Granulated sugar boiled down from the sap of coconut palm flowers. Sandy brown, faintly caramel, and close to table sugar in sweetness.
What it does in a recipe: One-for-one granulated sweetness with a built-in caramel note and slightly less refined-tasting finish. Pick the swap that covers that job - the ratios below are written so you can act on them without doing any arithmetic.
Also called: Coconut palm sugar, Coco sugar
4substitutes
1close matches
Sweetenerscategory
Quick answer
Light brown sugar
1 cup coconut sugar = 1 cup packed light brown sugar
All substitutes, best first
4 ways to replace coconut sugar
Light brown sugar
Closest match
1 cup coconut sugar = 1 cup packed light brown sugar
Nearly identical sweetness per cup and a similar molasses-toned flavour, so colour and taste both land close.
Trade-offDamper than coconut sugar, so doughs come out a little softer and cookies chewier. This is also the swap to make if coconut is an allergy concern.
Allergen checkBrown sugar is the straightforward choice when coconut needs to come out of a recipe, since US labelling counts coconut among the tree nuts. Read the sugar's packaging for shared-line statements all the same, and treat a diagnosed allergy as something to settle with a clinician.
Granulated sugar
Reliable
1 cup coconut sugar = 1 cup granulated sugar
Comparable sucrose content and crystal size, so it measures, creams and dissolves the same way.
Trade-offCleaner and sweeter-tasting, and the finished bake will be noticeably paler with no caramel undertone.
Coconut sugar tastes like a mild brown sugar, not like coconut. Claims about its glycemic index are not well supported, and it should be treated as sugar in any diet that counts sugar.
At a glance
Coconut sugar in summary
Coconut sugar at a glance: category, its job in a recipe, the diets it suits, the diets its substitutes can satisfy, and how many substitutes there are.
Can I use light brown sugar instead of coconut sugar?
1 cup coconut sugar = 1 cup packed light brown sugar. Nearly identical sweetness per cup and a similar molasses-toned flavour, so colour and taste both land close. Damper than coconut sugar, so doughs come out a little softer and cookies chewier. This is also the swap to make if coconut is an allergy concern.
Can I use granulated sugar instead of coconut sugar?
1 cup coconut sugar = 1 cup granulated sugar. Comparable sucrose content and crystal size, so it measures, creams and dissolves the same way. Cleaner and sweeter-tasting, and the finished bake will be noticeably paler with no caramel undertone.
Can I use dark brown sugar instead of coconut sugar?
1 cup coconut sugar = 1 cup packed dark brown sugar. It carries more molasses than coconut sugar has caramel character, so it matches the colour and then some. Stronger and more bitter than coconut sugar, with extra moisture that makes bakes denser. Good in a spiced cake, heavy in a plain one.
Can I use turbinado sugar instead of coconut sugar?
1 cup coconut sugar = 1 cup turbinado sugar. Also a lightly refined cane sugar with residual molasses, so the flavour direction is similar even though the grain is bigger. Coarser and slower to dissolve, which can leave a faint crunch in short bakes and a slightly grainy custard.
Cooking around an allergy? Diet tags here describe the ingredient itself, not any particular brand. Processed products change formulation without notice and shared production lines are common, so read the label on everything you use. A severe allergy is a medical matter - confirm with the manufacturer or your clinician rather than relying on a substitution chart.