2 Easy Ingredient Swaps For Molasses In A Recipe

Molasses is a flavor powerhouse. It's stacked, nutritionally speaking. It's shelf stable and keeps for up to a year. It has a certain charming, homespun quality to it. But if you're like many American shoppers, it may not be a staple that you regularly keep in your pantry next to the baking soda and sugar. A relatively infrequently-called-for ingredient compared to other sweeteners, molasses is due for a rebrand and a comeback. Until that day, however, you might find yourself needing some molasses but not having any on hand. 

Before you run to the grocery store for one missing ingredient, though, there are a couple of handy ingredients you can use in its place. Both real maple syrup and brown sugar will go a long way in compensating for the hallmark rich, earthy, strong flavor that molasses brings, though you may need to adjust the amount used to accommodate the varying sweetness levels. Molasses is a byproduct of the sugar-making process, and the sweetener can be made either from sugarcane or sugar beets that are crushed, processed, and boiled down. The leftover, resulting liquid is molasses. Think of the uniquely spicy, strong, complex sweetness and flavor of a gingerbread cookie or even of brown sugar. That certain je ne sais quoi and punchy flavor is thanks to molasses, which imparts a zippy, almost spiced note to recipes. Reach for maple syrup or brown sugar — ideally darker varieties of either — as two easy substitutes.

Both molasses and maple syrup are sold in various grades, and each type provides a different color and flavor. In molasses' case, the varying types are the result of different levels of processing the cooked sweetener undergoes; with maple syrup, a variety of factors from the tree type, time of year, weather, processing, and pH of the sap all combine to create unique colors and flavors.

Should you find your cupboard is molasses-less, reach for your jar of real maple syrup instead — not, importantly, honey, agave, or pancake syrup, which don't contain that same depth of flavor. In most cases, you can substitute maple syrup for molasses at a 1 to 1 ratio, so no complex recipe math is required. However, do be mindful of the fact that maple syrup is a much runnier liquid than thick, spoonable molasses, so while both add moisture to a recipe, the syrup will add more. As such, you may want to add slightly less than you would compared to using molasses, lest you alter the consistency of your baked good's batter too much. Don't expect the exact same robustness from your maple syrup. However, choosing a darker, richer variety versus a light golden maple syrup will get you that much closer to a true flavor replacement.

Should you find yourself without molasses in its natural form, it might actually be hiding out incognito in your pantry in another form — brown sugar. That's right, the signature dark color of brown sugar comes from mixing molasses with regular white sugar. This accounts for the noticeable difference in flavor of plain white versus brown sugar and is why you can't always directly swap out one for the other. Gingerbread, coffee cake, and even canned cinnamon rolls all benefit from the sultry caramel flavor that brown sugar provides. 

So, in recipes that call for molasses, feel free to sweeten it with brown sugar — particularly the darker variety, which contains extra molasses. You'll likely need to adjust rations so your baked goods don't end up overly saccharine, so start with ¾ cup of brown sugar to 1 cup of molasses – you can always add more but you can't take sweetness away.

Other jarred sweeteners you may or may not have on hand — specifically cane syrup and dark corn syrup – will also stand in as excellent dupes for the punchy flavor of molasses, but since most of us have maple syrup and brown sugar in our pantries at all times, we picked these two swaps for the sake of convenience and accessibility, as well as their similar flavor profiles. Next time you find yourself short an ingredient, try these ready-to-go substitutes and save yourself an extra trip to the store.