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Make my sugar free powdered sugar recipe once, and you’ll NEVER buy it again! All you need is one ingredient and a food processor or blender. Zero calories and zero net carbs.
Ever since making my own powdered sugar substitute, I’ve been using it in keto meringue cookies, healthy puppy chow, and keto lemon bars!
You probably noticed more grocery stores are stocking sugar-free baking staples. There are plenty of sugar-free syrups and chocolate chips, but I’ve yet to find a suitable sugar-free powdered sugar.
Old me would order it online, but now that I know how easy it is to make at home, it’s a no-brainer to make my own powdered sugar substitute!
Table of Contents
Why I love this recipe
- Easy to make. All you need is one ingredient, a blender, and less than a minute.
- It tastes like the real thing. So long as you use one of my preferred sweeteners, you won’t have to worry about a fake sugary aftertaste.
- Instantly make any recipe sugar-free. Once you have a pantry full of sugarless staples, you can quickly turn all your favorite baked goods sugar-free.
- Cheaper than store-bought. You’ll pay upwards of $5 more per bag for powdered sweetener versus granulated, and the only difference is the consistency.
Ingredients needed
- Granulated sweetener of choice. Of all the sweeteners I tried, allulose was my favorite for making powdered sugar. Most brands use it because it has a pleasant taste and texture. Monk fruit sweetener is a close second.
What sweetener is best?
Not all sugar-free sweeteners are created equal, and some are better for turning into powder. Here’s a quick breakdown:
- Allulose. I typically like using allulose as a sugar alternative, but I find it’s better to dissolve it in simple syrups than blend it into a fine powder.
- Erythriol. My preferred sweetener as it has the best flavor and turns fluffy like regular powdered sugar.
- Monk fruit sweetener. Similar to erythritol. It wasn’t as fluffy as I would have liked, but it tasted pleasant.
- Xylitol. I generally don’t use xylitol in my recipes, but I tried this as I’d seen a powdered sugar brand use it. It blended well but had quite a bitter aftertaste. It’s also VERY dangerous to dogs, so don’t share any treats if you use xylitol.
- Stevia. The only one I wasn’t a fan of, as I found it had a funky, slightly metallic aftertaste.
How to make sugar free confectioners’ sugar
I’ve included step-by-step photos below to make this recipe easy to follow at home. For the full printable recipe instructions and ingredient quantities, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Step 1- Blend. Blend the sweetener in a blender or food processor until fine, white, and fluffy.
Step 2- Store. Keep it in a sealed jar or container.
Storage instructions
To store: Powdered sweeteners should be kept in an airtight container away from direct sunlight. It’ll stay fresh for up to two weeks.
Frequently asked questions
Splenda can be used in place of powdered sugar, but it needs to be blended to a powder-like consistency.
Technically, they are different, as confectioners’ sugar typically has cornstarch added to prevent caking, whereas powdered sugar is made only with sugar.
Recipes using sugar free powdered sugar
- Keto frosting
- Cinnamon roll for one
- Sugar free ice cream
- Dusted on keto pancakes, keto french toast, or keto cupcakes
Powdered Sugar Substitute
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup granulated sweetener of choice * See notes
Instructions
- In a high speed blender or food processor, blend your sweetener until fluffy.
- Transfer your powdered sugar to a sealable container.
My husband is diabetic, but, of course, he loves sweets. I’m excited to find the recipes for sweetened condensed milk and powdered sugar. I have a question…. can I use Splenda in the powdered sugar?
If you can tolerate splenda well, then go for it 🙂
I am allergic to Erithidol. Monk fruit tastes too sweet. Have you made confectioners sugar with Stevia or Allulose?
Yes! Allulose is great 🙂
Allulose is 100% better than any other sweeteners. It does not cause any health risk like all the ones you mentioned. It’s great for baking. Try it .
I am loving your recipes! Love how you do healthy options/substitutes and minimal ingredients! For the Erythritol option for powdered sugar, is it a 1:1 to normal powdered sugar for your recipes? Same amount?
Thanks!
Love the keto powdered sugar!
I don’t have a blender, but can I use an electric mixer?
I don’t see why not
Can i use Splenda?
I wouldn’t recommend it for this 🙂
I’ve been doing this with Swerve granular for years. Great hack.
The puppy chow recipe is for humans. And it’s good. But Erythritol is actually safe for dogs.
https://www.westparkanimalhospital.com/blog/artificial-sweeteners-and-pets/
This is life changing! I’ve been buying sugar free “icing dust”, and it’s expensive. All the while I’ve been using granulated erythritol for baking and never thought of this. I came across this looking for a cinnamon roll recipe. Tried this today, popped it in the blender and in no time it’s fluffy! Mixed it with cottage cheese and it’s almost like a cream cheese frosting! I’m never buying sugar free “icing dust” again.Ever!
How would the peach cobbler turn out if I replace 6 tablespoons of butter with 6 tablespoons of coconut oil?
It should be fine.
Arman, thanks so much for creating such amazing recipes.
Lol, I too was in disbelief at the number of readers who commented on the “puppy chow”
–one of my fave snacks since college,and I’m now 60+ just now using monk fruit and erythritol. Thanks for the wonderful site 🌹
I have made the powdered sweetener for a while. I use my coffee grinder to make it. I don’t drink coffee, so my coffee grinder is used for making powdered sweetener, grinding flax and chia seed, making nut flours or butters.
I’m so surprised by how many people thought “puppy chow” was actually dog food! 🤣 My sister use to make this tasty treat around the holidays. We’d munch on it while we watched old Christmas movies. Really glad there’s a keto recipe for this dessert!! Haven’t had it since I went keto.
Hi Arman
I just want to say that you are amazing, and so creative! I really enjoy your recipes. I’m not much of a cook ( my son is a general manager of a restaurant and he’s the best cook in the valley, so I really enjoy eating with him and his family.
Your recipes look delish, so easy, and healthy that I’m going to have to break down and make them! They are very clearly written too!
Thank you for sharing them with us!
Thank you so much, Pat- I appreciate it!
I laughed at the 1st confused comment about the Puppy chow. But then more people commented on it… I was amazed. Yes. Puppy chow IS a name of a dog food, but it’s also (what I thought) was a well known snack recipe for humans. I enjoy all your recipes Arman!! Keep up the great work!! Now, I’ll have to try your puppy chow! lol. Woof!
You are a gem, Julie. xx
Hi Arman. It’s obviously a cultural and language problem. To most North Americans “Puppy Chow” is 1. A brand of dog food or 2. Slang for dog food! It is also a recipe as you say but there could still be confusion!
Can you use brown sugar?
Arman –
It did reference dogs. Did you read the entire article?
“ Ever since making my own low carb powdered sugar, I’ve been using it in pumpkin cheesecake, brownie cookies, and in my favorite puppy chow. “
Melissa- puppy chow is a dessert. It did not reference dogs 🙂 Enjoy~
Is this a 1 to 1 substitute for powder sugar?
Yes it is!
Does the keto powdered sugar have any after taste? Swerve has this strange feeling in my mouth…kind of minty but very unpleasant feeling in my mouth.
Yes brands can differ quite alot- If you have allulose, you can make it with that, it works beautifully!
Lorraine, Swerve is erythritol with monk fruit extract added. The funny taste is the monk fruit. It boosts the sweetness level, but I don’t like the monk fruit taste, either.
I bought some pure monk fruit extract powder, and mix with erythritol to make it sweeter, but I use less than they do in Swerve. I don’t notice it in recipes, but for coffee I went back to using plain erythritol or allulose.
There’s another non-sugar-alcohol called Bochasweet. It’s an extract from a special kind of pumpkin. The main drawback I’ve seen about it is the price it’s very expensive. I haven’t tried it yet myself, just found out about it a couple of days ago. It could be the answer you’re looking for.I don’t know if it has any unpleasant gastric side effects or not.
Thanks Jenny- I’ll have to hunt it down and experiment with it!
Hi Arman, I have since tried Bochasweet, and to me, it tastes exactly like sugar.
I haven’t made powdered sugar out of any of the keto sweeteners yet, I’ve been using allulose for powdered sugar instead. It’s not quite a powder, but it’s pretty close, and dissolves easily.
Hi! I’m wondering if you’ve come across any additional alternative ingredients for keto sweeteners? Monk fruit is great but expensive, and I’m not able to eat sugar alcohols. I saw something called allulose which I need to research and try, but it seems expensive too. Stevia is good but tricky, since it’s so often blended with things that make me very sick!
Thanks for this blog, I appreciate all these keto ideas!
Not that I’ve tried, erythritol works!
This article mentions how this can be used in dog treats. Please don’t be stupid and use this in dog treats. This has got to be one of the dumbest things I’ve ever seen on the internet.
Jenna, this does not mention dog treats at all. Puppy chow is a food for HUMANS.
(as clearly linked in the post too).
Enjoy this recipe and the puppy chow recipe too
Lol you have the patience of a saint 😇
How many cups does the 1/2 cup of sugar
Make of confectioners sugar ?
These chemic al kill your dogs!!! DO NOT PUT THESE ARTIFICIAL SWEETENERS IN PUPPY CHOW!!!
Read the post. That isn’t a recipe for dogs.
This Puppy chow is for humans . It’s just a name of like checks mixed with a confectionary sugar . It’s not made for dogs . I know it gets confusing why they have names of a sweet for humans that’s called puppy chow . Like I said it’s just a name for sugar coated checks mix