Looking for an all natural and economical sugar-free sweetener that actually tastes good? You need to try my natural sweetener blend! I've found that by using a combination of xylitol, erythritol, and stevia I can save money while enjoying a low carb sweetener that tastes just like sugar.
Joy Filled Eats Natural Sweetener Blend - Xylitol, Erythritol, & Stevia - Low Carb, Keto, Trim Healthy Mama, Diabetic Friendly, Sugar Free
When I started the Trim Healthy Mama diet I was leery about all the recipes using stevia because I have never liked it. All of the grocery store varieties and even the flavored liquid drops have a bitter aftertaste to me. In the past when I stopped using sugar on the South Beach Diet I used artificial sweeteners to replace it. Over the years I've read more about the negative effects of artificial sweeteners and I knew I needed to give stevia another try.
I heard that the Trim Healthy Mama Gentle Sweet natural sweetener, which is a blend of xylitol, erythritol, and stevia, was a game changer so I thought I would give it a try. It really changed my perception of stevia. It had no aftertaste or bitterness.
Because we have a strict food budget I became determined to come up with my own blend of erythritol, xylitol, and stevia. I try to save as many pennies as I can when I shop. Making my own sweeteners, baking mixes, seasonings, and cooking from scratch saves the most.
These Tagalong Cupcakes are one use for my sweetener. Don't they look yummy? They are sugar-free! But you would never know. Even my husband who isn't a dessert guy loved them.
You can now mix up your own sweetener that measures just like Gentle Sweet. If you are on a tight budget this helps with this way of eating immensely. I use this sweetener in all my dessert recipes and I've subbed in it recipes from the Trim Healthy Mama Cookbook like the Trimtastic Cake.
You can make everything from Sweetened Condensed Milk to Caramel with this recipe and more.
If you grind this in a food processor it works great as a low carb powdered sugar. It is the best out of the low carb and keto sweeteners!
Ingredients in Joy Filled Eats Sweetener
Xylitol is a natural sweetener. It is a sugar alcohol made from birch trees or corncobs. It has 40% fewer calories than sugar and is a 7 on the glycemic index (white sugar is a 64). Please note that xylitol can be fatal to dogs so don't share treats containing xylitol with your furry friends.
Erythritol is a sugar alcohol like xylitol. It occurs naturally in some fruits and vegetables It has zero calories and no impact on blood sugar. It is produced from glucose by fermentation with yeast.
Stevia is a plant discovered in South America. To make stevia powder a water extraction method is typically used. Stevia is 100 to 200 times sweeter than sugar so a little goes a long way.
Where Do I Buy Sweetener Ingredients?
My natural sweetener recipe is easy and economical. There are many choices on where to order the ingredients from. And I've used several brands of these products successfully.
I personally order the ingredients for this natural sweetener from amazon, walmart, thrive market, and iherb.
Thrive Market: My Thrive Market Coupon works on everything from sweeteners and baking supplies to vitamins and beauty products! Thrive has great prices on coconut products, spices, organic health items, baby food, and more especially since they often will email codes for an additional 25-30% off your entire order. Head over to this post to see more of the latest deals at Thrive. My favorite deal is always getting Lily's Chocolate Chips for $4 a bag!
iherb:
If you are ordering from iherb you save $5 with my link. Generally, you can get the ingredients to make for under $8 a pound. Free shipping is on orders over $20.
I ordered the ingredients from iherb with free shipping. They have a lot of products that work for Keto, Low Carb, and Trim Healthy Mama eating plans. Other products they have that are compatible with THM are oat fiber, psyllium husks, whey protein powder, coconut flour, almond flour, etc. etc. This link takes you right to iherb so you can start making your own sugar free sweetener! Just put each ingredient into the search bar and add to your cart. It's cheaper to buy the 2.5 pounds but they also have 1 pound bags if you'd like to go small before you commit to a huge bag. It is very very easy.
Amazon:
With free one day and two-day Prime shipping, Amazon is where I order from most often. I can consistently get xylitol and erythritol inexpensively. I buy the largest size stevia and it lasts me about 2 years. And I bake A LOT.
I have tried all of these brands and just buy whichever is the cheapest on the day I order! No big deal.
Walmart:
Over the last year or so I've been buying more and more groceries from Walmart. They offer free shipping over $35 and have many low carb products in addition to having more choices in the store.
Like what you see? Follow me on Facebook! Love this recipe? Leave a comment & 5-star rating right here! Make sure you don’t miss new recipes by getting email updates!
Want to Save This Recipe?
Enter your email below & we'll send it to your inbox. Plus get great new recipes from us every week!
By submitting this form, you consent to receive emails from Joy Filled Eats
Joy Filled Eats Natural Sweetener - Low Carb, THM, Sugar Free
Ingredients
Weight measurements:
- 16 oz xylitol (or allulose)
- 12 oz erythritol (or allulose)
- 2 teaspoon Better Stevia or any pure stevia extract
Cup measurements:
- 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons xylitol (or allulose)
- 1 ½ cups plus 2 tablespoons erythritol (or allulose)
- 2 teaspoon Better Stevia or any pure stevia extract
Instructions
Powdered Sweetener
- Process the ingredients in the food processor for a few minutes if you are planning on using it in chocolate, beverages, or icing.
Granular Sweetener
- For baking and candy making, you can just mix the ingredients together by hand.
Notes
Nutrition
Molly says
I know that if the recipe calls for sugar, you use half as much of this, but what if the recipe calls for stevia or erythritol or monkfruit? Is it then 1:1?
Taryn says
For any 1:1 sweetener you would use half the amount listed. You need to read the package. Once you convert that sweetener sugar you can then convert to my sweetener by dividing the amount in half. Converting from pure stevia extract is harder since it generally only uses a teaspoon or less. This might be helpful: https://media.trimhealthymama.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2017/05/07222306/THM.Sweetener-Conversion-Chart.pdf
Kammy says
I am newly diabetic, and have learned so much reading your recipes. They are very through, especially when you explain why you do certain things. I bought all of the components for your sweetener, and after reading the recipe half a dozen times, feel very confident!
Lisa says
Does this mix yield the cooling effect in baked goods? I plan to try it as I have not found anything that doesn’t affect the taste in baked goods!
Thank you!
Lisa
Taryn says
Since it has stevia you only use half the amount of other sweeteners which makes the cooling effect much much less.
Cyndi says
Just curious if using this in place of other sugar substitutions is 1:1? I know when I sub erythritol, it's a little more than regular sugar to get the same sweetness. Does this blend help balance that its more of a 1:1 ratio? Thanks!
Taryn says
This blend is twice as sweet as sugar, so 2:1. If a recipe calls for 1 cup of sugar or erythritol you only need 1/2 a cup.
Chris says
I can’t wait to try your sugar substitute blend. I have tried all of these and can’t help but think that combining them would result in a better product. I wonder what you do for brown sugar. Would you just add a teaspoon of molasses per cup of your sugar substitute? I noticed you used 1 tsp molasses in your coffee cake recipe for flavor and it only adds .25g of carbs. Thank you! I’m following and have signed up for your newsletter and tips! Thanks again! 💖
Taryn says
Yup! I just add a teaspoon of molasses to a cup of the blend.
Melissa says
Question. The THM Gentle Sweet lists their ingredients in this order. Xylitol, Erythritol & Stevia Ground Blend. Usually the ingredients are listed in order by predominance, with the ingredients used in the greatest amount first, followed in descending order by those in smaller amounts. Unless they don't follow FDA rules, shouldn't there be more Xylitol then Erythritol? Or did you experiment? I haven't purchased any Gentle Sweet and have been using your recipe. Thanks so much!
Taryn says
Yes, when I was recipe testing this sweetener blend I did assume xylitol was the greatest amount based on that label.
Helen La says
To replace the stevia , how much Monk Fruit Extract powder should I use? I am so excited to try this sweetener mix.
Taryn says
I haven't tested that but I think it would be a similar amount. I'd suggest making a small batch and using it in a single serve recipe, like a mug cake, to test it before making a full size recipe.
Rosie Sergenian says
Is the Stevia extract a liquid?
Taryn says
No, it is a powder. Make sure to choose one with no added ingredients.
Tessie says
I can't find it in this recipe but I thought I saw you comment that you could substitute Allulose for the xylitol? Will it still have that cooling effect?
Taryn says
Yes, you can sub in allulose. The cooling effect comes from the erythritol which I why I don't recommend using 100% erythritol. It is better to have a blend of a few sweeteners.
Margie says
How do you measure this? 1 cup sugar = to how much sweetner?
Taryn says
1 cup sugar = 1/2 cup sweetener
Lore says
I accidentally bought the stevia granulated instead of powder. Can I still use this for the sweetener mix?
Taryn says
Is the only ingredient stevia?
You just need one that stevia is the only ingredient on the list.
Lisa says
I am new to try making my own sweets and all of your recipes look amazing! What are your thoughts on Monkfruit sweetener? All these different sweeteners are so confusing and they are not cheap so I want to try to get a good understanding of the differences between them. Thank you so much!
Taryn says
Most monk fruit sweeteners are a tiny amount of pure monk fruit extract combined with erythritol. It is cheaper to just buy erythritol and add pure monk fruit powder if you prefer that to stevia.
Melissa says
This is the reason that I can stay on keto and still enjoy treats! This is the best sweetener option. I’m not a fan of Pyure or Lakanto or Swerve but this I can do. It’s also cheaper and tastes so much better. Thank you Taryn!!!
Tracy says
I like the recipe. Just be careful about the weight measurements. 1 1/2 cups of erythritol does not weigh 12 ounces on a scale. It weighs about 6 ounces...remember, a cup of feathers is not going to weigh the same as a cup of rocks so you can't turn around and use 8 ounces of rocks and 8 ounces of feathers....that would really mess up a recipe.
Taryn says
Yes, it does. I weighed my erythritol on a scale and then measured it out from that amount to be able to give that measurement. I think you may be confusing granular erythritol with powdered erythritol.
Kim Knaust says
Is the taste any different when you do not use the xylitol? Just wondering the benefit of using all three vs just erythritol and stevia?
Taryn says
Erythritol has a cooling taste. By using a combination of that with the xylitol you minimize it. I only recommend using all erythritol if you have a pet in the house and do not use xylitol at all.
Margaret says
Hi
Does this mix leave a strange after taste?
Taryn says
Nope!
Margaret says
Cool thanks! I’m onto it 👍😊
Patricia says
Is the xylitol you use is it granular or powdered. I looking to order it but don’t know what one to get. Do you have a Amazon link?
Taryn says
Granular. There are several links in the post and recipe card. This is the one I've been buying most often: https://amzn.to/3HiUGkS
Courtney Hutson says
It just dawned as me as I looked up this recipe for the hundredth time that I should probably leave a review to say how great it is! It’s a perfect substitute for Gentle Sweet and so easy to throw together.
Taryn says
Thank you, Courtney!
Donna says
Agreed! I had to google it yet again. I saved it this time!
Mary Cate says
When you make it without the xylitol, do you add extra erythritol?
Taryn says
Yes
Peggy says
How much extra erythritol? The full 12 oz that you would have used of the xylitol?
Taryn says
Yes
Kathy says
Just found your site and it looks wonderful. Wondering about your sweetner mix Why put liquid with powder? Won't it gunk up? Thanks.
Taryn says
You don't put liquid. You need stevia powder.
J. Menig says
All I have on hand right now is Swerve. How much for your Little Debbie brownies? Will try your mix when I can as I don't care for the cooling effect. Thank you.
Taryn says
To avoid the cooling effect just use the same as the amount listed. They won't be as sweet but that will help minimize that. If you want them sweetener use a little more than the amount listed.
Lisa T says
I have pets and don’t want to use the xylitol
In that case I will use the listed amount of erythritol and stevia do I understand in order to eliminate the xylitol I will add the” extra “ amount of erythritol in place of the xylitol?
Thank you Lisa T
Taryn says
Yes, that is correct.
Renee says
That cooling effect is the worst
Lisa says
What is the cooling effect?
Taryn says
Erythritol has a minty flavor and feeling in your mouth.