Sugar-free Simple Syrup (2 ingredients!) Great Corn Syrup Alternative and More

This Sugar-free Simple Syrup comes together in just 5 minutes or less with no sugar, low or no carbs, and low or no calories! With so many great uses, this Keto Simple Syrup is sure to become a regular in your home.

Plus, you can use whatever low-carb sweetener you have--no need to run to the store!

What is Simple Syrup?

Simple Syrup (or "sugar syrup") is a liquid sweetener that typically is used to sweeten cocktails and cold drinks. Since it's a liquid, it's easier to dissolve into cold liquids than a granulated sweetener is.

However, simple syrup is also used as an ingredient in baked goods and other desserts, can be used as a base for fancier syrups, and is sometimes simply drizzled as a glaze over desserts.

Typical Simple Syrup is super easy to make--you simply combine sugar and water in ratios between 1:1 and 2:1, heat in a pan, and then simmer for about 10 minutes 'til reduced by about half.

This Keto Simple Syrup is made basically the same way, but even easier. No need to simmer that for a long time!

How to Use This Sugar-free Simple Syrup

As I mentioned, typically simple syrup is used for things like alcoholic and other cold drinks. But there are so many other ways to use simple syrup. And of course you can use this sugar-free simple syrup in all of these fun ways too--you'll just be doing them without the carbs!

Corn Syrup Substitute: This syrup is the perfect sub for corn syrup in all your recipes!

Coffee: Sweeten your cuppa (or your coffee substitute) without all the sugar - and it dissolves great!

Cakes: Simple syrup is often used on cakes to keep them moist--this keto simple syrup can be used on all your low-carb cakes (and cupcakes) to keep them moist without adding carbs!

Sweeten Desserts: Use this simple syrup in any dessert (like these Coconut Milk Mixed Berry Popsicles) as you would any other liquid sweetener.

Cocktails and Cold Drinks: Simple syrups are used in cold drinks to avoid issues of sweeteners not dissolving.

Dessert Drizzle: Drizzle this syrup on any dessert for a little extra sweetening power.

Dress Up Fruit Salad: Drizzle a bit of syrup on top of fruit salad to add sweetness and shine.

Homemade Infusions: Make blueberry, orange, basil, rosemary infused syrups for use in cocktails or mocktails--or simply use your imagination!

Candy Fruits / Peels: Use this simple syrup to candy fruit and peels.

Jellied Beans: What a fun idea to make a different kind of "jelly" beans.
Here's how to do it.

What Sweeteners Can You Use for This Keto Simple Syrup?

You can make this Low-carb Simple Syrup using all kinds of sweeteners--

Xylitol
Erythritol
Monk Fruit / Erythritol Blend (like Lakanto)
Stevia Blend
Swerve
Allulose
Bocha Sweet

There are more options, but the above are some of the more common low-carb sweeteners.

Note: xylitol has some carbs and calories, so it should be used in moderation on a keto diet. The others listed above all work well for the keto diet.

For this syrup, I tried xylitol, Lakanto monk fruit blend, and a stevia blend. The first two worked out great, both in terms of taste and performance. The stevia syrup--not so much.

The xylitol simple syrup tasted really good, and xylitol is readily available and is one of the lower cost alternative sweeteners. However, since xylitol is really toxic to dogs in even small amounts, you might not choose to use it.

The Erythritol / Monk blend worked great. I used Lakanto, but you could use any similar blend. Get 20% off your Lakanto purchase using code wholenewmom.

I tried Stevia in the Raw and added some NuNuturals extract, but it still didn't taste good. Blech.

Low-carb Sweetener Options and How Much to Use for Each

Depending on your the sweetener you choose, you might need to vary the amount.

Allulose dissolves really well, tastes a lot like sugar, and will not recrystallize. However, it's a more expensive sweetener and not as readily available.

Xylitol dissolves well. You can use 1 cup, 1 1/2 cups, or 2 cups of xylitol for this syrup. If you take care when preparing the syrup (follow the instructions below to prevent crystallizing), you should be fine. I like the 1:1 recipe. It tastes and works great.

Erythritol will most likely crystallize if you use more than 1/2 cup of erythritol in 1 cup of water, so you'll want to enhance the sweetness of the syrup with some additional stevia. You might also wish to use distilled water to prevent crystallizing, but I think quality filtered water (here's my favorite water filter) is good enough.

Erythritol / Monk Blend (like Lakanto): This sweetener can crystallize easily, since it's mostly erythritol. However, it's sweeter so you might not need the added stevia.

Swerve: Swerve is similar to Monk / Erythritol. Will easily crystallize and no need to add extra sweetener.

Bocha Sweet: I haven't tried this sweetener. It's pricey, but I think a 1:1 ratio of this sweetener to water (or more) should work for this recipe.

Stevia Blend: Stevia will dissolve fine but again, I really didn't care for the results. Use about 1/8 cup of this for each cup of water.

Splenda: You can also make a simple syrup from Splenda, but I don't use this sweetener due to some health concerns. If you want to try it, you could use 1/2 cup for every cup of water.

Can You Freeze This Syrup?

Yes, you can but it won't freeze completely due to sugar lowering the freezing point. The product will be mushy and not completely solid. The shelf life will be somewhat longer, however.

Does Simple Syrup Need to Be Refrigerated?

Since this syrup has no added preservatives, and water is known for being a breeding ground for bacteria, it’s best kept in the fridge but it will only last for about a month.

Simple syrups made with a 2:1 sweetener to water ratio should last about 2 months in the fridge due to the higher concentration of sweetener, but the higher the sweetener concentration, the more likely you are going to end up with crystallization.

How to Prevent This Syrup from Crystallizing

As I mentioned, the allulose and xylitol syrups shouldn't crystallize easily, but it's still possible. If you want to go the extra mile to prevent this from happening, here are some tips to help.

Add the sweetener and water to the pot slowly to prevent granules of sweetener ending up on the sides or edges of the pot.

Use a pastry brush to push any granules into the mixture while heating.

Use a clean container to store the syrup with no traces of granulated sweetener.

Don’t stir the mixture once it's simmering.

Add acid: adding a dash of an acid to the mixture can help prevent crystallizing.

This recipe is so simple. Enjoy the ease and flexibility!

I'd love to hear how you use this low-carb simple syrup in your home!