How to Make A Molasses Substitute Recipe

Made with 4 things you most likely have in your cupboard, my Homemade Molasses Substitute recipe is a full bodied, full flavored, thick syrup that can replace molasses in any recipe!

Prep time: PT5M

Cook time: PT4M

Total time: PT10M

Rating

4.69 stars (169 reviews)

Keywords

molasses substitute

Ingredients

2 cups (16oz/450g) dark brown sugar
3/4 cups (6floz/170ml) water
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
2 teaspoons lemon juice (freshly squeezed )

Cuisine

Dessert

Steps

In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, over medium heat, add the sugar, water, cream of tartar, and lemon juice.
Once the sugar dissolves, turn down the heat and let the syrup simmer steadily until it becomes a slightly thick syrup that drips off your spatula slowly. This will takes just 3 to 4 minutes. Don't worry if you think it is a bit runny at this stage because as it cools it will get thicker. 
Use this molasses substitute in any recipe in place of molasses. It will last 3-4 months in an airtight container at room temperature. After a while, if you notice it hardens, heat it back up again to dissolve the granules. It makes 1 1/2 cups of molasses substitute.
Check out my recipes like crockpot gingerbread, soft and chewy molasses, homemade bran flakes, and my ginger crinkle cookies that call for molasses.

Reviews

Elizabeth rose on 2026-02-21 (1 stars):
You could always put regular sugar into it as sugar cane is actually something that normally calls for and then after you make them molasses you can make brown sugar by two tablespoons of molasses for three to four cups of sugar or you can use dark brown sugar is 2 tablespoons of molasses so it's really not too hard you can also make a small batch of molasses and then make the brown sugar and then remake the Molasses with brown sugar just some tips and ideas
Marilyn on 2025-12-12 (5 stars):
Tastes just like molasses! 5 stars!
Jeanne on 2025-11-29 (5 stars):
Pastry chef here - you can low boil sugarcane juice for six hours, stirring often and skimming the green stuff that forms on the surface. You'll eventually see the color change from green to yellow, and then it's officially "done," but you can continue to boil the syrup to darken it from light to dark to "blackstrap" in viscosity and color. This takes quite a long time.
Laura on 2025-10-06 (5 stars):
Could you please tell me the precise temperature the syrup should reach after 3–4 minutes of simmering? Thank you.
Travis Goshorn on 2025-09-06 (5 stars):
I use molasses in my plant food potion so I doubled the recipe and didn’t add cream of tartar since it’s plant food. NOTE TO ALL COOKS - Don’t turn your back trying to get the video to work - it boils over quicker than sour flies hit cantaloupe!! 🤦‍♂️🙄🤦‍♂️