The Best Simple Treacle Substitutes

Looking for an alternative to Treacle? You’re in the right place! Keep reading for my favourite simple Treacle substitutes.

What is Treacle?

Treacle is a liquid sweetener that is a dark brown syrup of heavily caramelized cane sugar. It has a strong sweet and bitter flavour. It’s about 75% sugar with the remainder being water.

The Best Treacle Substitutes

1. Molasses

Molasses is slightly darker and more intensely flavoured than treacle. The sugar content of the two is comparable. In recipes where there is only a tablespoon or so of treacle, molasses will work. But if the recipe has a high treacle content, molasses may end up being too strong and bitter so be careful.

2. Golden Syrup

Treacle is much darker more intensely flavoured than golden syrup. You won’t get the same intense flavour and colour but golden syrup will work well from a textural perspective.

3. Maple Syrup

If you prefer not to use refined sugars, maple syrup will work with a 1:1 substitution. As with golden syrup, the flavour and colour of maple syrup will be much lighter and milder.

4. Honey

As with maple syrup, honey will work as a 1:1 substitute for treacle if you don’t mind a milder flavour and lighter colour.

5. Dark or Light Corn Syrup

Dark corn syrup will be closer in colour and flavour but either work as a 1:1 substitute for treacle if you’re ok with a significantly lighter flavour and colour.

6. Brown Sugar + Water

Regular brown sugar is essentially a solid form of golden syrup – so can work OK as a substitute. You’ll just need to adjust the quantity and add extra water. So by weight you’ll use 3 parts brown sugar and one part water.

7. Coconut Sugar + Water

Coconut sugar is a type of palm sugar made from you guessed it… coconut trees. It has a brown crumbly texture and delicious caramelly flavour. While it does contain more minerals than white sugar, it’s essentially the same as brown sugar from a nutritional perspective. So can be used as a treacle substitute in a similar way.

The Best Sugar-Free Treacle Substitutes

1. Golden Monkfruit + Water

If I want to avoid adding carbs to a dish, a little golden monkfruit and water will be the closest match to treacle but it won’t have anywhere near the same caramelised flavours. Monkfruit tends to be much sweeter than sugar so start with less than you think you’ll need and add more to taste.

2. Stevia

Granular white stevia is another sugar-free option. It can have an unpleasant aftertaste but generally you won’t notice if there are lots of other strong flavours in your dish. As with monkfruit it tends to be more intense so start with less.

More Ingredient Substitutes

Also see see the Simple Ingredients Substitutes Index.

Have fun in the kitchen!

With love,
Jules x