Dark brown sugar is a famous type of sugar in the dietary as well as the culinary world. It contains twice as much molasses as regular white granulated sugar and it has a rich, caramel-y flavor. It gives your desserts a nice, exquisite, caramel flavor that you just don’t taste on the regular basis.
Although dark brown sugar is amazing to put in your baked goods, you might not be able to find it in your home or in your local grocery stores but don’t worry, there are plenty of substitutes for it.
Dark Brown Sugar Substitutes Are
- White Sugar
- Light Muscovado Sugar/ Dark Muscovado Sugar
- Maple Syrup
- Honey
- Maple Sugar
- Turbinado Sugar
- Cane Sugar
- Demerara Sugar
- Light Brown Sugar
If you want to find out more about these substitutes, keep on reading the entire article.
Dark Brown Sugar Substitutes
White Sugar
White sugar is the most used type of sugar that I’m sure you have already in your home. It is made from sugar canes or sugar beets. White sugar is very versatile and an excellent sweetener for everything; you could use it for everything that needs a little bit of sweetness to it.
Use this granulated sugar in your favorite pancake batter, muffin mix batter, salad dressings, chocolate chip cookie recipes, etc. It is the most common sugar to have at home and it’s the easiest one to find at the stores.
If you have liquid molasses at home you can do your own replica of dark brown sugar. Take a cup of sugar and add 2 tablespoons of molasses to it. Mix well and there you have it, your own dark brown sugar to use in your favorite recipes.
Muscovado Sugar
Muscovado is an unrefined sugar is the closest substitute to dark brown sugar since it has rich molasses and toffee flavor. You can use this sugar in cake batter or as a cake topping, your favorite recipes for chocolate chip cookies, mix it with Greek yogurt, add it on top of your ice cream, and incorporate it into your own baking recipes( it gives a crumbly texture).
Muscovado sugar is much healthier than other types of sugar on the market. It is one of the least refined sugar and plus, it contains antioxidants that especially help people who have heart diseases.
On another note, this sugar is considered a delicacy, and it’s definitely not suited for everyday use since it comes with a pretty hefty price.
So, if you’re looking for a substitute for dark brown sugar for your tea or coffee, I would recommend going with another, less expensive option or simply, you can just find a Muscovado sugar substitute.
There are two types of Muscovado; Light, and Dark. Light Muscovado sugar has some of its natural molasses content removed during light processing of the sugar, and the dark one has a high content of dark molasses and looks very dark, almost black.
[Related Article: 9 Best Substitutes For Muscovado Sugar In Baking]
Maple Syrup 
Maple syrup is amongst the most popular liquid sweeteners on the market; made from the sap of the maple trees and it gives your favorite breakfast recipes like French toast, waffles, and of course, pancakes a sweet, caramel-like flavor.
Maple syrup makes a decent substitute for dark brown sugar but you won’t get that molasses, bitter flavor. You can substitute one cup of dark brown sugar with a cup of maple syrup.
Honey
Honey is a great and healthy option for any kind of sugar in the world. It’s one of the healthiest, natural sweeteners that are used on a daily basis.
Even though honey has a much milder taste than the real deal, this is a great option for when you are in a hurry and can’t run out to the store. Substitute dark brown sugar with a couple of tablespoons of honey.
Maple Sugar
Maple sugar is a natural sweetener and it’s especially popular in Canada where it’s actually made. It’s made from Canadian maple trees and it is very minimally processed, making it much healthier than regular white sugar.
Just like the Muscovado, this granulated sugar contains a high amount of antioxidants and minerals. Just to note, maple syrup has a distinct maple flavor so, anyone that doesn’t like maple syrup, probably won’t like this sugar either.
Turbinado Sugar
Turbinado sugar is also widely known as ”raw sugar” because it only undergoes very minimal processing(no sugar is actually raw). It has a golden caramel color and a subtle caramel flavor.
Turbinado has a similar molasses flavor to dark brown sugar but the texture isn’t the same because this type of sugar looks like large crystals, making it a little bit harder to dissolve on heat.
Cane Sugar
Cane sugar is technically not all that different from white granulated sugar except that is specifically made from cane trees. You can use it as you would regular white sugar; to sweeten your coffee or tea and for other purposes.
If you want to mimic the taste of dark brown sugar, you can add a tablespoon of molasses to your cane sugar to get a richer, caramel flavor.
Demerara Sugar 
Demerara sugar is granulated sugar that gives your baked goods a beautiful, crunchy texture. This sugar is large-grained and stickier than your regular sugar.
is a large-grained sugar that produces a crunchy texture when it’s used in baking. It is a slightly stickier variety of light brown sugar because of its molasses content.
Light Brown Sugar 
The light brown sugar version of brown sugar is made out of a combination of white refined sugar and just a touch of molasses syrup. The obvious difference between light and dark brown sugar is their color but their molasses content makes the real difference in taste.
From the molasses content, light brown sugar does have a subtle caramelized flavor but it is not as dominant as the dark brown version.
Related Questions And Other FAQ’s
Healthy Brown Sugar Substitute
The healthiest substitutes for brown sugar are cane sugar, muscovado sugar, demerara sugar, and honey.
Can I Use Dark Brown Sugar Instead Of Light Brown Sugar
Yes, you can substitute light brown sugar with dark brown sugar and vice versa. Just note that your baked goods or any other recipes will have a slightly darker color and a more powerful caramel-y flavor.
How Do You Make Light Brown Sugar Into Dark Brown Sugar
Simply just add a couple of tablespoons of molasses to a cup of light brown sugar and mix it up. You’ll start to see that the sugar’s normal color will get much darker and richer in flavor. You can buy liquid molasses in some of the more equipped markets.
Light Brown Sugar Substitute
The best substitutes for light brown sugar are white sugar, dark brown sugar, cane sugar, and white sugar mixed with a teaspoon of molasses liquid.