains some vitamins and minerals, as well as the electrolyte potassium.

Coconut nectar is an especially good choice for vegans, as molasses, despite being made from sugar cane, is not always suitable for people following a plant-based diet. Molasses can sometimes be produced by using bone char, as TofuBud explains. And while sugar manufacturers are increasingly opting to use different production methods, it's not a universal practice just yet. Usefully, too, coconut nectar is pretty simple to use in place of molasses, as you just need to sub in the same amount, states Bake It With Love.