How to substitute sugar for honey

When substituting sugar with honey, it’s important to consider honey’s extra sweetness and liquid content, as well as its acidity and tendency to caramelize faster. Here are key guidelines for swapping sugar for honey in your recipes:

Conversion Ratio

Use 1/2 to 2/3 cup of honey for every 1 cup of sugar.
- Most sources recommend using about 3/4 cup honey per 1 cup sugar as a general rule^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5].

Adjust Liquid Content

Reduce other liquids in your recipe by about 1/4 cup for each cup of honey used.
- This offsets the extra moisture honey brings^[1]^[2]^[3]^[5].

Adjust for Acidity and Baking Success

Add 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon baking soda for every cup of honey (unless the recipe already includes baking soda or you’re making yeast bread). This helps neutralize honey’s acidity, so baked goods rise properly^[1]^[2]^[3]^[5].

Oven Temperature

Lower your oven temperature by 25°F (about 15°C) to prevent over-browning, since honey causes food to caramelize (brown) faster than sugar^[2]^[3]^[6]^[5].

Practical Tips

Use a light-flavored honey (like clover) for a neutral taste; darker honeys (like buckwheat) impart a strong flavor^[3].
Grease your measuring cups and utensils before measuring honey—it helps with stickiness^[3]^[2].
Stir often and monitor carefully when cooking with honey, as it burns more easily than sugar^[2].

Summary Table

For Every 1 Cup Sugar	Substitute With	Reduce Other Liquid By	Add Baking Soda	Lower Oven Temperature
1 cup	1/2–2/3 cup honey	1/4 cup	1/4–1/2 tsp	25°F (15°C)

Using these adjustments ensures your baked goods and other recipes come out just right when using honey instead of sugar ^[1]^[2]^[7]^[3]^[4]^[5].

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