Last week, we talked about good sugar substitutes when you’re baking or just looking for something different to try. This week, we’re going to talk about what you can substitute for corn syrup. Before we talk about what works as a substitute, let’s talk about what corn syrup actually is.

Corn syrup is a syrup made from the starches of maize (or corn) and is used in a lot of different foods to make flavors stand out more and to change the look and texture of foods (like thickening or softening the texture). One thing to note is that corn syrup is not the same thing as high-fructose corn syrup, which gets a lot of negative press (and rightly so) for being a big contributor to processed foods. High-fructose corn syrup is made from regular corn syrup by transforming the glucose in corn syrup into fructose, which is much sweeter (and much more unhealthy).

Now that we’ve got the basics down, what is corn syrup used for in cooking? Corn syrup is primarily used in baking – especially in sweets like caramels and pecan pies. Even though corn syrup isn’t as bad as high fructose corn syrup, it’s certainly not the healthiest thing to ingest, so it’s a good idea to have a substitute for corn syrup around if you want to improve the nutritional content of your recipe. Here’s a couple of things that will work instead.

Substitute for Corn Syrup

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Corn syrup comes in two varieties: light corn syrup and dark corn syrup. This is important to note because the substitutes for each vary.

Since corn syrup helps increase the sweetness of baked goods and dishes, any substitute you use needs to have a strong sweet flavor. The best substitute for light corn syrup is to use 1 1/4 cup of white granulated sugar mixed together with 1/4 cup of hot water for every 1 cup of corn syrup needed. This is one of the easiest substitutions because it’s so easy to remember.

For dark corn syrup, you can use the same formula, but substitute brown sugar for the white granulated sugar. For example, instead of 1 cup of dark corn syrup, use 1 1/4 cup of packed brown sugar dissolved into 1/4 cup of hot water.

There are also other syrups that can work well as a substitute for corn syrup, and they’ll be slightly better for your health.

Honey – You can use a 1:1 ratio of honey to corn syrup, but only when you’re making baked goods. Honey doesn’t crystallize the way sugar does, so it’s not going to work well for making candy or creating a hard glaze for other baked goods.

Cane Syrup – Cane syrup, which is a thick syrup made from raw sugar cane, is a great option for both baked goods and glazes. Like honey, it’s not a great choice for candy or making things like caramel, since you need something that will caramelize, but it will definitely work as a great substitute for cakes, pies, and cookies.

Brown Rice Syrup – A less heard of substitute for corn syrup is brown rice syrup, which is made similarly to corn syrup, except that is is made from the starches of brown rice. The added bonus for using brown rice syrup is that it works well for making candy, which makes it the closest syrup substitute you can find.

Do you have any substitutes for corn syrup that we missed? Share them with us in the comments section below!