Stevia: What it Is and How to Use It

Have you heard about stevia but you aren't really sure what it is or how to use it? If so, you've come to the right place.

My family and I have been using stevia for years, before it was even a thing. Let me introduce to you to what is seriously our favorite sweetener and why it will likely become yours as well.

Stevia is quite the “sweetener in the news” these days.

It used to be something most people hadn't heard about, but now it's basically in everything: in bottled drinks, in the sweetener section of your grocery store, in treats, and more.

Since I get a lot of questions about stevia, I'm sharing some facts about stevia, what kinds of stevia there are, and how to use it as well.

What is Stevia?

Stevia rebaudiana is a plant in the stevia group of plants that grows wild in Paraguay and Brazil. The glucosides in the leaves are the extremely sweet part of the plant.

• Stevia is super sweet (the leaves are about 10-15 times as sweet as sugar while the extract is about 300 times as sweet as sugar)
• Stevia has no calories
• Stevia doesn't feed candida.
• Stevia has a glycemic index of zero (meaning it doesn't affect blood sugar levels), making it a sweetener of choice for those who suffer from candida, or who have sugar metabolism issues, like diabetes.

As a side note, there have been concerns over the years about stevia safety. I dug into the research and I feel very comfortable using it. I use quite a bit, and so does our oldest, and our health has only gotten better over the years. You can read about our recovery stories here.

Different Forms of Stevia

Before we get into the different kinds of stevia, I think what is most important to point out is that the answer to the question, “What is stevia?” is that it is a plant that is made into a variety of different sweetening forms. Here they are:

Stevia Plant

The stevia leaves can be dried, crushed, and used as a sweetener. They are sweeter than sugar, but the “licorice-y” aftertaste is stronger than that of the pure white powder extract.  You can also buy stevia in this powdered form.

I have never used this form. I hope to grow stevia myself soon and get more experience with this and also make stevia extract with it!

Green Stevia Drops

There used to be a liquid form of whole leaf stevia, but it's been discontinued.  Approximately 1 Tablespoon of this was equal to 1 cup of sugar.  It had a stronger aftertaste than the refined powder with a more “licorice-y” taste.

I'm guessing that it wasn't that popular, so not holding my breath that it will come back on the market.

Stevia Blends

These typically come in convenient packets that make it easy to take with you and add to your favorite beverages while on the run. They also come in baking blends so you can easily use them 1:1 as a sugar substitute in baking recipes.

I never buy these, for several reasons.

• Most of them have fillers that are not what I want in my body (natural flavors, etc.).
• They are expensive compared to using pure extract powder. I'm cheap-er-frugal.  I would rather carry around my little container of stevia extract powder in my purse with a little stainless steel scoop and use that.  See below for scoop info.
• The packets are just more garbage to add to landfills.  As much as we can, we try to be a low waste family. If everyone does their part we can clean up this world little by little.

Liquid Stevia Drops

This liquid stevia is a great choice for liquid stevia since it's a large bottle at a great price with great flavor

They have a lot of other flavors too. Those are more expensive but super yummy. There's Chai Spice, French Vanilla, and more!

If you are trying to get your family off of soft drinks, these drops are a great thing to bring into your household. You could buy sparkling water and add these to it.  And if you're advanced in your fermentation skills, you could add these to your “fizzed” water kefirs or kombuchas.

This recipe for Homemade Liquid Stevia Drops is a super frugal way to make your own stevia drops for use in recipes, beverages, or hot cereals.

Pure Stevia Extract Powder

This is the form of stevia that I most often use.

It is a super sweet powdery substance that comes in containers from 1 oz up to 1 lb.  I currently buy the 1 lb size to save money (I buy almost everything in bulk). Stevia's shelf-life is long and that container lasts us about 1 year or more.  And we use stevia a lot.

There are a lot of brands out there. Some are more pure than others regarding sourcing and extraction.

I like and trust NOW Brand for many things, including stevia extract. There are a few others out there that are clean as well. NOW's stevia is USDA organic and extracted using either water or organic alcohol.

How to Use Stevia

Now that we've answered the question, “What is stevia,” let's move on to how to use this amazing sweetener.

There are tons of recipes using stevia on the internet (and on my blog.)

You can use stevia to sweeten drinks (like my Sugar-Free Lemonade), or my Rich and Nutritious Coffee Substitute.

Or, you can mix some into warm cereals, or put on top of cold cereals. One of our favorite warm cereals is this Cream of Brown Rice.

Baking with stevia is a little tricky.  Here are some tips that I think will help.

Use With Other Sweeteners

I find that it's better to use a mixture of alternative sweeteners to get a smoother “more like sugar” taste.  Plus, stevia on its own has no bulking agents so you will have to add something to your recipe to get it to work something like the original if you are only using stevia.

What I typically do is cut the sweetener in a recipe in half and use one half of a no glycemic index, candida-diet-friendly sweetener (like xylitol, erythritol, or allulose).  You of course, can use a sweetener that is appropriate for your health needs) and then use stevia powdered extract for the other half.

How to Measure Stevia

Since stevia extract powder is about 300 times as sweet as sugar, a little goes a long way. That's why a 1 lb container lasts a long long long time.

But it can be pretty tricky measuring something so strong.

When I first started using stevia, I was working on a candida protocol via Whole Approach.  The ladies there were all talking about a “scoop” of stevia.

I soon found out when I bought my first container of stevia extract that it came with a teeny plastic scoop in the container (it was kind of hidden in the white powder) and it served its purpose well for a long time. However, it eventually broke and I found that not all stevia extracts come with such a scoop. I ended up finding the same scoops at soap making companies, but they broke quickly so I wanted to find a better alternative.

These mini stainless measuring scoops fit the bill perfectly. I only needed one of the scoops, but they are pretty reasonable so I was willing to buy the set.

The 2nd smallest scoop is 1/32 of a teaspoon (the standard “stevia scoop” size) and it fits nicely in small stevia containers.

I purchased one of the smaller stevia containers (about a 3 oz size) and then refill it with stevia from the 1 pound size. Alternatively, you can of course find some other small container to hold your stevia. This is the first brand of stevia I bought and it happened to be the right size for everyday use.

How to Use Stevia in Recipes

Since stevia is so sweet and concentrated, using it in recipes can be a little tricky.

1 scoop of stevia extract (1/32 teaspoon) = 2 tablespoon sugar

Typically you can assume that 1 scoop of stevia equals 2 tablespoons of sugar.

But that will depend on the type of stevia you use. I have found that the strengths really vary from brand to brand.

Same goes for the liquid drops. I've found it hard to find a “one size fits all” chart to depend on so I recommend you use stevia “to taste” in your recipes and then keep track of what you like.

NOTE: If you're using powdered green stevia, substitute 1 T ground green stevia for every 1 cup sugar.

I hope that this has helped you learn how to use stevia, what it is, and that this made it easier for you to use it for you and your family

Got other questions about stevia? Just ask in the comments and I'm happy to help.