Kalyn’s Kitchen Picks: Lakanto Monkfruit Zero Calorie Sweetener
For quite a while now I’ve been crushing on Lakanto Monkfruit Sweetener, so I’ve decided it’s time to make it one of my Kalyn’s Kitchen Picks! This is my favorite sweetener for baking, adding to sauces and salad dressings, and for using in any recipe that calls for sugar.
PIN this post about Lakanto Monkfruit Sweetener to remember it later!
For quite a while now I’ve been using a zero calorie sweetener that I really like, and after I made Low-Carb No Bake Cherry Cheesecake Dessert and it was gobbled up by Kara’s kids, I knew it was time to officially add Lakanto Monkfruit Sweetener to my list of Kalyn’s Kitchen Picks! In the past I’d sometimes gotten bad reviews from the kids when they tested low-sugar desserts made with other sweeteners, but this one was a winner.
What is Monkfruit?
Monk fruit is a plant that grows in Asia, and the fruit is about 250 times sweeter than sugar. It’s been used in Asia for hundreds of years, but Monk Fruit Sweeteners just started showing up in the last five years or so in the U.S. Because Monkfruit is so much sweeter than sugar, Monkfruit products you buy have pure Monkfruit that’s mixed with another type of sweetener, usually erythritol. Monk fruit Sweetener has zero calories, zero glycemic index, and zero net carbs, and it doesn’t have any side effects. When I heard about Monkfruit I searched and read about it all over the web, and it seems to be universally considered to be a safe sweetener.
What Monkfruit do I like best?
I’ve used several brands of Monkfruit, and I like them all better than I do some types of other sweeteners. But the one I like best is Lakanto Monkfruit Sweetemer, which makes a wide variety of products using Monkfruit. The Lakanto products I use most are Golden Monkfruit Sweetener (affiliate link) which has more of a brown sugar flavor and Classic Monkfruit Sweetener (affiliate link) which is a great all-purpose sweetener that measures 1:1 to sugar. I haven’t tried every product Lakanto makes, but I’ve enjoyed everything I’ve tried.
How does Lakanto Monkfruit taste?
And best of all, I think Lakanto Monkfruit tastes great for a no calorie sweetener. One thing I know from blogging is that things taste different to different people, but to me the taste of Monkfruit sweetener is closest to the taste of sugar out of all the different types of of sweeteners I’ve used, with no after taste. And it’s the one sweetener I’ve tried that I think tastes great in coffee.
Recipes I’ve Made Using Monk Fruit:
I’ve used Monkfruit Sweetener in hundreds of recipes since I first tried it; here is a sample of the dishes I’ve used it in:
- Instant Pot Teriyaki Chicken
- Sugar- Free Pumpkin Pudding
- Thai-Inspired Turkey Larb Salad
- Ginger Chicken Stir-Fry
- Low-Carb Cheesecake with Cherry Topping
- Sugar-Free Layered Pumpkin Cheesecake
- Flourless Sugar-Free Peanut Butter Chocolate Cookies
- Napa Cabbage Asian Slaw
- Flourless Sugar-Free Chocolate Shortbread Cookies
- Instant Pot Pulled Pork with Low-Sugar Barbecue Sauce
- Spicy Asian Chicken
- Low-Sugar Pumpkin and Apple Crumble
- Turkey Sweet Potato Stew
- Strawberries Romanoff
- Slow Cooker Peach Crisp
Where Can You Get Monk Fruit Sweetener?
I first bought Lakanto Monkfruit from Amazon to try it, but now I am seeing it in the stores where I get groceries, even Costco! You can buy Lakanto Monfruit Sweetener at Amazon.com if you don’t find it at your local store. (affiliate link)
More About Kalyn’s Kitchen Picks:
Kalyn’s Kitchen Picks is an occasional blog feature where I spotlight products I love. Everything featured as one of my picks is a product I have purchased myself, and because I want readers to know that my choices are completely unbiased, I don’t accept sample products from the many companies that offer to send them to me. You can see all the products I’ve spotlighted at the page for Kalyn’s Kitchen Picks.
15 Comments on “Kalyn’s Kitchen Picks: Lakanto Monkfruit Zero Calorie Sweetener”
Thanks, so glad it was helpful for you!
I used this to make a broccoli salad and the monk fruit was really gritty.
Did you stir it into the dressing to try to get it to dissolve? I haven’t had that problem but I have used it mostly for baking or for things where it’s dissolved into a liquid. I wonder if it doesn’t work as well for a dressing that’s has a lot of oil.
Good Move! My Costco hasn’t carried it for a while. Maybe now with the word out, more people will request it there. I’ve been using this MonkFruit for a couple of years now and I LOVE it. No other sweetener I ever tried did I like the taste of. This one is exactly like the taste of cane sugar. The only thing I differ on is the 1:1 ratio. I find this MonkFruit a bit sweeter than cane sugar, so I use maybe a quarter less in my recipes. But I LOVE it.
I agree completely about the taste. Nothing else tastes this much like sugar.
I can still get it at Costco. But SLC has the world’s biggest Costco, so that might be why.
I am guessing the 1:1 thing partly depends on how you are using it.
Their chocolate and maple syrups are off the chart greatness.
I love the maple, so now I guess I better try the chocolate one! Thanks for the tip!
Thanks, I'll give these a try!
I use the two shown in the photo, but I do think there are other good ones.
Brittany, I am surprised to hear that. I don't taste any aftertaste with the monkfruit blends, and I've tried several brands. I don't think you will ever find pure monkfruit; from what I have read it's 300-400 times sweeter than sugar so it's mixed with other things to make it easier to use. But if you do find it, I'd love to hear about it.
Also, when I am using it for baking or cooking I want a product that has similar bulk to sugar so it's easier to convert recipes.
The brand I use has no extra carbs from the Erithrytol.
I know what you mean, a lot of people like Swerve (which is erythritol, but the after taste of that is really bad for me. I don't notice that with this; that's one reason I love it.
Lydia, when I was in D.C. I gave Ted some of the little packets to try, and I think he liked it.
Thanks, so glad it was helpful for you!