Best Keto Sweeteners
There are many keto approved sweeteners out there, but not all are created equal! Wondering how to choose the best keto sweetener? You’ve come to the right place. This guide will explain all the best sweeteners for a healthy lifestyle or keto diet, the differences between them, and the consistency to use for each use case. Plus, there’s a handy sweetener chart at the end — pin this page for later here!
Best Sweeteners For Keto
Here at Wholesome Yum, our goal was to create the BEST natural sugar replacement out there. (We like to call Besti sweeteners your sweet BFFs!)
To create our sweeteners, we worked relentlessly to source the most premium ingredients and to develop sugar substitutes that are not only zero calorie and zero carb, but also taste great and act like sugar when you cook or bake with them — whether you are keto or you just want to eat healthier.
To meet our stringent criteria and bring our readers the highest quality, our keto approved sweeteners lineup includes just 5 of the absolute best low carb sugar substitutes:
- Monk fruit sweetener – 3 varieties (granulated monk fruit with allulose, powdered monk fruit with allulose, and brown monk fruit with allulose)
- Allulose sweetener – 2 varieties (granulated and powdered allulose)
Keep reading to understand the differences, but all of them check the most important boxes, making them the best keto sweeteners out there:
✅ Tastes like sugar – with no aftertaste!
✅ Bakes like sugar
✅ Zero calories
✅ Zero grams net carbs
✅ Zero glycemic index
✅ Keto friendly – won’t kick you out of ketosis!
✅ Tooth friendly
✅ Kid & pet friendly
✅ Diabetic friendly – won’t spike blood sugar levels!
✅ Paleo friendly
✅ Vegan
✅ Non-GMO
We decided not to create keto-friendly sweeteners with stevia due to its bitter aftertaste, and avoid sucralose and asparatame because they are artificial sweeteners. We also discontinued erythritol that we used to carry, because it had a cooling aftertaste and crystallized, and our allulose-based sweeteners just work so much better in 99% of use cases.
Besti vs. Other Brands: Why Choose Ours?
There are already other sugar replacements out there, so why choose this one? Here is why ours are better:
? We have a unique Monk Fruit Allulose Blend – Our monk fruit sweetener with allulose is the first and only one of its kind. It replaces sugar cup-for-cup with a sweet taste just like sugar, but even more amazing, it even bakes, dissolves, caramelizes and browns like sugar. We challenge you to do your own blind taste test with it!
? We use the highest grade of Monk Fruit Extract – Our monk fruit extract is 50% mogroside V (that’s what makes monk fruit sweet), which is the highest grade out there. Other brands use 30% or 40%. This makes ours slightly sweeter, but more important, gives it a superior taste without any aftertaste.
? Our sweeteners are non-GMO – Many brands don’t specify whether it comes from non-GMO sources. Besti sweeteners are certified by the Non-GMO Project.
? Allulose acts like sugar because it’s in the sugar family – Most keto sugar replacements contain sugar alcohols or other fillers that vary in flavor, but they don’t dissolve, brown or caramelize like sugar does. Our allulose acts just like sugar when you cook or bake with it, but still has 0 carbs.
? Zero calories, zero net carbs, zero glycemic indes, and zero aftertaste. That’s our promise to you with all our keto friendly sweeteners, no matter which you choose.
What Is Allulose Sweetener?
Allulose is a natural sugar that we can’t metabolize [*], which means it tastes and acts like sugar without spiking our blood sugar. Found in fruit, maple syrup and other plants, it’s 70% as sweet as sugar.
The name “allulose” sounds like glucose, fructose, lactose, and other sugar names, because it’s in the same family. But unlike these sugars, we can’t process allulose, which means it has zero calories and zero net carbs.
Allulose is newer and gaining popularity for its incredible ability to dissolve, brown, and caramelize just like sugar does.
What Is Monk Fruit Sweetener?
Monk fruit, also known as luo han guo, is a small Asian melon that has been used in Chinese medicine for centuries. Monk fruit extract is derived by crushing the fruit, then drying the juice into a concentrated powder that has no calories, carbs or sugar.
Monk fruit extract is extremely sweet, which comes from an antioxidant in the fruit called Mogroside V. It’s very concentrated (between 150 and 400 times as sweet as sugar!), so we combine it with allulose to make a 1:1 sugar replacement.
Different brands of monk fruit extract come with different levels of Mogroside V, which affects how sweet they are and whether they have any aftertaste.
The monk fruit extract in Besti is the highest grade, with 50% Mogroside V and NO aftertaste. This, along with the convenience of replacing sugar cup-for-cup, makes them one of the best keto sweeteners to choose.
What Is Erythritol Sweetener? (And Why We Don’t Recommend It)
Erythritol is a natural sweetener that we can’t metabolize [*], which means it tastes like sugar without spiking our blood sugar. Found in fruits and vegetables, it’s 70% as sweet as sugar.
Erythritol is part of the family of sugar alcohols, which are found in nature, but it is unique compared to others such as sorbitol, xylitol, or maltitol. Erythritol is the only one that has a glycemic index of zero, making it a popular choice for a low carb diet.
Erythritol has been considered one of the best sweetening options for the ketogenic diet for many years, and is the first one we started using on the Wholesome Yum recipe website.
However, we no longer recommend erythritol because it simply isn’t the best keto sweetener. Erythritol does not dissolve, can re-crystallize after cooling off, and gives many people a minty or “cooling” aftertaste. People who are sensitive to other sugar alcohols may also experience GI distress after consuming erythritol. Some people are also concerned about its safety in recent studies. Next to Besti and allulose, there’s no comparison!
Consistencies Of Keto Approved Sweeteners
Besti Monk Fruit Allulose Blend and Wholesome Yum Allulose come in 3 consistencies for all your cooking and baking needs:
1. Granulated Sugar Substitutes
Granulated keto sweeteners are a similar consistency as granulated sugar (just a bit finer), so they make great granulated sugar replacements.
- Granulated Monk Fruit Sweetener With Allulose – Replaces sugar 1-to-1.
- Granulated Allulose – 70% as sweet as table sugar.
When to use them:
Use granulated monk fruit or allulose to replace granulated sugar in your favorite sweet recipes, including desserts, baked goods, beverages, sauces, and more!
These sweeteners produce very soft baked goods, which is great for cookies, cakes, muffins, pancakes, and most other uses for a sugar replacement.
Unlike options containing sugar alcohols (like erythritol), monk fruit sugar with allulose and pure allulose can dissolve, brown, and caramelize like sugar. And of course, they taste and bake like sugar, too.
2. Powdered Sugar Substitutes
Powdered keto sweeteners are the same consistency as powdered sugar, so they make ideal powdered sugar replacements.
- Powdered Monk Fruit Sweetener With Allulose – Replaces powdered sugar 1-to-1.
- Powdered Allulose – 70% as sweet as sugar.
When to use them:
Use powdered monk fruit and powdered allulose to replace powdered sugar in your favorite sweet recipes, including frosting, sauce, glaze, dressing, sprinkling, and most other uses for a powdered sugar replacement. They work beautifully anywhere you need a smooth texture.
Since allulose-based sweeteners dissolve and brown better than sugar alcohols do, choose powdered monk fruit with allulose or pure powdered allulose if you want an extra smooth texture with no risk of crystallization, or if you need browning.
3. Brown Sugar Substitutes
Keto approved brown sweeteners have the same moist, sandy texture as real brown sugar, making them a great brown sugar replacement.
- Brown Monk Fruit Sweetener With Allulose – Replaces brown sugar 1-to-1.
When to use them:
Use this brown sugar substitute anywhere you would normally use brown sugar! Try it in cookies, dressings, baked goods, and most other times you would reach for conventional brown sugar. It mixes effortlessly and adds a rich molasses-style flavor.
The Best Keto Sweetener For You: How To Choose
This keto sweetener chart will help you decide which sugar replacement to choose. All of them are great for keto and healthy eating, but their uses vary slightly. I recommend buying one of each of granulated, powdered, and brown Besti varieties, and you’ll be all set for every use case.
(If you are looking for a keto sweetener chart to help you convert from one sweetener to another, or from sugar to one of these, use this conversion calculator!)
| Besti Granulated | Besti Powdered | Besti Brown | Granulated Allulose | Powdered Allulose | Other Brands | |
| Type | Extract & rare sugar blend | Extract & rare sugar blend | Extract & rare sugar blend | Rare sugar | Rare sugar | Varies |
| Sweetness | 1:1 with sugar | 1:1 with powdered sugar | 1:1 with brown sugar | 70% as sweet as sugar | 70% as sweet as powdered sugar | Varies; 70-100% as sweet as sugar |
| Tastes like sugar | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | Not really |
| No aftertaste | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ |
| Bakes like sugar | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | Only sometimes |
| Dissolves like sugar | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ |
| Crisps up like sugar | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | With recrystallizing effect |
| Browns like sugar | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ |
| Keto friendly | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Sourced from plants | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Net carbs | ZERO | ZERO | ZERO | ZERO | ZERO | ZERO |
| Best uses | Very soft or moist baked goods | Smooth frosting, sauce, glaze, dressing, and sprinkling | Soft, moist baked goods with flavor of brown sugar | Very soft or moist baked goods | Smooth frosting, sauce, glaze, dressing, and sprinkling | Varies widely depending on the type you get |
