Top 5 Maple Syrup Substitute For Pancakes

Maple syrup is something you can never get enough of. Whenever it comes to pancakes, it’s just hard to ‘unlove’ that.

However, there are times you may want to try out something different. One reason can be the costly tag of maple syrup or it can be just for a change.

It doesn’t always have to be syrup as other sweeteners can also be added over the dessert. So, if you want maple syrup substitute for pancakes, you can find several options.

But the long list can be confusing right? Hence, we thought to share 5 of them that we find perfect.

Maple Syrup Alternatives For Pancakes

1. Honey

Although the flavor is different, texture wise, honey is pretty similar to maple. Its sweetness can make any pancake even tastier. You can use manuka honey in your maple to get more tastier dessert.

Usually it’s advisable that you make a swap for 1:1 ratio, but you can adjust according to your preference.

Here’s a recipe that we love.

Ingredients

• All purpose flour- 1 ½ cups
• Baking powder- 2 tablespoons
• Egg- 1
• Milk- 1 ¼ cup
• Salt- 1 teaspoon
• Honey- 1½ teaspoons plus more for topping
• Butter (melted) - 3 tablespoons

Instructions

• Sieve baking powder, flour, and salt in a big bowl.
• Make well in the middle, then add milk, honey, melted butter and egg. Start mixing until you make it smooth.
• On a medium flame, heat a nonstick frying pan. Make sure it’s lightly oiled.
• Scoop the mix onto the pan using around ¼ cup for individual pancake.
• Keep turning the pancake until it’s cooked. Lastly, drizzle with honey and top with your favorite fruits.  

2. Molasses

Another common choice for pancakes. Molasses has this warm and sweet flavor with a hint of smokiness, which makes it a great substitute.

Instead of 1 cup of maple syrup, you would be using 1 cup of molasses. Since there’s a slight difference in the taste of light and dark molasses, you can pick one that interests you.

Here’s a recipe to try out.

Ingredients

• Self-rising flour- 2 cups
• Pumpkin pie spice- 2 tablespoons
• Ground ginger- 1 teaspoon
• Buttermilk- 1¼ cups
• Dark brown sugar- ¼ cup
• Butter- ¼ cup plus more for frying pan
• Molasses- ¼ cup plus more for topping
• Eggs- 2
• Butter melted- 2 tablespoons

Instructions

• Whisk spices and flour in a big bowl.
• Use another bowl to whisk butter, eggs, molasses, sugar and buttermilk until blended well.
• Grease up the frying pan. Then over medium-high flame, heat ¼ cup of batter for around 3 minutes or until you find the edges dry.
• Keep flipping the pancake and cook until it gets browned.
• Top with more molasses and butter. You can add orange zest too.

3. Brown Sugar Syrup

Brown Sugar Syrup is another great option that you can think of for your pancakes. You can replace ¾ cup of maple syrup with 1 cup of brown sugar syrup. However, you can add and reduce the amount depending on your taste.

It’s super easy to make the syrup. You just need to mix 1/2 cup of brown sugar, 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract and 1/4 cup of water in a saucepan and heat it on medium flame.

Then, stir the syrup for 2 minutes and wait for the sugar to get dissolved. After it’s done, you can use it on the pancakes.

Here’s a recipe that you may love.

Ingredients

• Whole milk- 1¼ cup
• All-purpose flour- 1½ cups
• Baking powder- 2 teaspoons
• Salt- ½ teaspoon
• Light brown sugar- ¼ cup, divided
• Butter (melted)- 2 tablespoons
• Egg- 1
• Vanilla extract- ¼ teaspoon
• Brown sugar syrup- ½ to 1 cup

Instructions

• Blend salt, flour, and baking powder in a big bowl.
• Use a small bowl to whisk 2 tablespoons of brown sugar, vanilla extract, butter and milk. Keep whisking until blended.
• After that, blend both the wet and dry mixtures in the big bowl and keep stirring until smooth.
• Heat a big skillet over medium flame and add the desired amount of batter on it. You can sprinkle a bit of brown sugar over the batter too.
• Flip the pancake until it gets fluffy.
• Lastly top it with brown sugar syrup.

4. Strawberry Jam

With strawberry jam, you can give your fluffy pancakes a tad of Swedish touch. It can be an ideal maple syrup alternative while making cupcake.

Let us give you a delicious recipe.

Ingredients

• All-purpose flour- 2¼ cups
• Baking powder- ¼ cup
• Vanilla sugar- ¼ cup
• Sugar- 1 cup
• Eggs- 4
• Milk- 1 cup
• Vegetable oil- 4 tablespoons
• Strawberry jam- as much as you desire.

Instructions

• Mix baking powder and flour in one bowl and sugar (both types), 3 tbsps of veg oil, milk and eggs in another bowl until well combined.
• After that, add the second mixture to the first and smoothen them.
• Heat the frying pan and brush it with 1 tbsp of veg oil.
• Scoop the batter onto it and cook one side for 3 minutes before flipping.
• After you’re done cooking all the pancakes, spread the jam between each of the layers and top with some fresh strawberries.

5. Dulce de leche

Dulce de leche is basically a Latin American specialty. It is made of sweetened condensed milk and is scrumptious enough to eat right out of the jar.

Not only this creamy, caramelized milk sauce will make the pancakes tasty but rich on pancakes as well.

Let us provide you with a recipe that you can try.

Ingredients

• Self-rising flour- ¾ cup
• Salt- ½ teaspoon
• Baking powder- 1 teaspoon
• Eggs- 2
• Milk- 2/3 cup
• Water- 1/3 cup
• Dulce de leche- 1 cup
• Butter (melted)- 2 tablespoons.

Instructions

• As usual, you have to mix the flour, salt, baking powder, eggs, water, and milk in a big bowl.
• Heat nonstick pan and scoop the batter onto it.
• Swirl the pan to coat evenly.
• Peel the pancakes from the nonstick pan after their edges start to brown and flip over.
• After all the pancakes are cooked, fill them with 2 tablespoons of Dulce de leche.
• Brush with melted butter and top with a bit of sugar. Lastly roll them up.

Final Words

These maple syrup substitutes for pancakes can make your breakfast even more flavorful. You won’t even miss maple syrup once you try out the recipes and experiment with them.

You can adjust the amount of the ingredients according to your preferences. We have provided them just to guide you.