Monk Fruit vs. Stevia: Which Sweetener is Better?

19 January 2024

Stevia leaf extract and monk fruit extract have risen in popularity among non-nutritive sweeteners. Both of these options offer a sweet taste without adding extra calories or affecting blood sugar levels, but they do have some distinctions.

What are non-nutritive sweeteners?

Monk fruit and stevia are two sugar substitutes called non-nutritive sweeteners. This term describes any artificial sweeteners or natural sugar substitute that provides sweetness without adding calories or carbohydrates to the foods you eat.

Non-nutritive sweeteners are usually much sweeter than sugar, with some substitutes tasting 20,000 times sweeter.

Common non-nutritive sweeteners include:

Acesulfame potassium (Sweet One)
Advantame
Aspartame (Equal)
Sucralose (Splenda)
Monk fruit extract
Saccharin (Sweet and Low)
Stevia leaf extract

Monk fruit vs. stevia

Monk fruit and stevia are often referred to as natural sweeteners because they’re derived from plants – artificial sweeteners are man-made – although there is still processing involved. Plus, because they’re so potent, monk fruit and stevia tend to be blended with other ingredients such as sugar alcohols, dextrose or plant fibers to add volume to the final product.

Like other non-nutritive sweeteners, the body can’t metabolize monk fruit and stevia. As a result, the body doesn’t absorb calories and there isn’t a glycemic response (blood sugar doesn’t spike).

Stevia: Stevia is derived from the leaves of a plant native to South America called stevia rebaudiana. The leaves contain at least 10 different sweet-tasting compounds called steviol glycosides. Stevioside and Rebaudioside A account for most of the sweetness when extracted. Stevia is about 200 to 300 times sweeter than sucrose (table sugar).

There are many ways to commercially produce stevia, with extraction serving as the most common method. To extract stevia, the leaves are dried, crushed and steeped in hot water. The liquid is then filtered and separated from the leaves, leaving pure steviol extract behind. Pure stevia must be refined, though.

The extract receives an alcohol rinse, which is later removed by distillation. The remaining solution is sprayed into a tank of hot air. When the droplets touch the hot air, evaporation helps turn them into sugar-like crystals. Repeated recrystallization occurs to further refine stevia into a final product.

Monk fruit: Monk fruit comes from a small melon native to Asia called luo han gu. The melon, which is similar in size to a lemon, is unpleasant to eat raw but can be dried and processed into a powder. Monk fruit contains a sweet-tasting plant compound called mogrosides. Monk fruit is 100 to 250 times sweeter than table sugar.

To make the sweetener, monk fruit is crushed and steeped in hot water. The juice mixture is filtered to leave behind concentrated mogrosides. Once dried, it turns into a crystal form. Depending on the pulp-to-mongroside ratio, the final product can have varying levels of sweetness and color. For example, monk fruit with 30 percent mongrosides has an amber hue and more closely resembles raw cane sugar. Conversely, monk fruit with 50 percent mongrosides is twice as sweet and looks more like white refined sugar. Monk fruit tends to be more expensive than stevia because it’s more difficult to grow and extract mongrosides.

Choosing between monk fruit and stevia

The role of sugar isn’t just to make foods taste better – it also serves an important role in keeping foods moist by binding water, giving structure to hold ingredients together, providing browning to add color and making foods more shelf stable.

That’s why you need to consider which sugar substitute to use.

What can monk fruit be used for?

Monk fruit is a relatively new addition to the non-nutritive sweetener marketplace. Like stevia, it can be sprinkled in coffee or on top of oatmeal directly or added to baked goods recipes to replace sugar – monk fruit is also stable when exposed to heat.

But unlike stevia’s bitter aftertaste, monk fruit is more pleasant and has a fruity, subtle sweetness. There is still a mild aftertaste, although nowhere near as noticeable when compared to stevia.

Some people use monk fruit as a way to reduce the calories in baked goods while still getting the taste of sugar. For example, substituting half the sugar a recipe calls for with monk fruit decreases the sugar content by 50 percent.

Monk fruit is sold in several different varieties as a sweetener to replicate traditional sugar offerings. Examples include golden monk fruit, brown monk fruit, powdered monk fruit and baking monk fruit.

Golden monk fruit mimics the taste and texture of cane sugar and is best suited for cookies, brownies, sauces, dressings, smoothies or marinades.

Brown monk fruit contains natural flavors and glycerin to share a similar taste and packable texture to brown sugar. It can be used for cinnamon rolls, glazes, marinades or any other food that calls for a caramel or toffee flavor.

Powdered monk fruit is similar to powdered sugar in that it dissolves well in frostings or when sprinkled on top of something. It can be used as an alternative to glaze doughnuts or add to cakes, whipped cream and ice cream.

Baking monk fruit has tapioca fiber, chicory root inulin and cellulose gum to help baked goods brown and spread easier. It works well in cakes, pies, doughs, muffins and cookies.

What can stevia be used for?

When stevia first hit the market, it was primarily known as a table-top sweetener for coffee and tea. But because it can withstand heat, stevia is also featured in many recipes as a zero-sugar substitute. Examples include cookies, cakes and pies. In addition, stevia has also replaced aspartame in some zero-calorie drinks such as Zevia – diet Coke and diet Pepsi both use aspartame as a sweetener.

Aftertaste is the one knock against stevia. Some people say stevia has a bitter or metallic aftertaste that also resembles licorice. Because of this, many people prefer other sweeteners such as monk fruit.

Baking with pure stevia can be challenging because a little goes a long way in terms of sweetness, which makes it tricky for recipes that call for large volumes of sugar. For example, a teaspoon of stevia is as sweet as a cup of sugar. So for recipes that call for a cup of sugar, using just a teaspoon of stevia would throw a wrench in the ratios and create an unbalanced final product. That’s why stevia is commonly used for crisp cookies such as shortbread. When used in large quantities, the final product can turn out dry or crumbly unless you add moisture.

To offset this, food manufacturers add bulking agents to increase the volume while also removing some of the bitterness associated with stevia. Common bulking agents include allulose, erythritol, fiber and maltodextrin.

Stevia is sold in white, brown or confectioners to replicate white sugar, brown sugar and confectioners sugar.

Why can stevia taste bitter?

Your tongue has tiny sensory organs called taste buds that help detect sweet, salty, bitter, sweet and umami tastes. Sweet, salty, sour and umami tastes are recognized by only one type of receptor. However, there are at least 25 known types of bitter taste receptors called TAS2Rs or T2Rs. Stevia has specific chemical compounds that trigger both sweet and bitter taste buds, although the bitter after taste is more pronounced since there are more receptors.

The bottom line

Monk fruit is a more versatile sweetener because it’s not as sweet as stevia and most people find it doesn’t have a bitter aftertaste like stevia. But whether one is better than the other ultimately comes down to personal preference. Whichever choice you make, be mindful of how much stevia or monk fruit you consume. Some brands use a sugar alcohol called erythritol as a bulking agent to add volume or weight to packaging. However, a recent study performed by the Cleveland Clinic found erythritol is associated with an increased risk of heart attack and stroke.

As an alternative, look for single-ingredient monk fruit or stevia or products that contain allulose instead of erythritol. Allulose is a naturally occurring sugar found in foods (in small amounts) such as figs, molasses and wheat. When manufactured, a starch (sometimes corn) is chemically converted into fructose and then allulose. Allulose is only 70 percent as sweet as table sugar, so it helps bulk products like monk fruit.